Southern California Wildfires Raging Out of Control

California wildfire season has hit with a vengeance in Southern California. Fires are currently in 7 different counties with cities such as Malibu, Castaic, San Diego, Ramona and threatened with high winds and blazing firestorms. But the biggest concern to me personally is the Irvine fire, what firefighters are calling the Santiago Fire.

I work and live within 4 miles of the fire and many of my employees live in the suburban city of Irvine at the base of Portola Road.

Fire authorities believe that the Orange County fire was arson-related and so far the damage is at 15,000 acres and counting with only 30% contained, double what it was from this morning. Residents in Irvine are packing their bags and hoping for the best. One female resident I talked to is 9 months pregnant and reluctant to evacuate her home because she is due any day and can not drive but fortunately she found a ride with a neighbor. Another resident told me that firefighters were holding the fire at bay at the ridgeline just behind her house and she had to collect all of her keepsake belongings, important documents and puppy and bring them to work with her this morning just in case it got out of control while she was gone today.

At 2:00pm today, the power temporarily went out for about 30 minutes. The power outage stretched from Costa Mesa and the John Wayne Airport to Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Irvine and Tustin. It is unclear whether the power outage is due to the fire or the high winds.

The latest news on the internet forum boards for Orange County residents is that the fire has jumped Portola road in spots and is burning out buildings at storage yards and farm land. A jail in Irvine has been evacuated, as well as a hospital, nursing homes and several elementary schools in the area. The smoke is so bad that many people who working in the path of the smoke are being sent home due to risk of smoke inhalation problems. Residents are being warned to keep all windows and doors shut and to stay close to the radio or television for updates to the fire threat.

At 3 p.m., the Orange County Fire Authority is saying that many fire stations in the area can not respond to emergency calls right now because all of their emergency resources, equipment and men are fighting the Santiago blaze. Sunday morning, many Orange County firefighters were sent to fight the Malibu and San Diego fires and then called back to Orange County when the Irvine fire started. At the moment, Southern California's firefighting resources have been stretched so thin that Orange County is fighting to get water-dropping helicopters and planes to help battle the blaze.

You can find more up to the minute information on Orange County Register's website, updates are posted on their main page and the Orange County Fire Authority updates their emergency page continuously with important information.