The Holy fire marched toward Lake Elsinore on Thursday afternoon, forcing a new round of evacuations as flames came perilously close to homes. Residents living in homes on the mountainside of Lake Street and in the southeast region from Grand Avenue to Ortega Highway were told by the U.S. Forest Service to leave their homes immediately as the fire moved their way. The Holy fire began Monday in Orange County and burned more than 10,236 acres through the Cleveland National Forest and into Riverside County. It was 5% contained. As night fell, the fire could be seen from across Southern California as it burned along the peaks of the Santa Ana Mountains. On McVicker Canyon Road and Edgewood Drive, Todd Campbell sat on a ladder leaning against his garage. A second ladder leaned on the rooftop. Advertisement Despite the evacuation orders, Campbell had stayed behind to protect his two-story home. He was using garden hoses to water his roof, trying to keep an eye on embers that could spark spot fires. “I put one out on my neighbors’ side,” he said. For a while, the situation looked grim. Trees swayed as the winds continued to gust. Ash fell from the sky as smoke from the charred canyons reduced visibility. Above, a DC-10 was dropping fire retardant and helicopters swooped down to make water drops. Still, the flames raged. “It got to a point where it felt fruitless because of the intensity of the heat and winds,” Campbell said. “It was too overwhelming.” In the end, the air attacks made a difference. “The firemen have done a really good job,” Campbell said. Ana Tran and her friend, Bao Vinh, 33, got in her car when the fire approached. They opened the garage door and saw fire retardant falling from above on homes, cars and plants. Advertisement They then noticed the flickering flames behind homes, black smoke billowing and ash falling. “It was so scary,” she said. Tran sped past firefighters heading in to defend homes and neighbors who were also trying to flee the inferno. But she decided to pull to the side and wait it out. After a while, she returned to find her neighborhood still standing. But billowing smoke made her feel like her neighborhood had been attacked. Advertisement “It feels like a war zone,” she said. “I don’t even recognize the neighborhood,” Vinh added. Officials said Thursday night that despite the raging battle, no new homes had been lost. Poor weather conditions, however, temporarily grounded aircraft. Those operations did eventually resume. Even though many in Orange County saw flames from the blaze tonight, officials said the fire was not burning back in that county. 1 / 53 A firefighter douses hot spots in the McVicker Canyon neighborhood of Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 53 Kenneth Leishman’s home is pink from fire retardant in the McVicker Canyon neighborhood of Lake Elsinore. Leishman stayed to protect his house from the fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 53 A bird perches on a rock Saturday morning at a lookout on Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 53 An air tanker drops fire retardant on a flare-up of the Holy fire on a mountain ridge above Lake Elsinore, Calif. Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi / Gina Ferazzi) 5 / 53 People watch as the Holy fire rages on a mountainside in Temescal Valley. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 53 Fire crews from Ventura County brace themselves as fire retardant falls on them after being dropped from the sky while they work to stop the progression of the Holy fire in Lake Elsinore. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 53 Helicopters make drops near homes threatened by the Holy fire in Lake Elsinore. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 53 As the sun rises above Lake Elsinore on Saturday morning, the overnight crew working to contain the Holy fire prepares to leave. Containment levels have continued to rise since the fire broke out Monday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 53 The charred remains of vehicles lie along Ortega Highway on Saturday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 53 Residents keep watch Friday night as the Holy fire burns out of control in the hillsides above Temescal Valley. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 53 Firefighters try to stop the progression of the Holy fire as it makes its way toward homes due to the strong evening winds from Lake Elsinore. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 53 Stephen Woodward looks towards the sky as helicopters make rounds from Lake Elsinore to the hillside in their fight against the Holy fire on Friday. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 53 Residents keep watch Friday night as the Holy fire burns out of control in the hillsides above Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Corona. (Gina Ferazzi / Los AngelesTimes) 14 / 53 Jeff Qualls stands on his roof to watch an air tanker drop fire retardant on flames from the Holy fire as it make its way down the hillside in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 53 Fire retardant paints a Lakeland Village neighborhood pink in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 53 Firefighters try to stop the progression of the Holy fire as it makes its way toward homes due to the strong evening winds in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 53 An air tanker drops a load of water to save a home in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 53 A helicopter fighting the Holy fire drops