Canyon Fire 2 at 60 percent containment; 9,217-acre blaze destroys 23 structures, damages 36
The morning sun’s rays shine through the lingering smoke at the home destroyed by the Canyon Fire at 1955 Windes Drive in Orange, on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
More than 1,600 firefighters battling the once-fast-moving and devastating 9,217-acre Canyon Fire 2 were steadily gaining control of the blaze on Wednesday – aided by cooler temperatures and less wind.
As the fire stretches into day four, officials announced Wednesday evening that containment was at 60 percent and full containment was expected sometime Saturday, Oct. 14.
“There is no immediate threat to any neighborhood right now,” said Mike Lyster, a spokesman for the city of Anaheim. “But we always (want) residents to keep up on the latest information.”
The blaze – which has terrorized the eastern edges of Anaheim, Orange and the North Tustin area – has destroyed at least 23 structures and damaged 36, with three people getting injured.
Those buildings are mostly single-family residents, with the numbers sharply rising on Wednesday – not because of more destruction, but because officials have had more time to assess properties.
The 241 is also a fire casualty. It was still closed in both directions from the 91 freeway to Santiago Canyon Road/Chapman Avenue. The toll road’s system suffered damage to fencing, electrical components, signs and at least one traffic-control device.
The remaining 360 or so residents on evacuation orders were allowed to return home Wednesday, with the very last ones getting clearance in the evening. Most of the estimated 16,570 people told to evacuate Monday could go back the day before.
On Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills, where a scattering of homes was reduced to charred ruins, neighbors hugged neighbors Wednesday and offered help with cleanup.
The sun sets in the horizon behind a home at 6971 Via El Estribo in Anaheim Hills. Canyon Fire 2 destroyed several homes in the area of South Hidden Canyon Road Anaheim, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A house on E. Hillsdale Dr. is red-tagged after being destroyed by the Canyon Fire 2 in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Montclair firefighter Christian Noboa walks through the remains of a house at 1955 Windes Dr. in the Santiago Oaks neighborhood in Orange, CA while cleaning up the Canyon Fire 2 on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Danny Williamson, center, searches the rubble of his home with his sons, Justin Williamson, 15, left, and Jordan Williamson, 14, that was destroyed in the Canyon Fire 2 in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
As the morning sun rises, hot spots continue to burn from the Canyon Fire in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Janet Shaevitz and her daughter Nalysse, 13, look at their home that was destroyed on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Wednesday morning after residents are able to return. The Canyon 2 fire burned 8,000 acres of brush and destroyed at least 24 structures. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Fenner Canyon Fire Crew puts water on a hot spot on a hillside in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday afternoon, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The morning sun’s rays shine through the lingering smoke at the home destroyed by the Canyon Fire at 1955 Windes Drive in Orange, on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A man takes a morning walk through the smoke along Windes Drive in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A logs continues to burn from the Canyon Fire in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A plate lays among the burned debris at the home destroyed by the Canyon Fire at 1955 Windes Drive in Orange, on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Deer statues are nearly all that is left as the morning sun’s rays shine through the lingering smoke at the home destroyed by the Canyon Fire at 1955 Windes Drive in Orange, on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A fire fighter makes his way through the burned landscape in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The burned sign in the Canyon Fire at Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A fire fighter makes his way through the burned landscape in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Logs continue to burn from the Canyon Fire in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The sun rises behind a home on East Hillsdale Drive in Orange that was burned in the Canyon Fire, early Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Smoke from hot spots still burning from the Canyon Fire hangs among the trees at Irvine Regional Park in Orange early Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A fire fighter cuts a burning tree in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Burnt oak leaves at the home destroyed by the Canyon Fire at 1955 Windes Drive in Orange, on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A bench burned in the Canyon Fire still stands in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A fire truck makes its way through the smoke along Windes Drive in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A log still smolders from the Canyon Fire in Santiago Creek in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A