Crews Battle Brush Fire in Cleveland National Forest

Firefighters worked through the night Friday to extinguish a 30-acre brush fire in rugged terrain straddling the Cleveland National Forest and Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park near San Juan Capistrano.

By 9:15 p.m., a dispatcher for the Orange County Fire Department said that the blaze was 75% contained and that the flames were no longer flaring.

Extensive drops of water and flame retardant chemicals by aerial tankers were credited with helping control the blaze in what was described as “very, very dry brush,” a fire official said.

One fire captain was injured when he lost his footing and fell backward under the weight of his backpack. He was airlifted to a hospital.

No structures were threatened, officials said.

The blaze broke out about 2 p.m. three miles east of the Ortega Highway near the entrance to Caspers Park. About 71 Orange County firefighters were assisted by U.S. Forest Service crews, Riverside County firefighters and a team from the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

A fire official at the scene said 70% of the fire was within the national forest, where less aggressive techniques of fighting fires are required to protect the environment.

It was virtually impossible to get firefighting vehicles out to the fire scene, the official said, declining to give his name.

“It’s real tough territory, just hot and crummy,” he said.

But four air tankers used in fighting the blaze made considerable headway with frequent aerial drops on the flames, firefighters said.

“Air tankers just knocked the hell out of it,” said one.

Orange County Fire Capt. Bob Miller was airlifted to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo by a Marine Corps helicopter crew from the El Toro Marine base.

Miller, who works with Dana Point-based Engine Company 430, was carrying a 60-pound pack and working as a backup for a water hose team when he slipped on the incline of a hill and twisted his back under the weight of the pack, according to members of his team.

“He was hurting but he was stable” when he was flown out of the fire scene, said Jack Woodard, 34, a member of Engine Company 430.

“Any movement would cause sharp pains in his lower back,” said Rocco Di Francesco, 24, another firefighter in the company.

Late Friday night, fire officials said the fire appeared well on the way to being extinguished. “Fog rolling in now, everything now is in our favor,” the dispatcher said.

Fire officials said the blaze was believed to have started of natural causes.