A wind-driven brush fire on the west end of Corona quickly spread into Orange County, threatening homes in Yorba Linda and blackening 6,600 acres Monday.
Initially called the Green Fire and later renamed the Blue Ridge Fire, the blaze was reported at 12:55 p.m. adjacent to the Green River Golf Club, just off of Green River Road and the Riverside (91) Freeway, according to the Corona Fire Department.
The Orange County Fire Authority said about 11 p.m. evacuation orders were in effect for residents living in thousands of homes in the following areas:
— The Hidden Hills community and Yorba Linda, north of the Riverside (91) Freeway, east of Gypsum Canyon;
— All of Carbon Canyon from the county line to Summit Ranch in Chino,
— Homes on both the west and east sides of Carbon Canyon Road, including Sleepy Hollow, Oak Tree Downs, Pine Valley Estates, Western Hills and Summit Ranch to the west of Chino, Valley Springs, Carriage Hills and Old Carbon Canyon Road to the east.
The Brea Fire Department also issued evacuation orders for Carbon Canyon area east of Break Hills to the county line, including Olinda Village and Hollydale.
Voluntary evacuations were urged for the Olinda Ranch and Brea Hills areas.
Evacuation orders were also issued Monday night in Chino Hills in San Bernardino County, including Carbon Canyon, Sleepy Hollow and Vellano Country Club Estates, according to the Chino Hills Police Department.
There are no evacuation orders or warnings for Corona, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
The OCFA reported about 11:15 p.m. that the blaze had spread to 6,600 acres and was 0% contained.
One home was damaged in the blaze, but the location and extent of damage was not immediately available.
The high winds grounded aircraft used to battle fires for most of the day, but by late Monday afternoon, a DC-10 was up in the air making air drops in Yorba Linda, Fennessy said.
“But we’re also told we can expect (winds) to increase in the early morning hours until they die off sometime tomorrow afternoon,” Fennessy said.
About 550 firefighters were battling the blaze. Multiple engine crews from the city and Riverside County Fire Department encountered flames moving rapidly west up a hillside, powered by 30 mph Santa Ana winds.
The head of the fire entered Orange County about 1:20 p.m., and the flames raced toward Yorba Linda, posing a threat to scores of residences.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire.