EL CARISO VILLAGE, Calif.—Just past a police checkpoint on the Ortega Highway—a two-lane mountain pass connecting Orange and Riverside counties—only scorched earth was left on Sept. 16 after the Airport Fire blackened the landscape.
The Airport fire, which destroyed 160 structures including homes and damaged 34 others, had burned since Sept. 9, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The fire, which reached 31 percent containment on Sept. 16, was reportedly caused by a Public Works crew accident, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The blaze has now grown to nearly 37 square miles.
Since it started in Trabuco Canyon, the southeastward burn path of the fire incinerated homes in its path and left many blackened vehicles behind....
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