Airport fire in Orange County: Evacuations, road closures, shelters

Sept. 9, 2024 Updated 8:37 PM PT

The Airport fire is burning near homes in south Orange County and has forced evacuations. Here are details on the fire.

The fire

The blaze started about 1:30 p.m. along the 32200 block of Trabuco Creek Road near a field in Trabuco Canyon for remote-controlled airplanes. The fire has expanded to 1,900 acres at 0% containment and is burning at a fast rate into the mountains, fueled by extreme heat.

Evacuations

Homes in the Robinson Ranch community in Trabuco Canyon as well as the Trabuco Highlands are under mandatory evacuation orders.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department also is encouraging residents living along a number of roads where the fire poses a threat to evacuate, including:

Rose Canyon Road
Trabuco Creek Road
Trabuco Canyon Road
Trabuco Oaks Drive
Joplin Loop
Cook’s Corner

Road closures

The Orange County Fire Authority says roads are closed at these intersections:

Plano Trabuco Road and Joshua Drive
Plano Trabuco and Robinson Ranch roads
Antonio Parkway and Alas de Paz
Trabuco Canyon and Trabuco Creek roads
Santa Margarita and Antonio parkways
Avenida Empresa and Santa Margarita Parkway
Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads

Shelters

A temporary evacuation center has been set up at Lake Forest Sports Park at 28000 Vista Terrace that will be open until 10 p.m. Monday.

A long-term shelter has been established at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center at 22232 El Paseo in Rancho Santa Margarita.

A large-animal shelter has been established at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa.

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Ashley Ahn

Ashley Ahn is a 2023-24 reporting fellow at the Los Angeles Times. She has previously interned at CNN, USA Today, NPR and Foreign Policy Magazine. Ahn is from Georgia and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Hannah Fry

Hannah Fry covers breaking news for the Los Angeles Times. She most recently covered Orange County for The Times and has written extensively about criminal trials, housing, politics and government. In 2020, Fry was part of the team that was a Pulitzer finalist for its coverage of a boat fire that killed 34 people off the coast of Santa Barbara. Fry came to The Times from the Daily Pilot, where she covered coastal cities, education and crime. An Orange County native, Fry started her career as an intern at the Orange County Register.