Fire Crews Stop Forward Progress On Brush Fire Near 73 Freeway In Laguna Beach
LAGUNA BEACH (CBSLA) — Fire crews Wednesday stopped forward progress on a brush fire burning near the 73 Freeway in Laguna Beach that caused an hours-long closure of the roadway.
Update: Multi-agency response. Engines, dozers, hand crews, rotary wing and fixed wing on scene. Firefighters making aggressive attack. pic.twitter.com/0zMsTMU9Pl
— OCFA PIO
The Orange County Fire Authority said there were approximately 100 firefighters on the ground in addition to dozers, fixed wing and rotary wing aerial resources to battle the blaze.
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“The hot weather is always a challenge, however we do train for this heavily,” OCFA Capt. Sean Doran said. “We’ve had several training … episodes leading up to this just for this reason.”
Doran said the department had increased its staffing for the hot weather in anticipation of increased fire danger as temperatures soared across the Southland.
Authorities said forward progress was stopped at about 5:30 p.m. with approximately 8 acres burned. Fire crews were expected to remain on scene for the next several hours to prevent flareups.
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The cause of the fire was still under investigation, though officials said there were three small separate fires burning within the same area. Doran said the blaze was mainly terrain driven.