water on flames at North Main Divide along Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 53 Firefighters battle to save a home from a wall off flames as the Holy fire continues to burn out of control in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 53 Residents and law enforcement wear breathing mask to avoid the thick smoke created by Holy Fire in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 53 Chief Mark Lamont, center, oversees firefighting operations at North Main Divide along Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 53 Two dozers cut a fire line next to flames at North Main Divide along Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 53 Afternoon winds fan flames close to a home north of Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 53 Firefighter Jon Polansky rest after working an overnight shift at a lookout on Ortega Highway above Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 53 Kai Cano rest after working an overnight shift at lookout on Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 53 Firefighters watch for flareups as they prevent the flames from the Holy fire from crossing the Ortega Highway in Lake Elsinore. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 53 Firefighters conduct a burn operation to remove fuel around homes on Grand Avenue as the Holy fire grows to more than 10,000 acres. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 53 Fire crews watch as a helicopter makes a water drop on a flareup as they prevent the Holy fire from crossing the Ortega Highway above Lake Elsinore. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 53 The Holy fire, which has grown to more than 10,000 acres, is reflected off the water of Lake Elsinore. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 53 Jeff Itschner, 43, sprays water on the bushes at his in-laws’ home on Amorose Street near Leach Canyon in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 53 A helicopter makes a water drop on burning brush on a hill across from homes in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 53 Manuel Trujillo packs his belongings as flames from the Holy fire approach his Lake Elsinore neighborhood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 53 Firefighters struggle to keep the Holy fire from jumping Lincoln Street toward homes in Lake Elsinore. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 53 Residents evacuate the 29000 block of Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore as the Holy fire approaches homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 53 Flames come close to homes in the 29000 block of Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 53 Worried residents watch as flames advance toward their homes on Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 53 Stephanie Caceres packs her belongings into her car as the Holy fire approaches homes on Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 53 Cal Fire’s Mario Gonzalez keeps an eye on the Holy fire raging near homes in Leach Canyon. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 53 An air tanker fights the Holy fire, which forced more evacuations of neighborhoods in the Lake Elsinore area Wednesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 53 The Holy fire on Wednesday approaches Lake Elsinore’s McVicker Canyon neighborhood, which is under mandatory evacuation orders. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 53 Two men monitor the Holy fire from a rooftop as it approaches the McVicker Canyon neighborhood in Lake Elsinore. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 53 The Trabuco Canyon home of arson suspect Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, stands untouched amid charred remains in his neighborhood. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 53 Chris O’Neal, a video journalist from Laguna Niguel, is silhouetted by a smoke-obscured sun as a fire helicopter keeps an eye on the Holy fire approaching McVicker Canyon. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 53 The Holy fire reached very close to homes in a Lake Elsinore neighborhood forcing evacuation and deployment large air tankers. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 53 The Holy fire burns toward homes in a Lake Elsinore neighborhood, forcing evacuation orders and the deployment of large air tankers. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 53 Smoke from the Holy fire darkens the sky over the Glen Ivy Golf Club as the blaze burns on the mountain ridges around Corona. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 53 The Holy fire in the Cleveland National Forest pushed closer to some homes Wednesday, prompting a new round of mandatory evacuations. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 53 Lester and Blanca Fronk watch for planes fighting the Holy Fire in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 53 Felipe Montiel fishes at Lake Elsinore as the Holy fire reflects across the water while burning in the Cleveland National Forest above homes in Lake Elsinore. (Los Angeles Times) 50 / 53 U.S. Forest Service fire crews make their way to the Holy fire, burning on mountain ridges in the Cleveland National Forest near Corona. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 53 Bob Tyler clears his driveway covered by ashes from Holy Fire falling on his neighborhood of 11000 block of Kingbird Drive in Corona. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 53 A plane drops fire retardant on the Holy fire burning in Cleveland National Forest above a home in Lake Elsinore on Aug. 7. