Firefighters braced for another day of high temperatures as they continued to battle a 4,000-acre brush fire in the Cleveland National Forest that forced evacuations in two Orange County canyons.
The Holy fire was moving rapidly into the forest, which straddles Orange and Riverside counties. One structure was destroyed, said Shannon Widor, spokesman for the Orange County Emergency Operations Center. The fire was 2% contained as of Tuesday morning.
About 600 personnel were involved in the battle, and authorities reported two heat-related injuries. Numerous roads and campgrounds were closed.
Excessive heat and red flag warnings were issued for parts of Southern California on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach the 90s around the fire zone.
The blaze was visible from as far away as Catalina Island, producing a towering plume of thick smoke. Authorities ordered evacuations in Holy Jim Canyon, the Trabuco Canyon residence tract, and the Blue Jay and Falcon campgrounds.
Firefighters were battling the fire with water-dropping aircraft, and officials have said that more evacuations in additional Orange County foothill areas were possible. Although the fire was burning away from suburban tracts, officials set up a strike team in the Robinson Ranch area in case of a shift. Officials emphasized Tuesday that Robinson Ranch was not immediately threatened.
Both Holy Jim and Trabuco canyons are rural areas dotted with cabins and larger homes. The fire broke out at about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
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A firefighter douses hot spots in the McVicker Canyon neighborhood of Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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A bird perches on a rock Saturday morning at a lookout on Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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People watch as the Holy fire rages on a mountainside in Temescal Valley. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Helicopters make drops near homes threatened by the Holy fire in Lake Elsinore. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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The charred remains of vehicles lie along Ortega Highway on Saturday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Residents keep watch Friday night as the Holy fire burns out of control in the hillsides above Temescal Valley. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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Fire retardant paints a Lakeland Village neighborhood pink in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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An air tanker drops a load of water to save a home in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A helicopter fighting the Holy fire drops water on flames at North Main Divide along Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Residents and law enforcement wear breathing mask to avoid the thick smoke created by Holy Fire in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Chief Mark Lamont, center, oversees firefighting operations at North Main Divide along Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Two dozers cut a fire line next to flames at North Main Divide along Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Afternoon winds fan flames close to a home north of Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighter Jon Polansky rest after working an overnight shift at a lookout on Ortega Highway above Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Kai Cano rest after working an overnight shift at lookout on Ortega Highway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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A helicopter makes a water drop on burning brush on a hill across from homes in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Manuel Trujillo packs his belongings as flames from the Holy fire approach his Lake Elsinore neighborhood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters struggle to keep the Holy fire from jumping Lincoln Street toward homes in Lake Elsinore. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Residents evacuate the 29000 block of Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore as the Holy fire approaches homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Flames come close to homes in the 29000 block of Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Worried residents watch as flames advance toward their homes on Sandpiper Drive in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Cal Fire’s Mario Gonzalez keeps an eye on the Holy fire raging near homes in Leach Canyon. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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An air tanker fights the Holy fire, which forced more evacuations of neighborhoods in the Lake Elsinore area Wednesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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The Holy fire on Wednesday approaches Lake Elsinore’s McVicker Canyon neighborhood, which is under mandatory evacuation orders. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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The Trabuco Canyon home of arson suspect Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, stands untouched amid charred remains in his neighborhood. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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Lester and Blanca Fronk watch for planes fighting the Holy Fire in Lake Elsinore. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
Meteorologists issued red flag warnings in the Los Angeles area, where temperatures will reach triple digits in several neighborhoods and cities early in the week.
The Holy fire comes as firefighters in Northern California continue to fight several monster blazes.
FULL COVERAGE: California’s summer siege of wildfires »
The Mendocino Complex fire is now the largest wildfire on record in California as it continues to grow in Lake County, officials said.
The Ranch and River fires, which make up the fire, had grown to 283,800 acres as of Monday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze was only 30% contained as of 7 p.m.
There are 18 large wildfires burning across California now, scarring a combined 559,000 acres, officials have said. In Redding, the Carr fire has claimed seven lives and more than 1,000 homes while growing to 163,207 acres, making it the 12th-largest wildfire in state history, Cal Fire officials said in a statement.
Fire officials are also concerned about the growth of the Donnell fire, which has spread to 12,000 acres since it ignited last week in the Stanislaus National Forest. The fire began along the Stanislaus River and has triggered mandatory evacuations, but like several other blazes around the state, the fire is in steep terrain that has made containment efforts difficult, according to a release from the U.S. Forest Service. The blaze was only at 1% containment as of Sunday night.
UPDATES:
11:05 a.m.: This article was updated with containment numbers.
8:40 a.m., Aug. 7: This article was updated with a revised weather forecast.
8:20 p.m.: This article was updated with revised statistics on the Mendocino Complex fire.
7:45 p.m. This article was updated with preparations in Robinson Ranch.
6:40 p.m.: This article was updated with numbers on personnel and injuries.
4:50 p.m.: This article was updated to reflect that a structure was destroyed.
4:20 p.m.: This article was updated with new details on the fire’s size and evacuation orders.
3:40 p.m.: This article was updated was updated with new details.
2:55 p.m.: This article was updated was updated with evacuations and information about other fires.
This story was originally posted at 2:15 p.m., Aug. 6.
