Sleepless nights, flames and heat for O.C. residents threatened by Airport fire

Trabuco Canyon residents evacuate as the Airport fire rages. The fire has charred more than 9,000 acres.

By Hannah FryStaff Writer

Sept. 10, 2024 5:04 PM PT

With the Airport fire burning menacingly close to their homes, residents in the eastern foothills of South Orange County spent the past day assessing whether it was time to leave.

Some communities were under evacuation orders — but many residents were staying for now, hoping firefighters could keep the flames away from their neighborhoods.

Steve Kilgore stood outside his home on Raintree with a pair of binoculars watching as the flames devoured brush along the ridge above his neighborhood.

Kilgore was one of a group of neighbors on his street who decided to stay despite evacuation orders. The neighbors worked in shifts throughout the night to monitor the fire.

Kilgore packed his truck with essentials and family photos and is prepared to flee if the winds shift.

Trabuco Canyon residents evacuate with their luggage and pets as the Airport fire prompt evacuations.

“There’s something about leaving your home in this situation — it’s awful,” he said. “It defies logic. I’ve never had to do a 20- to 30-minute assessment of every valuable thing in our lives.”

Michael Bernardin, 62, wasn’t home when the fire broke out Monday afternoon.

When he got back to his neighborhood in Robinson Ranch, the road to the community was already blocked off. He parked in a nearby shopping center and walked the roughly half-mile stretch back to his house in the heat. He packed two suitcases — all he could carry — and grabbed his dogs, Pepper and Honey Noodles. He went back a second time to grab more items, unsure of when his family could return home.

“One of the suitcases was so loaded that I don’t think we could have checked it in on an aircraft,” he said. “It was hot and I was struggling.”

On Tuesday morning, Bernardin and his wife, Roseann, made the trek back to their house after spending the night in San Clemente. They’re planning to stay put unless fire conditions change, he said.

In the 27 years they’ve lived in the area, there have been a few fires, but this is the first time they’ve had to evacuate, he said.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” he said.

Trabuco Canyon resident Marilynn Reideler was driving around the neighborhood in her Ford F150 truck giving rides to residents who were struggling up the hill with heavy suitcases and bags.

“It’s still hot and it’s a long walk,” she said.

Despite the orders to evacuate, many residents, including Reideler, decided to wait it out and watch the fire’s movement before committing to leave.

Robert McCoy happily accepted a ride mid-morning as temperatures climbed into the high 80s. He and his wife had left Monday out of an abundance of caution, but now felt safe returning.

“The firefighters are on it,” McCoy, 61, said. “I wanted to stay [Monday], but [my wife] was nervous.”

The fire started just before 1:30 p.m. Monday near a field in Trabuco Canyon for remote-controlled airplanes and quickly raged out of control. At least 9,333 acres have burned, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department encouraged residents living along Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook’s Corner to evacuate. Homes in the Robinson Ranch and Trabuco Highlands communities in Trabuco Canyon were under mandatory evacuation orders. The Trabuco Highland apartment complex was also under mandatory evacuation orders.

On Tuesday afternoon, residents watched from their driveways as helicopters dropped thousands of gallons of water on the smoldering hillside.

So far, the fire has been burning uphill away from subdivisions. But Tuesday afternoon, evacuation warnings were issued for communities in Riverside County of the mountains, where the fire was headed.

Times staff writer Summer Lin contributed to this report.