LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday afternoon after a wildfire fanned by gusty winds erupted in hills on the Southern California coast and burned near homes earlier in the day.
The fire, spurred on by Santa Ana winds, burned near a gated community in Laguna Beach, about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The blaze, dubbed the Emerald Fire, broke out as Southern California is in the grip of a winter heat wave. High winds were blowing through the area when the fire started around 4 a.m.
Several hundred residents fled their homes before winds subsided and an influx of firefighters and aircraft slowed the Emerald Fire. Officials said about 150 acres burned but no homes were lost. The cause was under investigation.
The blaze was 10% contained by 3 p.m.
The city of Laguna Beach issued an order to immediately evacuate Emerald Bay and the Irvine Cove area. The orders were lifted about 3 p.m., but a voluntary evacuation warning for all of North Laguna, which includes all residents north of Broadway, remains in place
Four air tankers responded to the fire, along with five water-dropping helicopters, more than 75 engines, eight strike teams and five hand crews, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said.
Fennessy said arson investigators were on the scene where the fire started. He confirmed that there were power lines in the area but added that he would not speculate on the cause.
“The fire was on the side of a hill. The way fire spreads, I’d imagine it started somewhere below that. There were wires in the area but I don’t know,” he said.
Pacific Coast Highway was closed in both directions due to the fire but has since reopened.
Schools in the North Laguna will resume classes Friday after they were canceled Thursday.
Laguna Beach, population 23,000, lies along a coastline of picturesque beaches and coves that draw millions of tourists every year. In 1993, a wind-driven fire in the same area destroyed more than 300 homes and damaged more than 500 others.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate KTLA contributed to this report.
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