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 53 A man prepares to fish as smoke rises from the Holy fire in the Cleveland National Forest in Lake Elsinore on Aug. 6. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) Advertisement Authorities say the Holy fire was intentionally set. Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of felony arson, one count of felony threat to terrorize and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest in connection with the ignition of the blaze. It was not immediately clear how the fire was set.<doc-sep>The US National Weather Service says smoke from weeks of California wildfires, and others burning in the western US, has drifted over a vast area, affecting air quality "across the northern Rockies into western and central Canada and south over the northern Plains".<doc-sep>
New mandatory evacuations were ordered for the Lake Elsinore area Thursday afternoon as the Holy fire continued burning closer to homes in Riverside County. Evacuations were ordered for all homes on the mountain side of Lake Street and southwest of Grand Avenue to Ortega Highway, according to fire officials. The orders came as fire crews battled to stop flames from entering the previously evacuated neighborhood of McVicker Park, and hours after a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection mechanic assigned to the Carr fire died in a vehicle crash in Tehama County. The death was the eighth fatality connected to the furious blaze that has scorched roughly 177,000 acres in Northern California, officials said. The victim, described as a heavy equipment mechanic, died in a crash on Highway 99, Cal Fire said in a statement. The crash happened at 12:17 a.m. after a Dodge Ram 5500 veered off the highway’s right shoulder and slammed into a tree, according to Officer Ken Reineman of the California Highway Patrol’s Red Bluff station. The vehicle caught fire, and the victim has not been publicly identified, Reineman said. The Thursday morning wreck led to the eighth death connected to the Carr fire, which has proved to be the most lethal of the year. Four Redding residents, a Redding firefighter, a bulldozer operator and a Pacific Gas & Electric utility worker also have died in connection with the blaze, which has destroyed more than 1,000 homes, officials have said. As the Carr fire has moved deeper into the forest and away from structures in Redding, firefighter commanders have routinely warned of the dangers of driving on roadways clogged by a growing number of emergency personnel in the area. For days, the streets in western Redding and the rural communities along the Sacramento River have been a gantlet for law enforcement and firefighters who have had to negotiate the sometimes-narrow winding roads that are half-blocked by massive PG&E trucks. Firefighters roam road shoulders patrolling for hot spots, while day by day, more Shasta County residents return to the area. “The biggest hazard for this operational period is going to be driving,” Carr fire public safety officer Baraka Carter told firefighters at a morning briefing earlier this week. “With the number of resources we have assigned to this incident, the number of utility companies that are actively engaged and the number of residents we are [repopulating,] that number is going to increase tenfold.” The mechanic’s death came as firefighters across the state continue to battle more than a dozen wildfires that have scorched more than 600,000 acres, bolstered by an extremely warm July and years of drought that have left underbrush ripe to burn. In Southern California, the Holy fire had grown to 9,614 acres by Thursday morning, continuing to burn areas of Orange and Riverside counties as it crept toward canyon homes, officials said. Firefighters have achieved only 5% containment, Cleveland National Forest officials said on Twitter, though fire crews are hoping favorable weather conditions over the weekend will help them stem the fire’s advance. Evacuations have been ordered in McVicker Canyon, Rice Canyon, Horsethief Canyon, El Cariso, Rancho Capistrano, Indian Canyon, Glen Eden, Sycamore Creek and Mayhew Canyon, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Ortega Highway corridor from Lookout Roadhouse to Nichols Institute also was included in the evacuation order. RELATED: Ready for an evacuation? What you might want to think about packing » Police said Wednesday the blaze may have begun as an act of arson. Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of felony arson and making a threat to terrorize in connection with the ignition of the Holy fire. On Thursday, the Orange County district attorney’s office announced that Clark had been charged with one felony count each of aggravated arson of five or more inhabited structures; arson of inhabited property; arson of forest; criminal threats; two felony counts of resisting and deterring an executive officer; and a sentencing enhancement for arson burning multiple structures. He faces up to life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors, who said the fire has damaged or destroyed at least 14 homes. Clark’s arraignment was delayed Thursday and could take place Friday, according to Rebecca Moss, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. Clark was scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon, but that was postponed a day when he refused to leave his jail cell, according to officials. It was not clear whether Clark had retained an attorney.