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Laguna Beach: Rancho Fire mapped at 4.6 acres, 50% contained; crews aim for full containment today or tomorrow
Summary
City and fire officials said the Rancho Fire burned 4.6 acres and was 50% contained Wednesday morning. Crews used infrared drones and helipods; the city activated its emergency operations center briefly while evacuations and major road closures were lifted.
Laguna Beach officials said Wednesday morning that the Rancho Fire has burned 4.6 acres and is 50% contained, and that firefighting crews expect to reach full containment later today or by tomorrow.
“Currently, the fire's been mapped out at 4.6 acres in total. We have a total of 50% containment,” Battalion Chief Newcross said, adding that about 200 personnel worked the fire on Tuesday and roughly 75 were assigned for the daytime operations Wednesday. Newcross said crews used unmanned aerial infrared scans overnight and identified one active spot in unburned vegetation that remains the primary objective for the day.
The acting deputy chief said crews planned to continue building line around the fire, cut around remaining hot spots and use infrared drone data to identify any heat. “Our intent for today is to be able to, start potentially by this evening pulling out some of the hose and releasing some of our equipment and putting the fire on rails,” the acting deputy chief said, describing a shift to a staged, nighttime oversight posture if conditions allow. The same speaker said officials were “pretty confident” they could make good progress toward full containment during the day.
Sarah Lamona, the city’s emergency operations coordinator, said the city activated its emergency operations center (EOC) at a Level 1 full activation on Tuesday and deactivated it the same evening after evacuations were lifted and most road closures were reopened. “We activated yesterday at a level 1, which is a full activation, and then we were able to deactivate, yesterday evening once evacuations were lifted,” Lamona said. She described the EOC as the central coordination point for city departments, external partners and public messaging.
A water-district representative described the district’s role providing water pressure and helipod service for helicopter water drops, saying operators achieved about a 90-second turnaround time to refill helicopters on site. “They're able just to form a circle and fill and drop, which was, made a significant impact on the fire,” the representative said. City officials noted the helipod capability was established as part of the city’s 2019 fire mitigation plan.
Officials also credited recent fuel-modification work near the burn area. The meeting referenced Fuel Modification Zone 18 (FMZ 18) near the fire and FMZ 9 nearby; the speaker said the FMZ 18 work required about a year to complete federal environmental review before implementation. City staff mentioned NEPA and FEMA reviews in describing the federal permitting process for some mitigation work.
No formal policy votes or ordinance actions were taken during the briefing. Officials said they would provide another public update later Wednesday evening or on Thursday as operations progress.
