Firefighters worked through the night and Thursday morning, monitoring and constructing containment lines in order to limit the damage of a wildfire that broke out in the Cleveland National Forest near the Riverside-Orange County line that has consumed approximately 550 acres.
Overnight, fire crews observed little fire activity while constructing containment lines. Ground crews assisted by bulldozers will work to extend those lines Thursday and utilize water-dropping helicopters to assist extinguishing hot spots. Air tankers were also on stand-by to respond if needed.
The wildfire has not threatened any homes or other structures so far, fire authorities said.
The Jim Fire broke out at approximately 11:20 a.m. Wednesday in the Trabuco Ranger District in the Holy Jim Canyon area, according to an incident report from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. U.S. Forest Service firefighters responded with fire engines, hand crews and air resources, assisted by the Orange County Fire Authority and Cal Fire resources.
The fire started in a drainage bottom and spread uphill, according to the coordinating group.
A Riverside County Fire Department strike team, consisting of about 30 personnel, assembled in South Corona to assist with the fire, while the San Diego and Los Angeles County fire departments sent air assets.
Around 250 firefighters have been assigned to battle the wildfire. It was about 15% contained as of Thursday morning.
Eight engine crews and two hand crews were initially deployed to the location, encountering flames in thick vegetation, according to the USFS. Two Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters were called in to make runs on the fire, which was initially at 10 acres, but quickly expanded.
By about 3 p.m. Wednesday, crews at the scene put the acreage at more than 400, with the fire’s advance dramatically slowed by late afternoon.
As the flames roared uphill early in the firefight, additional resources were requested. By mid-afternoon, at least five air tankers were working to douse the flames, and as many as six helicopters, according to reports from the scene.
The blaze sent a thick plume of smoke into the air, visible across most of Orange and Riverside counties, and in northern San Diego County.
That prompted a flurry of 911 calls, many originating from Lake Elsinore and Corona. The Corona Fire Department posted statements on social media assuring residents that the vegetation fire is “not a threat to Corona.”
The OCFA posted similar messages, insisting the flames were not presenting a threat to Orange County.
While no structures were being threatened by the flames, the blaze was initially moving slowly toward the complex of radio/communication towers atop Santiago Peak. Crews on the scene reported that flames in that area had died down by mid-afternoon.
The fire was burning near the scene of the 2018 Holy Fire that scorched more than 23,000 acres and forced evacuations in multiple communities.
The cause of the Jim Fire was unknown, but was under investigation by the Forest Service.