sign burned in the Canyon Fire lays on the ground in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A logs continues to burn from the Canyon Fire in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The morning sun’s rays shine through the lingering smoke at the home destroyed by the Canyon Fire at 1955 Windes Drive in Orange, on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop and view the damage left from the Canyon Fire at Peters Canyon Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday afternoon, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A fire fighter cuts a burning tree in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday morning, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes sit above a burned area on a hillside above Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday afternoon, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Brea Capt. Justin Zuhlke rinses his eyes from smoke and ash on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Tuesday morning after working through the night helping fight the biggest fire to hit Orange County in nearly a decade. The Canyon 2 fire burned 8,000 acres of brush and damaged or destroyed 27 structures. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Fenner Canyon Fire Crew prepares to make their way into the hills to put out hot spots in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday afternoon, October 11, 2017. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
City Public Works and Utility inspectors assess collapse risk to adjacent properties to totaled homes on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Wednesday, before walls are knocked down. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
In front of three destroyed homes, Michael Baker, who’s home was unmanaged by fire, hoses off his driveway from debris on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Wednesday morning. The Canyon 2 fire burned 8,000 acres of brush and damaged or destroyed 27 structures. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Public Works Building Engineer Robert Luciano looks at a wall at risk of collapse from a totaled home next to a yellow-tagged home on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Wednesday. The city will knock down partially collapsed walls so their next door neighbors may safely move back in. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A firefighter tapes off destroyed homes on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Wednesday, after residents were seen walking through their properties. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jimmy Johnson, 20, looks at his neighbors’ homes that were destroyed on S. Canyon Heights Dr. in Anaheim Hills on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“It is difficult, but it’s not the end of the world,” said Kevin Shaevitz, 53, whose house was destroyed Monday by the Canyon Fire 2.
Wearing white protective booties over his sneakers, Shaevitz pulled the store tag off of a new push-broom and began sweeping debris out of his driveway while his wife, Janet, picked through the rubble of their home to look for anything salvageable.
After a fire in the area two weeks ago, Shaevitz made sure baby pictures of his four children and important documents were packed and ready to go, but he didn’t bring much else with him when ordered to evacuate.
Part of the front and one side wall of the sand-colored, two-story house still stand, but the collapsed roof lies shattered over much of the home’s footprint. Artificial turf in the backyard was pockmarked by burning embers.
Shaevitz, a chiropractor, said neighbors have offered whatever he needs, and he considers it “a godsend” that only six homes on the street burned.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful neighborhood,” Shaevitz said. “It’s not even a question – we’ll absolutely rebuild.”
Several houses away, Pramod Baweja, 59, and his wife, Bindu, were luckier than some. Firefighters broke their sliding-glass door to get into their house and cut holes in the ceiling to access the attic and vent the smoke.
The home was largely spared.
A small-business owner, Baweja was home when the evacuation was ordered Monday. He’d been watching the fire’s progress and saw it jump the 241 toll road. After grabbing some papers and computers, he left around 11:30 a.m.
The damage to the home was mostly cosmetic.
The smell of smoke wafted, glass from the patio door was in tiny pieces on the kitchen floor, and muddy footprints from firefighters’ boots could be seen on the marble tile in the hallway.
“My loss is nothing compared to the others. My feelings for them are more than for myself,” he said.
“Imagine Las Vegas.”
Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department said firefighters have turned a corner in their battle with the fire.
Rather than focusing on halting the spread of it on the eastern side of the 241 toll road, like they did Tuesday, crews on Wednesday were working to tamp down hotspots across the entire burned acreage, continuing the protection of structures and cutting more containment lines.
The cause of the fire, first reported at about 9:45 a.m. Monday, has not been determined yet.
Some Orange Unified School District campuses, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, were to re-open Thursday, Oct. 12.
Staff writers Alma Fausto and Beatriz E. Valenzuela contributed to this report.
