Airport Fire

Airport Fire
The fire as seen from Lake Forest during the early hours of September 10, 2024
Date(s)	September 9, 2024 (2024-09-09) – present (61 days)
Location	Orange County & Riverside County, Southern California, United States
Coordinates	33.667°N 117.566°W / 33.667; -117.566
Statistics
Perimeter	62% contained
Burned area	23,519 acres (9,518 ha; 37 sq mi; 95 km2)
Impacts
Non-fatal injuries	13 Firefighters, 2 Civilians
Structures destroyed	160 (34 damaged)
Ignition
Cause	Equipment use
Map
General location of the fire in Greater Los Angeles The general location of the fire in California

The Airport Fire is an active wildfire in Orange and Riverside counties in Southern California. As of September 20, 2024, the fire has burned 23,519 acres (9,518 ha) and is 62 percent contained. 20,780 structures are still threatened by the fire.

The fire began accidentally on September 9 in the unincorporated community of Trabuco Canyon while Orange County Public Works employees were conducting fire prevention measures. The blaze spread towards the city of Rancho Santa Margarita and eastward into the Santa Ana Mountains, where it crossed over the ridge of Santiago Peak into Riverside County.

The Airport Fire forced mandatory evacuation orders in various Southern California communities, particularly in Lake Elsinore and along Ortega Highway where many structures were damaged or destroyed. The incident happened concurrently with the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles County, straining available firefighting resources and creating a smoky, unhealthy air quality that reached as far as Las Vegas. California governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to the fires.

Cause

The fire as seen from Stonegate Elementary School in Irvine

The Airport Fire was unintentionally ignited by an Orange County public works crew using heavy equipment in Trabuco Canyon. Two employees were moving and emplacing large boulders as barriers on Trabuco Creek Road, with the intention of preventing the public—primarily motorcyclists—from accessing a part of the canyon filled with dry brush because of the high fire danger. During this work, the employees noticed smoke coming from their vehicle's loader basket. They called 911 and attempted to put out the fire using extinguishers, but were unsuccessful. The Orange County Fire Authority classified the fire's cause as "unintentional".

Progression

The fire began around 1:00 p.m. on September 9 in the Trabuco Canyon near the Trabuco Flyers Club, a radio-remote controlled aviation club the fire was named for. By 10:00 p.m., the fire had burned approximately 5,432 acres (2,198 ha).

Effects

Evacuations

On September 9, the first day of the fire, the Orange County Sheriff's Department enforced mandatory evacuation orders in the Robinson Ranch and Trabuco Highlands neighborhoods of Rancho Santa Margarita, the closest city to the fire's origin point. The authority also issued voluntary evacuation warnings for several Trabuco Canyon neighborhoods north of the origin point. On September 10, the blaze grew from 1,900 acres to 19,028 acres and spread into Riverside County, threatening over 10,000 structures in both counties and prompting new evacuation orders for 45 rural zones in the eastern Santa Ana foothills near Lake Elsinore and Temescal Valley. On September 12, authorities lifted the mandatory evacuations in Rancho Santa Margarita and allowed residents to return home; new orders were put in place along the Orange County portion of Ortega Highway the same day. On September 13, Cal Fire Riverside reduced the county's mandatory evacuation area to 14 zones.

Air quality

A NASA image of smoke from California wildfires on September 10, including the Bridge Fire (left), Line Fire (right), and the Airport Fire (bottom)

The Airport Fire produced a large pyrocumulus cloud, worsening the air quality in the immediate area and nearby population centers in Orange and Riverside counties. During the fire, the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory in Southern California and rated the air quality as "hazardous", the worst possible rating on its scale.

The Airport Fire burned concurrently with the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles County, creating a combined cloud over the Greater Los Angeles and Inland Empire regions of Southern California. Winds blowing east carried the smoke as far as Las Vegas, creating a thick enough haze to delay flights at Harry Reid International Airport.

Property damage

Damage assessment teams were limited in the initial days of the fire as conditions remained too dangerous to provide access to areas inside the burn zone. On September 13, fire authorities acknowledged several instances of structure damage and loss throughout the fire's path and reported that teams were working on compiling a full report. As of September 15, 2024, Cal Fire has reported 152 structures destroyed and an additional 31 damaged.

Injuries

As of September 15, 2024, Cal Fire has reported two civilian and 12 firefighter injuries, all minor and most stemming from heat-related causes. No deaths were reported.

Growth and containment table

Fire containment status Gray: contained; Red: active; %: percent contained;

Date	Area burned	Personnel	Containment
Sep 9	1,900 acres (7.7 km2)	-	0%
Sep 10	19,028 acres (77.00 km2)	629	0%
Sep 11	22,376 acres (90.55 km2)	629	0%
Sep 12	23,410 acres (94.7 km2)	771	5%
Sep 13	23,410 acres (94.7 km2)	771	8%
Sep 14	23,519 acres (95.18 km2)	1,949	19%

See also

• Glossary of wildfire terms
• List of California wildfires
• 2024 California wildfires