Repairs underway after Norte Fire destroyed homes

While the Norte fire in Orange County is 90% contained, work is far from over for hundreds of firefighters there. Fox 11's Rachel Aragon shows us how crews are moving forward. Now the community is rallying behind them. While thousands of residents are now back in their home, fire officials tell me crews are out here fast at work trying to restore the land to what it once was before the Norte fire broke out Friday and to prevent future erosion. While the Norte fire no longer poses a threat to residents, Hundreds of firefighters are still in San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente Tuesday working on fire suppression repairs. Fixing the damage that we caused during suppression efforts. It could include hand line, it could include dozer line, it could include other things, fencing. The Orange County Fire Authority says the goal is to get the terrain back to what it was before firefighting operations started on Friday. With various measures that prevent soil erosion and mitigate the risk of future fires. That includes shredding loads of branches and brush left behind by firefighters. Dug into the ground, staked through. They're also placing these rolls of straw along slopes to prevent erosion before the next rainfall. Erosion can occur with any sort of rain, and so really the goal is to dissipate any rain droplets, so whether that be from a light rain or a heavy rain. Firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority are also working 12-plus hour shifts to make sure the Norte fire is completely out. They're using drones with infrared technology to scan the terrain to give residents peace of mind that nothing will smolder or reignite. Even though it seems like the fire's out, but what people don't realize is sometimes these hot spots can end up reigniting and being a problem, and so that's why we're still out there. And residents are taking notice that firefighters have not slowed down much. I needed electrolytes, so I did the Propel in various flavors. Many are sharing their gratitude for not only protecting them from this fire, but also doing their part to prevent the next one. For your expertise, your technical skills, your leadership, I just don't have the words to express my gratefulness. That means the world to us. You have no idea. And the Orange County Fire Authority tells me crews will be back here out tomorrow through at least most of the day to continue searching for hotspots and conducting more fire suppression repairs. Reporting in San Juan Capistrano, I'm Rachel Aragon, I'll send it back to you.