Fire chief who saved woman from Airport Fire speaks out: 'I started screaming, 'You need to get in!'
A fire chief jumped into action to save a woman from the fierce flames of the Airport Fire, and he says the moment he saw her, he acted fast.
"I happened to look back down the road and I saw the woman walking down the middle of the road," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Michael Martinez, one of the many firefighters battling the 23,000-acre fire burning in Orange and Riverside counties.
The dramatic rescue was caught on video. You can see the woman running away from the flames, looking for a way out.
"I started screaming at her, 'You need to get in! You need to get in! ... opened my door, reached out and grabbed her, and pulled her into the backseat," said Martinez.
The woman was taken to the hospital with severe burns, but that wasn't the only rescue.
On Thursday afternoon, firefighters saved a horse after its corral caught fire during a flare-up. They helped even more horses earlier that morning.
"They needed some water and our fire engine pulled up, and these horses literally went towards the fire engine, and these firefighters pulled a hose line out, filled it up, and you saw the horses just migrate right there and start drinking the water," said an Orange County Fire Authority firefighter.
Falling temperatures continued to provide a valuable boost to firefighters with crews finally beginning to establish containment lines while slowing the spread of the fire. As of Thursday, the fire was estimated at 23,410 acres, with 5% containment.
The initial outbreak of the fire threatened more than 21,000 homes in both Riverside and Orange counties, forcing residents to evacuate. Now, some of them are eager to return home to the animals they were unable to take with them.
"We know it's dangerous but we would just like to go back and feed our animals and come back down," said an evacuee.
It's still too dangerous for residents to drive around in the area due to down power lines, hot spots, and all of the emergency equipment moving in and out of the area.
A mandatory evacuation order was previously issued for the Robinson Ranch community in Rancho Santa Margarita, but that order was downgraded to only an evacuation warning on Thursday afternoon. Sheriff's officials said the area will remain open to residents only.
Voluntary evacuation warnings were in place for residents on Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook's Corner. Evacuation warnings were issued Tuesday for Silverado and Modjeska canyons.
City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.
