AT LEAST 4,000 ACRES have been burned in the Anaheim Hills area since Monday morning and evacuation orders have been issued for several communities (OCFA photo).

UPDATE (6 p.m.): The Anaheim Hills /Canyon 2 fire has expanded to over 4,000 acres, and could reach 5,000. According to fire officials, six homes have been damaged and one person injured, a victim of smoke inhalation.

Several elementary schools in the area were closed due to poor air quality, as were Santiago Canyon College and Chapman University in Orange. Animals – specifically horses and other large beasts – evacuated from the area were relocated to Yorba Regional Park and the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Fire crews from Huntington Beach, including five engines and several chief officers, have been dispatched to the area. In Garden Grove, the Islamic Society of Orange County has opened its doors to shelter those displaced by the fire and smoke. ISOC is located at 9752 13th St. Units from the Garden Grove Fire Department have also been sent to assist in fighting the fire.

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A wind-whipped fire has forced mandatory evacuation orders in several areas in the hills of northern Orange County. The Orange County Fire Authority reports that at least 2,000 acres of land are involved and more than 200 firefighters are on the scene.

Several houses have been destroyed in the Canyon Drive area of Anaheim Hills, and thick smoke is blotting out the sunshine over Anaheim, Orange, Yorba Linda, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and other cities and communities.

Officials are requiring that residents leave the Orange Park Acres area, a neighborhood with much horse property. Trailers are being rushed there to assist in moving the animals. Also under a mandatory evacuation order are the communities of East Orange and the North Tustin area.

All areas of Santiago Canyon Road east of Cannon/Crawford Canyon and north of Tustin Ranch and west of Jamboree Avenue are also under mandatory evacuation orders.

At least 1,000 homes have been evacuated, according to fire officials. The fire is believed to have started near the interchange of the 91 and 241 freeways at around 10 a.m. Both freeways have been shut down.

As of this posting – 2:52 p.m. – the fire is considered zero percent contained.

For more information, call (714) 765-4333.