Santiago Fire

Last updated

Santiago Fire
Part of the Fall 2007 California firestorm
SantiagoFireFromAV.jpg
Date(s)
  • October 21, 2007 (2007-10-21)
  • November 9, 2007 (2007-11-09)
LocationSouth Orange County, California
Coordinates 33°44′56″N117°40′19″W / 33.748833493954166°N 117.67193611186944°W / 33.748833493954166; -117.67193611186944
Statistics [1]
Burned area28,445 acres (115 km2)
Impacts
DeathsNone reported
Non-fatal injuries16 firefighters
Structures destroyed16 residential structures
9 outbuildings
DamageAt least $21.6 million (2007 USD)
Ignition
Cause Arson
Perpetrator(s) Arsonist

The Santiago Fire was a wildfire located near Santiago Canyon in Orange County, California, U.S., and one of thirty California wildfires of October 2007. The fire was intentionally started. [2]

Contents

The Fire

The blaze originated near Santiago Canyon Road at the border of Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon at 5:55 p.m. on October 21, 2007, [3] and burned approximately 28,445 acres (115 km2). [3] The flames threatened roughly 750 homes located throughout canyons in the area, including both Santiago and Silverado Canyon, Live Oak Canyon, Holy Jim Canyon, Modjeska Canyon, and Trabuco Canyon, among others. Twelve houses were destroyed in Santiago Canyon. In Foothill Ranch, the Santiago Canyon Estates, and Portola Hills, the fire reached the back yards of houses, but no homes were destroyed in those three neighborhoods.

The fire was fully contained on November 9, after reaching 28,400 acres (115 km2). [1] [3] According to Mike Rohde, a battalion chief with the Orange County Fire Authority, controlling the fire depended solely on the wind, saying at the time, "If the wind stays normal, everything will be fine." Had it not, it would have been a "totally different story." [4]

The fire moved into the Cleveland National Forest and crossed the path of the Santa Ana Mountains, singeing the slopes. According to the 1,100 firefighters who battled the blaze, the air conditions changed from the tumultuous Santa Ana winds to lower temperatures, more humidity, and more gentle onshore winds. The fire affected Irvine, Santiago Canyon, Silverado Canyon, Modjeska Canyon, Trabuco Canyon, Foothill Ranch, and Portola Hills. [4]

Response

Firefighters battle the blaze Firefighters battle a blaze SoCal October 2007.jpg
Firefighters battle the blaze

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in several California counties where fires were ongoing. [5] President George W. Bush furthered the response effort in the state by ordering federal assistance to aid with state and local efforts. [6] The firemen were aided by units of the United States Armed Forces [7] and United States National Guard. [8]

A $250,000 reward is offered to anyone with information on the suspected arsonist(s), as the fire has been confirmed as being initiated by arson with two separate points of origin. [9] According to Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather, "The person or people who did this are exceptionally lucky or they have some knowledge of when they can do the most damage when you set a fire." [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Ana Mountains</span> Mountain range in California, United States

The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 61 miles (98 km) southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trabuco Canyon, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Trabuco Canyon is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverado, California</span> Unincorporated community in Orange County, California, United States

Silverado is an unincorporated community in Silverado Canyon, which is located in the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California. Portions of the town sit on a former Mexican land grant Rancho Lomas de Santiago. Silverado is located at the boundaries of Cleveland National Forest. The site is a California Historical Landmark, and is located near the village site of Puhú.

The Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 was a massive wildfire in California, which burned large parts of Orange County, Riverside County, and San Diego County during the last week of September 1889. The fire reportedly started in Fremont Canyon, a canyon close to what today is Irvine Lake. Until 2018, it was possibly the single largest wildfire in the recorded history of California, with at least 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land burned. In mid-August 2018, the Ranch Fire in the Mendocino Complex Fire surpassed the Santiago Canyon Fire's assumed acreage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modjeska Canyon, California</span> Unincorporated community in Orange County, California, United States

Modjeska Canyon is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) on the western slope of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California. It is a suburban community of several hundred residents, with a small park and a volunteer fire station. The ZIP Code is 92676, and the community is inside area code 714.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County Fire Authority</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modjeska Peak</span> Stream in the American state of California

Modjeska Peak is the northern mountain of the Saddleback landform in Orange County California. It is the second-highest peak of the Santa Ana Mountains, after Santiago Peak, whose summit is less than 0.6 mi (0.97 km) to the northwest. Modjeska lies within Cleveland National Forest and, despite being shorter than Santiago, has a smaller peak without manmade structures to obstruct views of the Pacific Ocean and San Gabriel Mountains.

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The 2007 California wildfire season saw at least 9,093 separate wildfires that charred 1,520,362 acres (6,152.69 km2) of land. Thirty of those wildfires were part of the Fall 2007 California firestorm, which burned approximately 972,147 acres of land from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border. At the peak of the wildfire activity in October 2007, the raging wildfires were visible from space.

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Santiago Creek is a major watercourse in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. About 34 miles (55 km) long, it drains most of the northern Santa Ana Mountains and is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. It is one of the longest watercourses entirely within the county. The creek shares its name with Santiago Peak, at 5,687 ft (1,733 m) the highest point in Orange County, on whose slopes its headwaters rise.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverado Fire</span> 2020 wildfire in Southern California

The Silverado Fire was a wildfire that burned in October and November 2020 in southern Orange County, California northeast of Irvine. The fire started on October 26 around 6:47 AM near Orange County Route S-18 and Silverado Canyon Road, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds gusting up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) and low humidity. Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy stated, "The winds were extraordinary even by Santa Ana standards. Fire spread is exceeding more than anything I've seen in my 44 years." The fire initially moved south from Loma Ridge toward the Orchard Hills, Northwood and Portola Springs communities of Irvine before moving southeast through Limestone Canyon and toward the communities of Foothill Ranch and Lake Forest. The fire burned in a path similar to that taken by the 2007 Santiago Fire, mostly through terrain that had not seen significant burning in the 13 years since that fire. 100% containment was announced on November 7, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bond Fire</span> 2020 wildfire in Southern California

The Bond Fire was a wildfire that burned 6,686 acres (2,706 ha) in the Santiago Canyon area of Orange County, California in December 2020. The fire caused evacuations of 25,000 residents and injured 2 firefighters. The fire was very close to the burn scar of the Silverado Fire, which took place in October 2020.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Santiago Fire Incident Information". CalFire. November 9, 2007. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  2. "Officials: Arson Behind Santiago Fire". CBS News . October 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 "Santiago Incident". Orange County Fire Authority. October 27, 2007. Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 Anton, Mike; Barboza, Tony; Wilson, Janet (October 26, 2007). "In Silverado Canyon, a new cliffhanger". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  5. Archibold, Randal C. (October 22, 2007). "Residents Flee Wildfires in S. California". The New York Times . Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  6. "Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for California" (Press release). The White House. October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  7. "Six Navy copter crews helping fight wildfires". The San Diego Union-Tribune . October 22, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  8. "Military helps fight fires while personnel evacuated". CNN . October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  9. "Fire chief: 25,000-acre blaze was set". CNN. October 26, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.