The Orange County Parks Authority has announced that Irvine Regional Park has reopened after a large brush fire broke out Sunday.
The fire, which has been contained, caused an emergency evacuation of the park, but officials now say it is safe to go retrieve any belongings left behind. It is unclear how many people were using the park when the evacuation was ordered.
Irvine Regional Park has reopened Monday morning. If you left belongings behind when evacuating, please contact the park office. https://t.co/Oql9t3kRct
— OC Parks (@OCParks) July 6, 2020
Around 1 p.m. Sunday, July 5 it took over an hour, and approximately 100 firefighters to knock down a “vegetation fire” that was first reported by the Orange County Fire Authority. However, as fire crews moved in, the actual size of the blaze was much larger than originally reported.
Firefighters are on scene at Irvine Regional Park of a 1.5 acre vegetation fire. The fire is not threatening any structures at this time. #ocfa pic.twitter.com/VzBMH1iRBs
— OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) July 5, 2020
It was later reported that the fire was burning more than 20 acres, but was not a threat to structures or homes.
UPDATE: The acreage is actually 21 acres. Forward progress has been stopped. #OCFA https://t.co/VU17qWk17C
— OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) July 5, 2020
Twitter user @sovietmoonbase caught some of the action, as fire crews were dumping fire retardant from helicopters.
@OCFAAirOps hitting a flare-up on the #ParkFire pic.twitter.com/i5moY1whVu
— icannotfly (@sovietmoonbase) July 5, 2020
The Orange County Fire Authority incident report indicated 54 crews were involved, which is substantially higher than any other active incidents reported.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
UPDATE: Fire investigators are on scene. There is no cause determined at this time. https://t.co/I8UDELPtLs
— OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) July 5, 2020
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