Note: This story has been updated to note the fire is to the east of the 5 freeway.
Read more Norte fire ravages homes, explodes to 570 acres in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano closed early on Friday as a precaution as the Norte fire built steam toward the east.
“We closed our grounds early today due to safety,” Mission San Juan Capistrano spokesperson Kristen Bolda said. “There was a lot of smoke and things like that. We were concerned for our visitors and of course, our staff too. So we closed the grounds early, around 1 p.m.”
The historic mission, the seventh of the string of missions developed by Spanish priests in California, is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year.
The Norte fire is east of the 5 Freeway from the mission and the historic old town of San Juan Capistrano that surrounds it. But the evacuation zone goes right up to the freeway in that area.
“We had an amazing day with a lot of local fourth graders coming on their field trips and they were very excited and having just the best day ever. But at the end of the field trip, we started to see some flames,” Mission Executive Director Mechelle Lawrence Adams said.
Adams said by early Friday afternoon, employees and visitors spotted flames and smoke.
Read more Map: This is where the Norte fire is burning in Orange County
“We just reassured the fourth graders that the mission’s been around for 250 years and it was a safe place to be and we were able to have them leave safely,” she said.
The main concern, Adams said, is for the mission’s 59 employees — most of whom live in the evacuation zone or in nearby south county cities.
“We’re all safe and evacuated and it’s in lockdown,” Adams said. “But even if they are going to be OK, this is still scary. San Juan Capistrano is a sleepy little town where people like to be happy. And then you have a fire in your own backyard, and it’s frightening.”
Adams, however, was confident in the mission’s soundness and said she had faith in fire crews working to extinguish the oncoming flames.
“We just want to take good care of the site. It’s 250 years old,” she said. “It’s weathered a lot of storms.”
Read more Norte fire: Parents asked to pick up students from San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano schools