World News – United States – Wind-blown fire in eastern Orange County forces 60,000 to evacuate

Tens of thousands of residents are on evacuation orders as firefighters attack a wind-driven brush fire that started early Monday and quickly spread to Orange region of Santiago County Canyon

The fire started around 7 a.m. and, fueled by high winds, spread to over 500 acres about three hours later near the Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads The fire was estimated to be about 2,000 acres without containment at 10:45 am

Water-dropping helicopters were at the scene, but strong gusts of wind could mean the plane could come to a stop Teams were filling up with water near Lake Irvine

The fire skipped Route 241, forcing the closure of Route 241 and other nearby roads

Smoke drifted over what appeared to be a new housing project west of Route 241

The GOES-17 satellite image shows the smoke from the #SilveradoFire in OC, as well as the dust blown out in the rest of the region Some of the dust is ash from the Bobcat Fire @NBCLA picTwittercom / q7MHP7VeEI

Mandatory evacuations for Orchard Hills on Irvine Boulevard and from Bake Parkway to Jamboree Road were issued around 9 a.m. Approximately 60,000 people are on evacuation order Click here for a map of evacuations

« Orchard Hills will soon be placed on evacuation order Residents north of #Irvine Boulevard will receive an evacuation ‘warning’, tweeted Anthony Kuo, Irvine City Council member

Smoke can be seen for miles, including from Irvine, Newport Beach and other areas

The fire broke out on a day of red flag alert which will remain in effect until Tuesday Wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph are possible in some mountain passes

Historically, October is one of the worst months of the year for California wildfires, largely due to months of drought and strong fall winds. But by 2020, the state has already experienced five of its six biggest forest fires in August and September

As of Sunday there were 20 major wildfires in California More than 4 million acres burned this year, far exceeding any previous annual total on record

Orange County, Silverado, Irvine, Southern California, Emergency Evacuation, Forest Fire