Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) officials confirmed Wednesday evening that the Gibby Fire, which ignited off Ortega Highway and Gibby Road in unincorporated Rancho Mission Viejo, has had its forward progress stopped at 250 acres. This announcement, made shortly after 7:30 p.m. by OCFA, followed the lifting of all shelter-in-place orders that had been in effect. Despite the halt in spread, a significant section of Ortega Highway remained closed.
The vegetation fire was initially reported to have spread to 216 acres as of 4:48 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. By the evening update, OCFA confirmed it had reached 250 acres before crews managed to stop its outward expansion.
OCFA Incident Commander Cheyne Maule addressed the progress in a public statement. Maule stated, “I’m happy to say that we can call forward progress stopped on the Gibby Fire.” He further indicated the continued efforts required, adding that crews "will continue to work the fire the next few days and we’ll continue monitoring things."
The Gibby Fire originated on Wednesday afternoon near the intersection of Ortega Highway and Gibby Road within the unincorporated area of Rancho Mission Viejo. Its ignition immediately led to the closure of much of Ortega Highway, a critical thoroughfare in the region.
Following the containment of the fire's spread, OCFA officials confirmed that "All shelter-in-place orders have been lifted" for residents in the vicinity. However, Ortega Highway remains inaccessible to traffic from Gateway to Grand in Riverside County, as stated by OCFA. Officials from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) are actively assisting the Orange County Fire Authority in managing and maintaining these ongoing road closures.
As of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the OCFA's public communications confirmed that no homes in the area were under direct threat from the advancing vegetation fire.
A broad coalition of emergency and land management agencies has been engaged in the response to the Gibby Fire. OCFA crews have been working in coordination with CalFire, the U.S. Forest Service, the California Highway Patrol, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and Orange County Parks personnel. Incident Commander Maule reported that these combined crews were making tangible progress on containment from both ground-based operations and aerial firefighting resources.
Given the ongoing firefighting operations and the continued presence of emergency personnel, Orange County Fire Authority officials are urging members of the public to avoid the affected area around Ortega Highway and Gibby Road.
The official cause of the vegetation fire remains undetermined. Authorities have initiated an investigation into the origin of the Gibby Fire.
With forward progress stopped, the focus shifts to full containment and monitoring, as indicated by Incident Commander Maule, with crews expected to remain active at the site over the coming days.
