A new lawsuit alleges that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) equipment failure was the cause of the Norte Fire, which charred 570 acres of South Orange County land, destroyed six homes, and forced thousands of residents to evacuate in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. Bridgford Law, a firm specializing in wildfire cases, filed the complaint on Monday on behalf of a San Juan Capistrano resident whose home was evacuated due to the fire, ABC7 reported.
The lawsuit points to an outage reported by San Diego Gas & Electric on its website at 11:31 a.m. Friday on circuit 197, located northwest of Eminencia Del Norte in San Clemente. Just two minutes later, at 11:33 a.m. Friday, Orange County firefighters received word of flames igniting near Portico del Norte in San Clemente. Hikers at the scene were the first to report the blaze at that time, Orange County firefighters told ABC7 during a livestreamed broadcast. According to ABC7, SDG&E's equipment is situated within 100 to 200 feet of Cal Fire's approximate ignition site for the fire.
While the lawsuit has been filed, the official cause of the Norte Fire remained under investigation. Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) spokesperson Capt. Sean Doran told Patch that the investigation is "underway" and that information would not be available until it is completed. Capt. Doran added that "some of the investigations go on for months" due to the numerous variables involved.
The wind-whipped blaze grew rapidly after ignition, consuming 250 acres within an hour, driven by fierce Santa Ana winds. It ultimately charred 570 acres of land. Firefighters stated that the wildfire destroyed or damaged six homes. The swift spread of the fire prompted evacuation orders across multiple neighborhoods in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. These orders included streets off Camino Las Ramblas down to the San Diego (5) Freeway. San Clemente Chief of Police Services Justin Chevalier stated that approximately 6,000 homes and 16,000 residents were initially under evacuation orders.
By Tuesday, Orange County firefighters had achieved 90 percent containment of the Norte Fire. OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said over the weekend that fire crews expected to remain in the affected area for several days to prevent any rekindling. "We don't want rekindling," Capt. Concialdi emphasized, adding that they wanted to prevent embers from igniting palm trees, vegetation, or homes in other areas.
