Wildfire Smoke Billows Right Behind Ridgetop Homes in San Clemente

A thick column of smoke from the Norte Fire billowed up right behind a row of homes on a San Clemente ridge on October 16, 2026, as strong winds pushed it across the sky.

X user Brian Dean filmed the scene from across a dry, brown valley at about 12:30 p.m. In the video, grey smoke pours up from just beyond the houses on the ridgeline and is blown sideways, while loud wind gusts hit the microphone. “Norte Fire here in San Clemente getting very close to homes. Winds have started picking up as well,” he wrote.

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. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of both cities.