The Freeway Complex Fire was a 2008

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

in the

Santa Ana Canyon Santa Ana Canyon (), or the Santa Ana Narrows, is the water gap where the Santa Ana River passes between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Chino Hills, near the intersection of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, California. It rece ...

area of

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. The fire started as two separate fires on November 15, 2008. The ''Freeway Fire'' started first shortly after 9am with the ''Landfill Fire'' igniting approximately 2 hours later. These two separate fires merged a day later and ultimately destroyed 314 residences in

Anaheim Hills Anaheim Hills is a planned community encompassing the eastern portions of the city of Anaheim, in Orange County, California. History Prior to the development, a few scattered low-density neighborhoods existed in the area, including Peralta Hil ...

and

Yorba Linda Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 census. Yorb ...

Events

The Freeway Fire ignited at 9:01 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, along the Riverside Freeway (

State Route 91 The following highways are numbered 91: International * European route E91 Australia * Cairns Western Arterial Road * Summerland Way Brasil *SP-91, state highway in Sao Paulo Canada * British Columbia Highway 91 ** British Columbia Highway ...

, SR 91) in the riverbed of the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino and Riversid ...

, located in

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

. The fire spread west and north into the hillsides of

and south into

, where multiple businesses and residences were destroyed. It also burned homes in Olinda Ranch and the remnants of the

La Vida Mineral Springs La Vida Hot Springs were a historically significant natural spring and nearby hot-water well in California State Route 142, Carbon Canyon, Chino Hills, Orange County, California, United States. Geography The La Vida springs were located about ...

resort along

Carbon Canyon Road State Route 142 (SR 142), also known as Carbon Canyon Road for most of its length, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that connects Brea, California, Brea in Orange County, California, Orange County with Chino Hills, California, ...

in Brea, burned through much of

Chino Hills The Chino Hills are a mountain range on the border of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties, California, with a small portion in Riverside County. Chino Hills State Park preserves open space and habitat in them. Geography The Chin ...

, then spread north into

Diamond Bar Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 census listed a population of 55,072. It is one of a few cities in California with a majority Asian population (59.24% as of 2020). It is named after the ...

. The Landfill Fire, also known as the "Brea Fire," was reported at 10:43 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, and started near the 1900 block of Valencia Avenue in Brea, just south of the Olinda Landfill. It quickly spread west and eventually jumped the Orange Freeway ( SR 57). The Landfill Fire merged with the Freeway Fire at 3:30 a.m. PDT on November 16, 2008. At approximately 7:00 a.m. PDT the two fires were officially renamed the Triangle Complex Fire. Around 12:45 p.m. the Triangle Complex Fire had been renamed once again to the Freeway Complex Fire still using the OCFA incident number CA-ORC-08075221. According to the final cause report released by the

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various area ...

(CAL FIRE) on January 4, 2010, it was confirmed that the Freeway Fire was caused by a faulty

catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...

Effects

Over a dozen schools were closed during the fire, including those in the

Brea Olinda Unified School District Brea Olinda Unified School District is the school district serving the City of Brea in Orange County, California, United States. It also serves portions of the nearby cities of Fullerton, Yorba Linda and La Habra. The school district cons ...

, Chino Valley Unified School District,

schools in the

Walnut Valley Unified School District The Walnut Valley Unified School District is located in the eastern portion of Los Angeles County and is a part of the Greater Los Angeles Area of the U.S. state of California. It serves the majority of Walnut, the southern portion of Diamond Ba ...

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) is a public school district that serves Placentia, Yorba Linda, and parts of Anaheim, Brea, and Fullerton located in northeast Orange County, California. The school district covers ...

and

. About 40,000 residents were evacuated during the fire. Areas under mandatory evacuation during the fires included

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, Carbon Canyon,

and

As the fire spread, it forced the closure of the Riverside Freeway (SR 91), the Chino Valley Freeway (SR 71), the 241 Transportation Corridor and the Orange Freeway (SR 57) in northern Orange County. It was calculated that were burned during the fire, which included 90 percent of

Chino Hills State Park Chino Hills State Park is a state park of California, in the United States. It is located in the Chino Hills, foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is a critical link in the Chino–Puente Hills wildlife corridor, and a major botanical habit ...

. The calculated acreage burned would make the fire the fourth largest fire on record in Orange County history behind the 1967 Paseo Grande Fire, Steward Fire of 1958, and the Green River Fire of 1948.

Causes

The preliminary cause of the Freeway Fire was thought to be the result of a vehicle exhaust system igniting roadside vegetation. The fire investigation report was completed by the end of March 2009. According to the final cause report released by

CAL FIRE The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various are ...

on January 4, 2010, the cause of the fire was a faulty catalytic converter. The Landfill Fire was investigated by the

Brea Police Department Brea (; ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 47,325. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city began as a center of crude ...

, along with investigators from the OCFA. The fire was determined to have been caused by inadequate maintenance of power lines supplying electricity to equipment in the

Brea-Olinda Oil Field The Brea-Olinda Oil Field is a large oil field in northern Orange County and Los Angeles County, California, along the southern edge of the Puente Hills, about four miles (6 km) northeast of Fullerton, and adjacent to the city of Brea. D ...

. The electrical lines were owned by the BreitBurn Management Company in Los Angeles. Investigators believe arcing or a discharge of electric current from the power lines caused the brush near the lines in the fields northeast of Valencia Avenue and Carbon Canyon Road to ignite.

References

External links

''Freeway Complex Fire After Action Report'' AddendumOrange County Register Fire CentralCA-ORC-Freeway Complex
{{Yorba Linda, California Wildfires in Orange County, California Wildfires in Riverside County, California 2008 California wildfires Anaheim, California Yorba Linda, California November 2008 in the United States 2008 in Orange County, California

Events

Effects

Causes

See also

References

External links