As the airport fire rages near their homes, residents of the eastern foothills of South Orange County spent the past day wondering if it was time to leave.
Some communities were ordered to evacuate, but many residents remained in place for now, hoping firefighters could keep the flames away from their neighborhoods.
Steve Kilgore stood outside his Raintree home with a pair of binoculars, watching the flames devour the brush along the ridge above his neighborhood.
Kilgore was among a group of neighbors on his street who decided to stay despite evacuation orders. The neighbors worked in shifts throughout the night to monitor the fire.
Kilgore has packed his truck with essentials and family photos and is ready to flee if the wind turns.
Residents of Trabuco Canyon, California, evacuate with their luggage and pets Tuesday as the airport fire prompts evacuations.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“There’s something horrible about leaving your home in that situation,” he said. “It defies logic. I’ve never had to do a 20- to 30-minute assessment of every precious thing in our lives.”
Michael Bernardin, 62, was not at home when the fire broke out Monday afternoon.
When he returned to his Robinson Ranch neighborhood, the road into the community was already blocked. He parked at a nearby strip mall and walked the half-mile to his house in the heat. He packed two suitcases — everything he could carry — and grabbed his dogs, Pepper and Honey Noodles. He returned a second time to grab more things, not knowing when his family would be able to return home.
“One of the suitcases was so loaded that I don’t think we could have checked it on a plane,” he said. “It was hot and I had a hard time carrying it.”
On Tuesday morning, Bernardin and his wife, Roseann, made the trip back to their home after spending the night in San Clemente. They plan to stay put unless fire conditions change, he said.
In the 27 years they’ve lived in the area, there have been a few fires, but this is the first time they’ve had to evacuate, he said.
“I didn’t sleep much last night,” he said.
Trabuco Canyon resident Marilynn Reideler drove her Ford F150 truck through the neighborhood, accompanying residents as they struggled up the hill with heavy suitcases and bags.
“It’s still hot and it’s a long walk,” she said.
Despite evacuation orders, many residents, including Reideler, decided to wait and watch the fire progress before committing to leaving.
Robert McCoy happily agreed to board the plane mid-morning, when temperatures hit 27 degrees Celsius. He and his wife had left on Monday out of an abundance of caution, but now felt safe to return.
“The fire department is on it,” said McCoy, 61. “I wanted to stay [Monday]but [my wife] “I was nervous.”
The fire started shortly before 1:30 p.m. Monday near a Trabuco Canyon field for remote-controlled aircraft and quickly grew out of control. At least 3,800 acres have burned, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department urged residents living along Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook’s Corner to evacuate. Homes in the Robinson Ranch and Trabuco Highlands communities in Trabuco Canyon were under mandatory evacuation orders. The Trabuco Highland apartment complex was also under mandatory evacuation orders.
On Tuesday afternoon, residents watched from their driveways as helicopters dumped thousands of gallons of water on the burning hillside.
So far, the fire has been burning uphill, away from housing developments. But Tuesday afternoon, evacuation warnings were issued for communities in Riverside County, in the mountains, where the fire was headed.
Times reporter Summer Lin contributed to this report.
