Firefighters extinguish 1-acre fire near Orange hiking area
Crews extinguished a fire that burned about one acre at a popular hiking area in Orange on Sunday, Oct. 28.
Teams from the Orange County Fire Authority and the City of Orange Fire Department were sent to fight a blaze that started near the intersection of North Cannon Street and East Creekside Avenue at the El Modena Open Space at about 4 p.m., said OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi. He said it took less than an hour for 40 firefighters with aerial support to halt the forward progress of flames.
#Duke6 from @OCSDAirSupport doing water drops on the El Modena Open Space brush fire pic.twitter.com/0KN0qlfjIl
— OCSD – North Patrol (@OCSDNorthPatrol) October 28, 2018
“We had to clear a lot of medium-sized vegetation,” said Concialdi. “We also had multiple aerial drops.”
A pair of helicopters dispatched by the OCFA and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was instrumental in helping ground crews contain the fire sometime before 6 p.m., according to Concialdi.
He said no people were hurt during the incident, but five fire engines were still at the site of the El Modena Open Space at about 7:30 p.m. to put out hot spots and monitor the situation.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.