No emergency outages after Santa Ana winds prompted Southern California fire danger warnings for a second day.
The fire in Santa Ana, just south of Los Angeles, was declared a “fire danger” Tuesday afternoon from the Santa Ana wind forecast.
The forecast wind speeds are expected to move into the foothills around Santa Fe this weekend.
More than 4,000 firefighters were battling the blaze which consumed thousands of trees and thousands of acres of brush, officials said.
On Monday the fire was declared a “0-3” (0% containment) and “fire danger” due to wind and terrain.
The fire has destroyed about 300 acres and is 25% contained about 200 acres. The containment line is about 50% across the fire, but the wind is bringing it closer to the fire.
Fire damage on Monday included the loss of 30 homes and 2,600 acres of trees, plus nearly 10,000 smaller buildings and 2,000 residences threatened by the fire.
The fire has burned more than 2 square miles, making it one of the largest in Orange County history, officials said.
The fire was listed as “active” Tuesday afternoon.
The fire, dubbed the “Santa Ana wind fire” by the Ventura County Fire Department, started last Thursday in the Santa Ana National Forest. It was first reported around 4:30 p.m. and burned more than 9,000 acres in the first six days.
The fire was brought under control Saturday with the help of air tankers, helicopters, and other firefighting resources, according to Chief Jerry Bonneau of the Santa Ana Fire Department. Bonneau told CNN the fire had been contained to about 800 acres.
The fire forced the evacuation of homes because of the high fire danger, according to the Santa Ana Fire Department. Santa Ana has been experiencing winds of up to 35 mph and gusts of up to 40 mph, according to CNN affiliate KABC.
More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze on Saturday and Monday, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department told CNN station KABC.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued a “red flag” warning as winds grew around Southern California Monday afternoon. The fire had jumped a highway into the California Highway Patrol’
