OC To Pay $9.5M In Airport Fire Settlement Claims

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Orange County supervisors voted Tuesday to pay $9.5 million to settle various claims related to the 2024 Airport Fire.

The supervisors voted 4-0, with Supervisor Janet Nguyen absent from the meeting, to approve $6.5 million for a group of six claimants, and $3 million for an individual family.

The Airport Fire, which ignited Sept. 9, 2024, charred 23,526 acres in Orange and Riverside counties, injuring 21 people.

The cause of the fire was deemed accidental, and officials said the origin flames were sparked by the county public works crew using heavy equipment on a hot day.

On Sept. 19, eight firefighters were injured when a transport truck carrying an Orange County Fire Authority hand crew swerved and rolled over on the northbound Foothill (241) Toll Road in Irvine as they were heading back to the Airport Fire command post after completing a 12-hour shift on the fire line.

City News Service contributed to this report.