San Clemente Beach Disappears Under Wildfire Smoke Cloud

Thick smoke from the Norte Fire spread over the San Clemente coastline on October 16, 2026, drifting past homes and a long pier and out over the ocean.

The first video, filmed from a rooftop shortly before 1 p.m., shows a large grey and brown plume rising from behind a tree-lined hill above several large homes. As the camera pans left, it reveals the beach, the pier and the smoke spreading out over the water.

The second video was filmed about half an hour later from south San Clemente. It shows a dense dark grey cloud behind a row of bluff-top homes, one of them flying a large American flag. Below are train tracks, a sandy beach with a lifeguard tower and the pier, while the smoke stretches across the coast.

The fire broke out at about 11:30 a.m. near Portico Del Norte in San Clemente and spread into San Juan Capistrano, fueled by dry brush and Santa Ana winds. By the afternoon it had burned 465 acres and was 0% contained, fire officials said. The Orange County Fire Authority said four homes on Via La Mirada in San Juan Capistrano were impacted, and mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of both cities.