Two wildfires that began on Monday are burning out of control in Orange County, causing major evacuations of more than 100,000 residents.
The Silverado Fire broke out Monday morning at 6:47am near Irvine and is said to have been started by a cigarette butt being tossed out the window of a vehicle near the Travis Air Force Base South Gate near Highway 12 onto dry brush which met with 30 mph Santa Ana winds. Suisun Fire Chief Justin Vincent said "We did find a half burned cigarette butt that was indicative of the start of this fire".
As of 7:48am on Tuesday Cal Fire reported that the Silverado Fire had burned 11,199 acres and was at 5% containment.
The Blue Ridge Fire began later in the day on Monday near Yorba Linda. Cal Fire reports that the fire had burned 8,000 acres as of 7:45am on Tuesday, with zero containment.
In their Daily Wildfire Update, Cal Fire states that "Over 5,000 firefighters are battling 22 wildfires in California. Yesterday, firefighters responded to 42 new wildfires, and even under Red Flag Warning conditions, all but three have been contained. Fanned by strong Santa Ana Winds, two new fires in Orange County quickly grew, forcing evacuations in several parts of the county. CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 6 has been assigned to the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires in Orange County."
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