[UPDATED with 500+ Acres, 60% Contained:] Carbon Canyon Wildfire Spreads

​UPDATE, JULY 8, 10:24 A.M.: The Carbon Canyon wildfire has now spread to more than 500 acres and is 60 percent contained, but Orange County fire officials believe they have a handle on it.

No injuries have been reported nor have any homes been threatened.

Nearly 300 firefighters are trying to knock the damn thing down. The cause remains a mystery.

ORIGINAL POST, JULY 7, 4:50 P.M.: With the Carbon Canyon fire having spread to 100 acres (and counting), the city of Brea has activated the countywide AlertOC emergency notification system.

Community members are encouraged to visit www.AlertOC.com, register their contact information and be on their way to receiving time-sensitive communications via voice, e-mail or text messages.

At last report, flames were moving north and east of Carbon Canyon Road, but fire officials believe they have stopped the blaze's progression toward Olinda Village.

The fire spread this afternoon to a bushy area that's difficult to reach. Evacuations could still be ordered. That's where AlertOC comes in, as the emergency notification system can release 3 million 60-second voice messages, 1 million e-mails and 1.8 million text messages per hour.

It's the sole mass notification system used by the county and 33 Orange County cities to send everything from evacuation orders and road closures during natural disasters to minor reports like power outages that may have left you in the dark