SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Firefighters made their biggest push yet against the Norte Fire on Saturday, raising containment from 5% in the morning to 25% by evening as officials lifted evacuation orders and began letting roughly 16,000 displaced residents return home, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) said, according to the Associated Press.
The Cal Fire incident page, last updated at 7:42 p.m. on Saturday, confirmed the fire holding at 570 acres — under one square mile — with the cause still under investigation. The blaze is one of about 10 wildfires still uncontained in California, according to Cal Fire.
The turning point came at 6:21 p.m. Saturday, when a Cal Fire update announced that evacuation orders for San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano were lifted effective 6 p.m., the AP reported. OCFA crews worked through the evening to repopulate neighborhoods: San Clemente’s Zone 13 was fully cleared for return, while repopulation in San Juan Capistrano’s Zone 10 was limited to the Stallion Ridge community, San Juan Hills High School, and the landfill off La Pata. Only one San Clemente street remained under orders Saturday evening.
Six homes damaged, two firefighters hospitalized
At least six homes in San Juan Capistrano were damaged or destroyed, according to OCFA, Cal Fire, and the AP. One outlet reported seven homes affected, but that figure has not been confirmed by fire officials.
Two firefighters were hospitalized with heat-related injuries while defending structures; one was later released and the other was in stable condition, fire officials told CBS Los Angeles. OCFA fire captain Steve Concialdi said crews would remain on the fire line “a number of days” even with the orders lifted.
“We don’t want a rekindle,” Concialdi said, pointing to the Santa Ana winds. Hot spots and embers remained scattered across the burn area, and officials warned that wind-blown embers could still catch palm trees or vegetation near homes.
What started the fire
The fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. on Friday near Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte on the northern edge of San Clemente, OCFA said. Driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, it scorched 250 acres within an hour and reached 570 acres by Friday evening, crossing into San Juan Capistrano and threatening hillside communities.
At the height of the evacuations, orders covered roughly 6,000 homes and 16,000 residents in both cities, according to San Clemente’s chief of police services. Ten schools in the Capistrano Unified School District dismissed students early on Friday.
California secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced, unlocking federal funding for the response. About 400 firefighters were assigned to the fire, with roughly 400 more en route.
Why it matters
The Norte Fire is the first major test of California’s 2026 fire season in one of the state’s most densely populated coastal corridors — a place where wind-driven brush fires can jump from wilderness to million-dollar neighborhoods in under an hour. That containment held at just 570 acres with no civilian casualties is, officials said, the result of an unusually large and rapid deployment.
What happens next
Fire officials said the weekend’s progress is fragile. Santa Ana winds and Red Flag conditions were expected to continue into Saturday evening, and crews planned days of mop-up work to extinguish lingering hot spots. Investigators have not determined how the fire started. For the thousands returning home Saturday night, the next days bring damage assessments, insurance claims, and the question of how long it takes for a community to feel safe again.
