The San Juan Capistrano campus of Saddleback Church was safe Wednesday after a nearby brush fire blackened about 30 acres before being brought under control.
Saddleback Church, with a number of facilities in Southern California, is one of the nation’s largest houses of worship and is often referred to as a megachurch.
“It’s under control,” said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz of the fire that had possibly threatened the Saddleback facility and other structures. “It’s looking a lot better than it did an hour ago,” Kurtz said just before 6 p.m.
The blaze started just after 2 p.m. between Camino Capistrano and Golden Lantern near the church, according to Kurtz.
The flames threatened some structures initially, but no buildings were damaged and no one was injured, Kurtz said.
“Right now we’re on mop-up mode” as firefighters work on keeping the fire contained, Kurtz said. “We’re going to have a presence here all night long, making sure the fire doesn’t jump the line overnight.”
Helicopters continued to make water drops Wednesday evening, the captain said.
Firefighters were aided by relatively mild temperatures and no wind.
About 135 firefighters battled the blaze from the ground and the air, Kurtz said.
— City News Service