A 6,200-acre wildfire in the Cleveland National Forest that was allegedly intentionally set by an Orange County man approached subdivisions on the west of end of Lake Elsinore Wednesday, prompting mandatory evacuations and the closure of a highway between Orange and Riverside counties.
The Holy Fire made a downhill run toward the El Cariso and McVicker Park communities, leading authorities to call in air strikes to protect the residential areas, which abut federal land. U.S. Forest Service rangers also requested additional strike teams from the Riverside County Fire Department to deploy for structure protection.
Along with El Cariso and McVicker, the following communities were covered by the mandatory evacuation order: Blue Jay campground, Glen Eden, Horsethief Canyon, Indian Canyon, Mayhew Canyon, Rancho Capistrano, Rice Canyon and Sycamore Creek.
More than a dozen air tankers and helicopters swarmed the airspace, making runs on the blaze from multiple directions to keep the flames away from homes.
Caltrans ordered the complete closure of the Ortega (74) Highway, portions of which had already been shut down, because of the proximity of the brush fire to the two-lane corridor. By 3 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers had implemented the closure from Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore to the Nichols Institute entrance in San Juan Capistrano, covering about 28 miles.
Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga recommended that motorists use the Riverside (91) Freeway and state Route 76 as alternates.
Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, was arrested Tuesday and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to jail records. USFS officials said Clark was booked on suspicion of two counts of felony arson, one felony count of threat to terrorize and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.
During a briefing, Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Shane Sherwood said the fire began “around and near” Clark’s cabin in Holy Jim Canyon. He declined to comment on specifics that led to the suspect’s arrest, other than saying witness statements and “physical findings” at the scene led to the belief Clark ignited the massive blaze.
Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Milligan, who also lives in the area, told the Orange County Register that Clark has long feuded with a neighbor and other cabin owners. He ran through the area last week screaming, and sent Milligan an email warning that “this place will burn,” Milligan said.
Clark is tentatively expected to appear in court Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said he’s expected to be charged with aggravated arson affecting multiple structures, criminal threats and resisting an executive officer — charges that could bring a life prison sentence.
The Holy Fire is being fed by thick, tinder-dry brush that hasn’t burned in nearly four decades.
The fire was reported about 1:15 p.m. Monday near Holy Jim Canyon and Trabuco Creek roads, OCFA Capt. Tony Bommarito said. It was only 5 percent contained Wednesday afternoon.
About 385 firefighters were battling the blaze. With wildfires throughout the state, the firefighting personnel has been spread thin, Bommarito said.
Firefighters had been particularly worried about the northeast flank, where the flames were a few miles away from homes, said Kathy Kramer, a spokeswoman for the unified fire management team led by the Cleveland National Forest and the Riverside branch of Cal Fire.
All campgrounds in the Trabuco Ranger District were closed and forest road closures were in effect for Trabuco Creek, Maple Springs, North Main Divide, Bedford and Indian Truck Trail.
A care and reception center was established at Temescal Canyon High School on El Toro Road in Lake Elsinore.
Small animals can be evacuated to Animal Friends of the Valley at 33751 Mission Trail in Wildomar. Elsinore High School at 21800 Canyon Drive was also open to people needing to drop off both small and large pets. Information was available at (951) 674-0618 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or (951) 506-5069 between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Two firefighters were treated for heat-related injuries Monday.
A U.S. Forest Service spokesman said a dozen cabins in Clark’s neighborhood had burned. But the Orange County Register reported that Clark’s cabin had been spared.
Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer had harsh words for Clark, saying that if he is convicted he “needs to suffer the fullest punishment of the law.”
“This is a monster,” Spitzer said. “Who would go out with low humidity and high winds and the highest heat temperatures this time of the year and intentionally set the forest on fire? … He’s literally destroyed our forest.”
Bommarito noted that the area probably hasn’t burned since about 1980.
Public information lines for details on the fire are (714) 573-6200 and (714) 573-6202.