4,000-acre Holy Fire in SoCal remains 2 percent contained

ByMarc Cota-Robles and ABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
4,000-acre Holy Fire in SoCal remains 2 percent contained
A massive wall of smoke stood above the Cleveland National Forest as more than 600 firefighters continued to attack a 4,000-acre brush fire.

TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. -- A massive wall of smoke stood above the Cleveland National Forest on Tuesday as more than 600 firefighters continued to battle the Holy Fire in Southern California, which has grown to at least 4,000 acres.

The so-called Holy Fire, which erupted near Orange County's Trabuco Canyon the previous day, was just 2 percent contained despite fire-retardant drops of more than 19,000 gallons that proceeded overnight.

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"It's usually life or property that we decide that we fly at night," said Capt. Tony Bommarito of the Orange County Fire Authority. "We don't just fly to fly and put the fire out, because we have to take into consideration the danger involved in night flying."

No major injuries have been reported. Fueled by bone-dry chaparral and grass, the fast-moving wildfire has claimed one home and two other structures.

Evacuations were ordered in the Holy Jim and Trabuco Canyon areas, as well as the Blue Jay and El Cariso campgrounds.

The cause of the blaze was unknown.