Norte Fire in Orange County forces home evacuations as blaze grows

A wildfire exploded in Orange County on Friday, forcing evacuations as it burned several homes and threatened dozens more.

The Norte Fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the San Clemente area, growing to 465 acres in about three hours, according to the Orange County Fire Authority and CalFire.

The OCFA later confirmed that six homes had been damaged or destroyed in the blaze, having earlier cited four “impacted” homes off Via La Mira in San Juan Capistrano.

Two firefighters were hurt, but the extent of their injuries was unknown.

Aerial footage from KTLA showed several homes burning as the fire appeared to threaten several more.

“Crews are aggressively attacking the fire from the ground and air. Please continue to avoid the area,” CalFire wrote in an update.

Evacuation orders were issued for San Juan Zones 4, 5, and 10 as well as San Clemente Zones 12 and 13.

Evacuation shelters were set up at the San Juan Capistrano Community Center and the San Clemente Community Center.

Heat, strong winds, and dry conditions were fueling the blaze as firefighters and aerial support worked to stop its spread.

Nine schools in the Capistrano Unified School District dismissed students early due to the blaze, after earlier telling students to stay indoors due to the smoke.

San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler told KTLA the city had been making preparations for a fire.

“We actually instituted a goat program about a year ago, a pilot program to have goats start clearing our hillsides,” he said.

“The county supplied a pumpkin tank at the top of our ridge, which allows helicopters to come in and resupply their water quickly.”

The fire was one of several burning in Southern California on Friday.

The Bryson Fire was ripping through the hills north of Malibu, burning 147 acres as of early Friday evening.

The blaze burned just north of Encinal Canyon Road and was threatening the LA County juvenile detention facility Camp Fred Miller to its east and the Malibu Country Club to its west.

Malibu officials were not aware of any homes damaged or destroyed by the fire. One firefighter was under unknown circumstances.

The city remains still under a Red Flag Warning and a heat advisory until Saturday at 8 p.m.

Ongoing Red Flag Warnings in effect across much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties have signaled ideal conditions for fires to break out.

Meanwhile, the Henderson Fire near Camp Pendleton in San Diego had scorched more than 2,000 acres as of early Friday evening, with 17% containment.

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