Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) extinguished a 2.81-acre brush fire that broke out in Lake Forest on Oct. 6. The fire was reported at 12:59 p.m. after OCFA received a call in the area of Portola Parkway and Rancho Parkway.
One suspect was taken into custody later that night by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in connection with the fire, located near Saddleback Church.
The OC Sheriff’s Department told New University that they cannot identify the suspect.
“Please pray: 2 acres of Saddleback Church have already been consumed by wildfire as of this moment. It’s our main campus (out of 20) in Lake Forest,” Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren wrote in a Facebook post. “A few weeks ago, we had a week of wildfires in our backyard. Now this. So far, no buildings have been in danger. The Lake Forest campus is 120 acres — about half are parking lots.”
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), there have been 109 arson arrests this year with more than 1 million total acres burned due to combined wildfires and arson efforts.
Data from Cal Fire suggests that there has been an increased number of arson-caused wildfires in recent years, with the highest of 44,609 acres in 2020. 2,587 acres burned in 2023 and 12,081 acres burned in 2022 as a result of arson.
Throughout August and September, multiple fires swept through California in triple-digit temperatures, including the Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon. The Line Fire, which began as a result of arson, surged in San Bernardino County on Sept. 5 in the area of Baseline and Alpine Street, north of the city of Highland, and has burned more than 43,000 acres.
34-year-old Norco resident Justin Wayne Halstenberg was arrested on Sept. 9 in connection with the Line Fire. Authorities testified at an Oct. 2 hearing that damages and extinguishing efforts will cost over $82 million.
The Line Fire has been 93% contained since its initial rupture and officers will continue to reinforce containment lines, according to an Oct. 10 statement. The fire is still under a “Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory” due to dry heat.
The fire caused six firefighter injuries and affected 100,000 residents, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus and reported by the LA Times.
One of the largest wildfires in California this year was the Bridge Fire. It erupted in the area of Camp Bonita Road and east of Camp Williams in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County on Sept. 8, burning over 54,000 acres.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and has destroyed 81 structures.
OCFA Captain Thanh Nguyen told New University that his team is “constantly training.”
Nguyen and his team assess different kinds of emergencies — including medical and environmental emergencies — and respond to emergency calls with skill sets they practice daily.
“You know, as far as skills, it’s basically what we’re trained to do. So with firefighters [we] generally [help] people, so we want to take care of the communities that we serve and anytime you call us, we take our skills that we’ve been trained to do,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen was not on scene when the OCFA received a call for the brush fire in Lake Forest, but he attested to the possible challenges firefighters face when putting out fires.
“Each fire is unique with its own circumstances, so we do what we’ve been trained to do and put out that fire and make sure nobody’s injured,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen elaborated on the team’s reflections as a part of preparation.
“A lot of the times what’s most important is just discussing how that fire went and what went well and what could be done a little bit different the next time. So our goal is to always constantly be improving,” Nguyen said.
More information can be found on the OCFA website for further updates.
Katherine Nava is a News Staff writer. She can be reached at navakl@uci.edu.