Firefighters put out small brush fires near Laguna Canyon Road

Firefighters quickly extinguished three small brush fires near the 73 toll road on the east side of Laguna Canyon Road on Wednesday, officials said.

The fires, the largest of which was a quarter-acre, were reported at about 5 p.m., according to Laguna Beach police.

Laguna Canyon Road was closed in both directions between Lake Forest Drive and El Toro Road as Laguna Beach and Orange County Fire Authority crews worked to put out the flames.

The westbound portion of the road reopened at about 6:20 p.m., the eastbound side shortly after 8 p.m., police said.

No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened, authorities said.

The cause of the fires was not immediately known.

Two helicopters dropped water as firefighters on the ground worked to cut a containment line through the thick brush, according to OCFA officials.

“Forward progress has been stopped for all three fires. Fixed-wing aircraft canceled,” OCFA wrote in a tweet at 5:50 p.m. “Crews will remain on scene to extinguish remaining hot spots and secure a containment line around all the fires.”

The incident occurred as firefighters continued to work nearby on the Aliso fire, which broke out Saturday afternoon below Laguna’s Top of the World neighborhood and behind Soka University in Aliso Viejo and forced evacuations of thousands of residents. That fire burned 175 acres and was 85% contained as of Thursday morning.

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