Brush fire in south Orange County, California, prompted the evacuation of around 1,500 residents in Laguna Beach's neighborhood Saturday. The unpredictable wind-driven brush fire spread to at least 120 acres and threatened all the nearby homes. Laguna Beach fire and police officials at one point said the fire spread to 250 acres of land but later downgraded it, reported ABC7. They added aerial view of the area could give them a more accurate account of the acreage. The fire was reported at 1:07 p.m. (EDT) in Wood Canyon behind Soka University. Mandatory evacuation for more than 2,100 homes was ordered at 5:30 p.m. EDT but was later lifted after the erratic winds appeared to die down. “Mandatory evacuation orders for the fire will be lifted beginning at 9 p.m. At this time, authorities believe the fire is no longer a threat to homes. Please drive safely & expect some delays as this will be a slow process,” Aliso Viego city's official account tweeted. Officials closed both ends of Wood Canyon Road during evacuation. Residents who left their homes were not allowed to return due to smoke and ash. More than 400 firefighters and fire engines were in place. “Firefighters continue to make good progress with little to no wind. Crews will remain throughout the night and day tomorrow working on remaining hotspots and securing a line around the fire. Fire still at 0 percent contained,” Orange County Fire Authority tweeted. The wind shifted multiple times throughout the firefight, which caused several spot fires and difficulty for fire crews, Capt. Tony Bommarito said. “The biggest battle has been the thick brush that hasn’t burned in over 100 years, and the erratic winds,” he added. Laguna Beach resident Toni Engstrom said, “We have the dog, we have the wedding rings, we have the heirlooms and the important documents. We trust in the Laguna Beach Fire Department.” Photo: Reuters A prom scheduled for Saturday at Soka University by Costa Mesa High School was postponed by a week. “There have been six years of drought and there is an enormous amount of dead vegetation, ninety percent of the city is in high fire danger. We’re all in this together,” said Matt Lawson, who chairs the Laguna Beach Emergency Preparedness Committee. “This is directly what we’ve heard ... that we are in an extreme dangerous peak fire period.” “You don’t have to live next to the burn area to be at very high fire risk,” he added. “Being prepared all the time is important in this situation,” Charles Burton, a resident who through Laguna Beach’s devastating firestorm in 1993 said, reported Ventura County newspaper VCstar. No injuries or structural damage were reported; however, a firefighter suffered a minor leg injury. A similar fire incident was reported in 2017 with homes lost from San Diego and Bel-Air to Sylmar and Montecito. Experts said the Laguna fire was the biggest in last few months and also warned of more such blazes if the dry conditions in California continued.<doc-sep>Aliso Fire: Now at 50+ acres. 200+ firefighters onscene. Spot fires starting and pushed by canyon winds. pic.twitter.com/mnaNmrKgqA — OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) June 2, 2018 Aliso Fire: Firefighters continue to make good progress with little to no wind. Crews will remain throughout the night and day tomorrow working on remaining hotspots and securing a line around the fire. Fire still at 0% contained. #AlisoFire — OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) June 3, 2018 LAGUNA BEACH, California -- An unpredictable, wind-driven brush fire in Orange County, California prompted neighborhood evacuations amid a response from more than 400 firefighters Saturday afternoon, officials said.What was first reported as a 25-acre brush fire spread to at least 200 acres. Fire officials at one point stated the acreage was at 250 but later downgraded that number. Containment was at 0 percent, according to Laguna Beach fire and police officials.There were no reports of injuries or structural damage.Eight fire strike teams, six air tankers and four helicopters were used in the firefight, Laguna Beach police said.Bulldozers cut a line near hilltop homes to stop the flames from racing up a ridge.Fire department officials said the wind shifted multiple times throughout the firefight, which caused several spot fires and difficulty for fire crews.Firefighters were able to gain the upper hand when winds began to diminish.About 2,000 residents at one point were impacted by the fire and homes were threatened, officials said.Many evacuated residents said they were well aware of the danger. "We have the dog, we have the wedding rings, we have the heirlooms and the important documents. We have trust in the Laguna Beach Fire Department," said Laguna Beach resident Toni Engstrom.<doc-sep>A wind-driven brush fire in Laguna Beach scorched 120 acres Saturday and threatened hundreds of nearby homes, but a mandatory evacuation order for more than 2,100 homes was eventually lifted. The fire was originally reported to have burned more than 250 acres, but that was later downgraded, officials reported late Saturday. An aerial survey of the burn area was able to give firefighters a more accurate account of the acreage. Fire crews also got a break late in the day as erratic winds appeared to die down. “Firefighters making good progress while wind has diminished somewhat,” read a tweet from the fire authority’s public information office. Advertisement A mandatory evacuation order for 1,500 residents of Top of the World, a Laguna Beach neighborhood, remained in effect Saturday night, fire officials said. But an evacuation order for 2,100 homes in Aliso Viejo was lifted at 9 p.m.. “The biggest battle has been the thick brush that hasn’t burned in over 100 years, and the erratic winds,” said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito. Six air tankers and four helicopters had been enlisted to fight the blaze, he said. He said 400 firefighters were on scene, assembled from many agencies around the region. The fire was 0% contained Saturday night. “There will be firefighters out there all night and all day tomorrow,” Bommarito said. The fire broke out shortly after 1:30 p.m. below the Top of the World scenic lookout point and behind Soka University of America, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The flames chewed through brushed left bone dry by years of drought conditions across Southern California. The region saw a devastating fire season last year, with homes lost from San Diego and Bel-Air to Sylmar and Montecito. The Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties made history as the largest on record in California. Experts have warned that the continued dry conditions make more big fires likely, and the Laguna blaze is shaping up to be one of the biggest in months. The fire was burning in the hills above Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo. It was consuming open space but moving toward hillside communities and suburban subdivisions. Advertisement Costa Mesa High School’s prom at Soka University was postponed a week due to the fire, school officials said. (Los Angeles Times ) An evacuation center was set up at the Susi Q Center, 380 3rd St. in Laguna Beach. A Red Cross shelter was also opened at Aliso Niguel High School, 28000 Wolverine Way in Aliso Viejo. There were no reports of damaged structures, and only one report of a minor injury to a firefighter’s leg. Advertisement cindy.chang@latimes.com For more news on the Los Angeles Police Department, follow me on Twitter: @cindychangLA christopher.goffard@latimes.com Twitter: @LATchrisgoffard Advertisement UPDATES: 9:30 p.m.: This article has been updated with new information regarding mandatory evacuations. 