National Guard deployed to help fight raging California fire threatening homes

Three major wildfires were raging across Southern California Tuesday, threatening thousands of homes as firefighters and the state National Guard were battling to bring the flames under control amid a triple-digit heatwave, officials said.

The Line Fire in San Bernardino County, the Airport Fire in Orange County and the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles County are all being fueled by extremely dry vegetation and spreading rapidly, officials said.

The Line Fire

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Line Fire was threatening 65,600 structures, including homes and commercial properties, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (Cal Fire).

Fire crews achieved 5% containment on the blaze on Monday night as Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed the state National Guard to support the ongoing response to extinguish the blaze. By Tuesday night, firefighters obtained 14% containment. Officials said 27,974 acres had burned.

While evacuation orders were issued for 9,200 structures in the area, with another 56,400 structures under evacuation warnings, Cal Fire said no buildings have been destroyed or damaged.

"We're pouring resources into this incident aggressively by deploying more air and ground support through the California National Guard," Newsom said in a statement. "This is on top of nearly 2,000 firefighters, nearly 200 engines, and air assets we already have tackling this fire. California stands with these communities and has their backs."

Newsom said the California National Guard will support the ongoing response to the Line Fire, the cause of which remains under investigation. Eighty troops split into four 20-person teams and one military police company have been sent to the fire scene to assist the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department with traffic control in evacuated areas.

National Guard troops are also helping firefighters battle the flames. Four UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters for water bucket dropping operations and two C-130 aircraft with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems are among the resources deployed by the National Guard, Newsom said.

The fire, which ignited Sept. 5, is burning in steep and rugged terrain, making access difficult, Cal Fire said. Firefighters are working to build "control lines" to contain the blaze.

"Stronger winds are predicted Tuesday which could help fire spread and contribute to longer range spotting. Mid-week cooling may moderate fire activity and increase fuel moistures," Cal Fire said.

The Airport Fire

Another major fire in Southern California broke out Monday afternoon in an unincorporated area of Orange County, prompting the evacuations of 1,427 homes, according to Cal Fire. The fast-moving Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon in the hills southeast of Irvine had burned 9,333 acres by Tuesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire, and more than doubled to 19,028 acres by the evening.

The fire remained 0% contained Tuesday night, according to Cal Fire.

At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, officials said 1,400 homes in Robinson Ranch in Rancho Santa Margarita were under mandatory evacuation due to the fire moving south toward communities like Lake Elsinore and Dove Canyon.

Firefighting operations, including both air and ground efforts, were expected to continue overnight depending on weather and fire conditions.

Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Carol Gamble urged residents to comply with evacuation orders, emphasizing that saving lives is the top priority, with property protection secondary.

Earlier, Cal Fire said two firefighters battling the blaze were hospitalized with heat-related injuries and one civilian suffering from smoke inhalation was also treated at a hospital. The fire was burning in the direction of the Cleveland National Forest.

At least four people, including a couple and their 3-year-old child who were hiking on a trail in the area, had to be airlifted to safety, officials said. A man and his cats were airlifted to safety from their home, officials said.

Several emergency communication towers on Santiago Peak in the fire zone, as well as towers operated by local broadcasting stations, were being threatened by the fire, officials said.

The Airport Fire began around 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday, sparked by county public works crews working on a fire prevention project by trying to move boulders to prevent public access -- mostly by motorcyclists -- to an area of the canyon with a lot of dry vegetation that could ignite easily, officials told ABC Los Angeles station KABC.

"The fire has been classified as unintentional," said Orange County Fire Authority Deputy Chief TJ McGovern.

At least 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze Tuesday.

The Bridge Fire

Elsewhere, the Bridge Fire, which started on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles Country, had burned 34,240 acres as of Tuesday night. The fire north of Azusa in the Angeles National Forest was 0% contained.

Evacuation orders are in place for a mobile home park, campgrounds and a small river community.