Time lapse video captures start of California Holy Fire
A California man's home security system captured the smoke rising above the horizon as the Holy Fire spread.
Dramatic new video shows the moment the Holy Fire roared to life last Monday in the hills of Southern California's Orange County, as fire crews have made steady progress containing the blaze.
The video from Arthur Whiting's home shows the Holy Fire explode in size as it burned the hills of the Cleveland National Forest, and sent a large plume of smoke over residential neighborhoods.
As of Sunday night, the blaze was 52 percent contained, after burning 35.5 square miles of dry brush and destroying 16 structures. Nearly 1,500 firefighters are battling the fire, which has forced more than 11,000 people to evacuate, according to FOX11.
"The weather out here in California seems to be cooling down today and over the next couple days, and that should hopefully help firefighters get even more containment," Lynne Tolmachoff of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told the Associated Press. "They should make better progress over the next couple of days."
The Holy Fire burns in the distance above I-15 on Thursday night, Aug. 9, 2018 in Temescal Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Patrick Record)
CREWS FIGHTING CALIFORNIA HOLY FIRE SEE CONTAINMENT PROGRESS, OFFICIALS SAY
The fire, one of nearly 20 blazes burning across the Golden State, has been fought by aircraft making continual dumps of water and bright pink retardant on the blaze to protect Lake Elsinore and other foothill communities near the flames.
The Holy Fire burns the backyard of a home in the Cleveland National Forest in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Andrew and Vicky Masotto of Lake Elsinore told the Orange County Register they watched as aircraft flew low over their home to fight the blaze, calling firefighter's efforts "nothing short of a miracle"
“People should go up and say, ‘Thank you very much for saving my home,’” Andrew Masotto told the newspaper. “'Thank you so much for risking your lives for us.'”
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The man accused of deliberately starting the fire, 51-year-old Forrest Clark, appeared in court on Friday but his arraignment was postponed after he made several outbursts.
Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, was booked on suspicion of two counts of felony arson, and one count each of felony threat to terrorize and misdemeanor resisting arrest. (Orange County Sheriff’s Department)
During the hearing, Clark claimed his life was being threatened and saying the arson charge against him was a lie. A court commissioner ordered his bail to remain at $1 million.
A sheriff's deputy stands guard at a gate near a hillside as the Holy Fire burns in the Cleveland National Forest at Temescal Valley in Corona, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Further north near Sacramento, the largest wildfire ever recorded in California — the Mendocino Complex — destroyed more than 100 homes and is 62 percent contained as of Monday. On Sunday, it had covered 525 square miles.
The two-week-old Carr Fire that killed eight people and burned more than 1,000 homes was more than 60 percent contained on Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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