The Holy Fire was a wildfire that burned in the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by th ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and Riverside Counties,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The wildfire started on August 6, 2018 at around 1:15 PM PDT, in the vicinity of

Trabuco Canyon Trabuco Canyon (''Trabuco'', Spanish for "Blunderbuss") is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest. Trabuco ...

. The suspected arsonist, Forrest Gordon Clark, was booked into the Orange County jail in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

. The blaze burned and destroyed 18 buildings, before it was fully contained on September 13, 2018. While the fire was actively spreading in early and mid-August, residents of the nearby cities of

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

, Temescal Valley, and

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for the town of Elsino ...

were placed under evacuation orders.

Timeline

The Holy Fire was first reported at 1:15 PM PST on Monday August 6, 2018, in Holy Jim Canyon (from which the fire derives its name), a community of about 40 homes and cabins in the

area of the

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside co ...

. Evacuation orders were issued for parts of

, including the entire community of Holy Jim. Trabuco Creek Road was subsequently closed at Trabuco Canyon Road indefinitely as the Orange County Sheriff Department continues their investigation. It quickly moved uphill in a northeast direction, jumping the crest of the Santa Ana Mountains into neighboring

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, threatening the areas of Corona, El Cerrito, and Glen Ivy Hot Springs. At the time, the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Growth and Containment

Impact

By August 8, thirteen cabins had been destroyed in Holy Jim (sic - impacted cabins are in Trabuco). No major injuries were reported. By August 10, one home along Ortega Highway had also been destroyed, the only confirmed home in Riverside County at that time. By August 13, the Holy Fire had destroyed a total of 18 structures in both Orange and Riverside Counties.

Evacuation areas

On August 13, the neighborhoods under mandatory evacuation included: *Blue Jay * El Cariso *Glen Eden (Corona) *Holy Jim Canyon *Indian Canyon (Corona) *Sycamore Creek (Corona) *Horsethief Canyon (Corona) *Mayhew Canyon (Corona) * Rancho Capistrano *

As of August 13, neighborhoods under voluntary evacuation included: * Trilogy (Temescal Valley)

Suspect

The fire was allegedly started by 51-year-old Forrest Gordon Clark; it was ignited near a cabin owned by Clark in the Holy Jim Canyon community. He was arrested on August 8, 2018 and booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of two counts of felony arson, one count of felony threat to terrorize, and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest. Two weeks before the fire started, Clark reportedly sent a message to Mike Milligan, the volunteer fire chief of Holy Jim Volunteer Fire Department, reading "This place is going to burn." However, Clark later claimed he was asleep at the time the fire started. Clark is currently being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Court appearances

On August 10, 2018, Forrest Gordon Clark made his first court appearance. He was originally scheduled to appear on August 9, 2018. However, he refused to leave his jail cell. He was due back in court on August 17, 2018. On August 17, when he appeared for the second time, which was the third attempt for his court hearing, Clark’s erratic behavior caused a judge to stop the normal proceedings, ending with a suspension of the charges so Clark’s mental health and competency can be examined. Two examinations were submitted before his next court appearance on October 10, 2018. A third, "tie-breaking" examination was ordered after competing examinations were submitted. On November 28, 2018, Clark was ruled competent to assist attorneys in his defense, and subsequently the resisting arrest charges were dropped. On December 12, 2018, he pled not guilty to the remaining charges. On February 10, 2021, a request for Clark's bail to be lowered was denied by a judge. The judge stated that the rejection stemmed from a concern for public safety.

References

External links

Holy Fire
(InciWeb) {{2018 wildfires 2018 California wildfires 2018 crimes in California California wildfires caused by arson