Freeway Complex Fire

The Freeway Fire ignited at 9:01 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, along the Riverside Freeway (State Route 91, SR 91) in the riverbed of the Santa Ana River, located in Corona.{{cite web |url= http://www.ocfa.org/pages/ocfa.asp?filename=freewayic.asp |title= Freeway Complex Fire Preliminary Report |access-date=November 29, 2008 |author= Orange County Fire Authority Media Center |publisher= Orange County Fire Authority |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081209070329/http://www.ocfa.org/pages/ocfa.asp?filename=freewayic.asp |archive-date= December 9, 2008}} The fire spread west and north into the hillsides of Yorba Linda and south into Anaheim Hills, where multiple businesses and residences were destroyed. It also burned homes in Olinda Ranch and the remnants of the La Vida Mineral Springs resort along Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, burned through much of Chino Hills, then spread north into Diamond Bar.

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 (CAL FIRE) on January 4, 2010, it was confirmed that the Freeway Fire was caused by a faulty catalytic converter.{{cite news |url= http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Catalytic-Converter-Started-Freeway-Complex-Fire.html |title= Catalytic Converter Started Freeway Complex Fire |date= July 16, 2009 |access-date=January 7, 2010 |location= Los Angeles |publisher=KNBC-TV }}

Over a dozen schools were closed during the fire, including those in the Brea Olinda Unified School District, Chino Valley Unified School District, Diamond Bar schools in the Walnut Valley Unified School District, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and Walnut Valley Unified School District.{{cite press release |url=http://www.ocfa.org/_uploads/pdf/pr_triangle17.pdf |title=Updated School Closures in Freeway Complex Fire Areas (Formerly Triangle Complex Fire) |date= November 16, 2008 |access-date=November 29, 2008 |author= Orange County Fire Authority |publisher= Orange County Fire Authority |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120218041847/http://www.ocfa.org/_uploads/pdf/pr_triangle17.pdf |archive-date= February 18, 2012}} About 40,000 residents were evacuated during the fire. Areas under mandatory evacuation during the fires included Anaheim, Carbon Canyon, Chino Hills, Corona, Diamond Bar and Yorba Linda{{cite web|url=http://www.ocfa.org/pages/ocfa.asp?filename=newsreleases.asp |title=OCFA 2008 News Releases |access-date=November 29, 2008 |author=Orange County Fire Authority |publisher=Orange County Fire Authority |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312185818/http://www.ocfa.org/pages/ocfa.asp?filename=newsreleases.asp |archive-date=March 12, 2008 }}

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 {{convert|30305|acre|km2}} were burned during the fire, which included 90 percent of Chino Hills State Park.{{cite web |last1= Carpenter |first1= Eric |last2= Irving |first2= Doug |last3= Robbins |first3= Gary |title= Thousands of Firefighters Still Battling on the Front Lines |work= Orange County Register |location= Santa Ana, CA |date= November 16, 2008 |url= http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fire-coverage-complete-2230298-ocregister-href |access-date= November 16, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081116202538/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fire-coverage-complete-2230298-ocregister-href |archive-date= November 16, 2008 }} 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.{{cite web |first= Chip |last= Prather |title= Freeway Complex Fire After Action Report: A Report to the Orange County Fire Authority Board of Directors |date= April 23, 2009 |url= http://www.ocfamedia.org/_uploads/PDF/fcfaar.pdf |access-date= August 31, 2009 |url-status= usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160623020722/http://www.ocfamedia.org/_uploads/PDF/fcfaar.pdf |archive-date= June 23, 2016 }}

The preliminary cause of the Freeway Fire was thought to be the result of a vehicle exhaust system igniting roadside vegetation.{{cite news|title=Freeway Complex Fire in Corona, Orange County, San Bernardino County at 100 percent containment|url=http://abc7.com/archive/6507802/|access-date=30 August 2016|agency=ABC 7|date=19 November 2008}} The fire investigation report was completed by the end of March 2009. According to the final cause report released by CAL FIRE on January 4, 2010, the cause of the fire was a faulty catalytic converter.

The Landfill Fire was investigated by the Brea Police Department, 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.{{cite news|last1=Edds|first1=Kimberly|title=Report: Crews ignored orders during Freeway Complex fire|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fire-190695-water-engines.html|access-date=30 August 2016|agency=OC Register}} 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.

{{Commons category|Freeway Complex Fire}}

• November 2008 California wildfires

{{reflist|33em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090625205403/http://www.ocfa.org/_uploads/pdf/fcfaaraddendum.pdf Freeway Complex Fire After Action Report Addendum]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081202080731/http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sections/news/firecentral/ Orange County Register Fire Central]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525005319/http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?t=7364 CA-ORC-Freeway Complex]
• [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/ca_fire_20081126.html NASA - Natural-color image of the burned area]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090305132834/http://cbs2.com/slideshows/Corona.Brush.Fire.20.865591.html CBS slideshow of the fire]

{{California wildfires}}

{{Yorba Linda, California}}

Category:Wildfires in Orange County, California

Category:Wildfires in Riverside County, California

Category:2008 California wildfires

Category:Anaheim, California

Category:Yorba Linda, California

Category:November 2008 in the United States

Category:2008 in Orange County, California