An 80-acre vegetation fire that threatened dozens of homes Tuesday afternoon in La Habra and Fullerton was about 70 percent contained, authorities said.

The La Habra Police Department tweeted the news at about 6:10 p.m., more than two hours after the fire began and following a massive effort to control the blaze. Los Angeles County Fire Department tweeted at 7:25 p.m. that the fire had burned 80 acres and was 70 percent contained.

Several fire departments responded around 3:50 p.m. shortly after the wildfire began at Rosecrans Avenue and Beach Boulevard near Coyote Hills in Fullerton, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.

The fire appears to have spread northeast, toward South Idaho Street and West Risner Way in La Habra, south of Vista del Valle Park. The blaze was a few miles north of the 91 freeway and I-5 interchange.

Helicopters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the OCFA, as well as two Los Angeles County Fire “super scooper” planes, assisted crews on the ground by dropping water on the blaze, Concialdi said.

The Fullerton Police Department evacuated 40 homes along North Euclid Street, police officials said. La Habra police officers were going door to door to around 40 homes to encourage residents to leave, said Robert Ferrier, assistant to the La Habra city manager.

Dozens of onlookers gathered on North Parks Road in Fullerton, some standing on their cars and ledges, to watch the blaze from a distance.

Ali Karimi, 31, who lives a few blocks from the fire on Coyote Hills Drive in Fullerton, left his job in Long Beach early to see how bad it was.

“I was at work, and my mom called me, and she was panicking,” he said. “I guess we’re lucky it’s not windy. It could be a lot worse.”

Zach Ferranti, 20, was reading a book inside his home on La Costa Court in La Habra when a neighbor pounded on his door to warn of the fire.

At one point, the smoke was almost 50 yards from the property, he said. Along with his mother and stepfather, he decided to not evacuate.

“I trusted the firefighters,” Ferranti said.

Fullerton resident Timothy Neufarth was watching from West Coyote Hills Tree Park. Neufarth, 47, said he could see the smoke from as far away as Santa Monica earlier in the day.

“Hopefully, this is a fire that started by natural causes and not someone being stupid,” he said.

Fire departments from Brea, Anaheim and Garden Grove also assisted in fighting the wildfire, Concialdi said.

There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire was not immediately known, said Julie Kunze, deputy fire chief for the Fullerton and Brea fire departments. None of the threatened homes were burned, she said.

The Red Cross was at the La Habra Community Center at 101 W. La Habra Blvd. to assist evacuees. The Fullerton Community Center, 340 W. Commonwealth Ave., was also open for evacuees.

Around 8 p.m., residents in La Habra were being let back into their homes.

A SigAlert was issued for Imperial Highway between Harbor and South Beach boulevards until further notice. There was no estimate Tuesday night as to when it would be lifted.

Temperatures in the area have reached triple digits, according to the National Weather Service.

(Video below courtesy of Zach Ferranti)

Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@ocregister.com