Scroll down to the end of the story for a brief update and some photos. A brush fire broke out in Silverado Canyon late this morning. State and county firefighters are working to contain the flames with the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service, which has jurisdiction over the Cleveland National Forest.
According to CBS, the fire was reported around 10:50 a.m. in the 30000 block of Silverado Canyon Road. According to officials, Santiago Canyon Road has been closed and the 241/261 highway interchange, has been closed in the Cleveland National Forest.
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So far, the flames appear to be contained in a wilderness area, and no homes are being threatened. Fox News is reporting that the fire is mostly burning uphill in the mountains and that the winds are relatively light. Four helicopters and two water tanker airplanes are participating in the effort to contain the flames.
“Hopefully it's just going to burn to the top of the ridge,” one fire official told Fox. “But we have to prepare for contingency situations.”
The Weekly's intrepid Charles Lam is on-scene. As of 1:30 p.m., he reports that the fire, which started out at 100 acres, has now consumed 350 acres of brush. He also confirmed that no homes are threatened. Fire officials are saying that when the flames reach the ridge, they'll douse it with water; meanwhile they are busy cutting multiple fire lines. The terrain is so steep in some places that only air drops will be feasible. Finally, Lam reports, given the remoteness of the fire, no evacuation is underway.
See photos from the fire on the following page.
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. Twitter: @NickSchou. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
Award-winning investigative journalist Nick Schou is Editor of OC Weekly. He is the author of Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb (Nation Books 2006), which provided the basis for the 2014 Focus Features release starring Jeremy Renner and the L.A. Times-bestseller Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love’s Quest to bring Peace, Love and Acid to the World, (Thomas Dunne 2009). He is also the author of The Weed Runners (2013) and Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood (2016).