8:40 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from the Orange County Fire Authority. 7:35 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from the Orange County Fire Authority. Advertisement 6:50 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from the Orange County Fire Authority. 5:45 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from the Orange County Fire Authority. 4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from the Orange County Fire Authority. This article was originally posted at 4:20 p.m.<doc-sep>Firefighters quickly extinguished three small brush fires near the 73 toll road on the east side of Laguna Canyon Road on Wednesday, officials said. The fires, the largest of which was a quarter-acre, were reported at about 5 p.m., according to Laguna Beach police. Laguna Canyon Road was closed in both directions between Lake Forest Drive and El Toro Road as Laguna Beach and Orange County Fire Authority crews worked to put out the flames. The westbound portion of the road reopened at about 6:20 p.m., the eastbound side shortly after 8 p.m., police said. No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened, authorities said. The cause of the fires was not immediately known. Laguna Canyon: Laguna Fire. 1 acre with multiple spots fires. No structures threatened. pic.twitter.com/ujlHmdrTKs — OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) June 7, 2018 Two helicopters dropped water as firefighters on the ground worked to cut a containment line through the thick brush, according to OCFA officials. “Forward progress has been stopped for all three fires. Fixed-wing aircraft canceled,” OCFA wrote in a tweet at 5:50 p.m. “Crews will remain on scene to extinguish remaining hot spots and secure a containment line around all the fires.” The incident occurred as firefighters continued to work nearby on the Aliso fire, which broke out Saturday afternoon below Laguna’s Top of the World neighborhood and behind Soka University in Aliso Viejo and forced evacuations of thousands of residents. That fire burned 175 acres and was 85% contained as of Thursday morning. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @HannahFryTCN<doc-sep>
A wind-driven brush fire in Laguna Beach burned 120 acres Saturday, prompting the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The fire was originally reported to have burned more than 250 acres, but that was downgraded to 120, officials said around 8:40 p.m. An aerial survey of the burn area gave firefighters a more accurate count of the acreage, they said. Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito said Saturday night that the winds that had moved the blaze earlier in the day calmed shortly after 7 p.m. Moist evening air also improved conditions for crews fighting the fire. “We’re making a lot of progress,” Bommarito said. “It’s looking better.” The so-called Aliso fire, which was reported at about 1:15 p.m., forced the evacuation of 1,500 residents from the Top of the World and Old Top of the World neighborhoods in Laguna Beach, officials said. Mandatory evacuations of about 2,000 homes started Saturday evening in neighboring Aliso Viejo, the Fire Authority said. However, that order was lifted at 9 p.m. after authorities determined the fire was no longer a threat to those homes, according to a tweet from the city of Aliso Viejo. All animals were removed from the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter as a precaution, Laguna Beach police said. The fire was burning heavy brush below Top of the World and behind Soka University in Aliso Viejo. There had been no containment as of 9 p.m., according to fire officials. Costa Mesa High School’s prom, which was scheduled to be held at Soka University on Saturday night, was postponed because of the fire, said Newport-Mesa Unified School District spokeswoman Annette Franco. It isn’t clear when it will be rescheduled. Aliso Fire: Now at 50+ acres. 200+ firefighters onscene. Spot fires starting and pushed by canyon winds. pic.twitter.com/mnaNmrKgqA — OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) June 2, 2018 More than 400 firefighters from Laguna Beach, Brea, Anaheim, Camp Pendleton, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Orange and the OCFA were on the scene. Six air tankers and four helicopters were enlisted to fight the blaze. Two helicopters equipped with night vision were expected to work for several hours Saturday night. Multiple fire engines also were in place to defend structures. A firefighter suffered a leg injury, but no other injuries or structure damage were reported. Residents, many of whom remember the devastating wildfire that burned thousands of acres in Laguna Beach in 1993, quickly packed up and left their homes Saturday afternoon. The evacuated neighborhoods in Laguna Beach are along Alta Laguna Boulevard and Park Avenue toward Bern Drive and Temple Hills Drive toward Dorn Court, police said. A reception center for evacuees was established at the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center at 380 Third St. The flames chewed through brush left bone-dry by years of drought conditions across Southern California. The region saw a devastating fire season last year, with homes lost from San Diego to Bel-Air to Sylmar to Montecito. The Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties made history as the largest on record in California. Experts have warned the continued dry conditions make more big fires likely. Los Angeles Times staff writers Cindy Chang and Christopher Goffard contributed to this report. UPDATES: 9:45 p.m.: This article was updated with the evacuation order being lifted in Aliso Viejo. 9:10 p.m.: This article was updated with the downgrade on the acres burned, plus additional details. 8:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the latest figure on the acres burned, plus additional details.. 6:25 p.m.: This article was updated with new figures on the acres burned and the number of evacuees, plus other details.. 5:10 p.m.: This article was updated with new figures on the acres burned and the number of evacuees. 4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details. This article was originally published at 3:20 p.m.