A fast-moving brush fire grew to 250 acres Friday afternoon in a suburban part of Orange County, burning homes in an upscale neighborhood and prompting evacuation orders.
The Norte Fire was reported shortly after 11:30 a.m. near Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Within a few hours, the blaze had grown from 10 acres to 465, threatening structures in San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. Mandatory evacuation orders were put in place for both communities, with residents in those areas told to leave immediately. Television coverage showed flames consuming multi-million dollar houses.
As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, six homes had been damaged or destroyed by the fire, Mark Backoff, a division chief with the Orange County Fire Authority, said in a video posted to social media. One firefighter battling the flames suffered from heat exhaustion, he said…