Firefighters gained the upper hand overnight against the wind-driven brush fire in the Silverado Canyon area of Orange County that has scorched 7,375 acres and multiple homes.
The brush fire began late Wednesday night as a house fire in the 29000 block of Silverado Canyon Drive that spread rapidly, consuming thousands of acres as erratic, gusty winds fanned the flames. By Sunday, the blazed was 55% contained.
Crews finished assessing the damage Sunday evening. The Orange County Fire Authority said at least 30 structures were destroyed and another 21 were damaged by the blaze.
Josh Malpass, a homeowner who lost his home to the Bond Fire, said his family saved all the money they could to buy the historic, 40-acre Wildcat Ranch in Silverado Canyon. His family just moved in this past August, he said.
“I was feeling super calm, then I hung up the phone and started sobbing,” Malpass said, referring to the moment he received a call and learned his family home couldn’t be saved. “There were five different structures on the property and just to go up there and see five stone chimneys and then ash, just to have that be gone, your heart sinks.”
Malpass’s wife, Melissa, said she initially thought the house would survive the blaze only to find out later she was wrong.
“It’s withstood every natural disaster since like 1916, it was untouchable,” Melissa said. “I never thought that a structure fire would take it out 12 hours later.”
One of the family’s neighbors, Chay Peterson, started a GoFundMe page to help the family.
“The Malpass family will not only have to sort through the ashes for remnants of their happy life on the ranch, they’ll also be facing the difficulty of lodging accommodations, food & clothing, and ultimately attempting to gain permits to rebuild their home,” Peterson, a longtime resident of Wildcat Road in Silverado Canyon, said in the GoFundMe page.
Nearly 1,500 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, and officials warned that there was still a potential in many areas for dry, windy conditions to spread the fire and threaten adjacent communities.
The Williams Canyon community, home to approximately two dozen residents, has lost a quarter of their homes, according to a GoFundMe page created to help the residents in the area raise funds for stabilizing their housing needs.
Evacuation orders were lifted Sunday afternoon, but residents in the Blackstar Canyon, Baker Canyon, Silverado Canyon, Modjeska Canyon and Williams Canyon areas were told to prepare in case conditions change and they have to flee.
Officials also lifted most warnings in the city of Lake Forest, but residents in the Portola Hills area remain under the warning.
A map of damaged and destroyed structures from the Bond Fire can be viewed at the map below:
Meanwhile, two U.S. Forest Service firefighters hurt while battling the blaze have been released from the hospital, and no further injuries have been reported, officials said.
In L.A. and Ventura counties, widespread critical fire weather conditions are expected to kick up Sunday night, continuing through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. A red flag warning will be in effect for much of the region from 4 a.m. Monday through 10 p.m. Tuesday due to the high winds and low humidity.
Winds were also expected to pick up again Monday in the inland Orange County area, with gusts up to 45 mph.