LOS ANGELES — Authorities on Thursday were trying to determine the cause of a brush fire that burned at least 20 homes in Laguna Niguel, fueled by winds and dry conditions caused by California’s intense drought.
The probe is still in its early stages, but Southern California Edison issued an initial report to state regulators saying that “our information reflects circuit activity occurring close in time to the reported time of the fire.”
No other details were provided.
“Our thoughts are with the community members whose homes have been damaged and those who were evacuated because of the Coastal fire, and we’re coordinating with fire agencies as needed to ensure firefighter safety,” said David Song, a spokesman for the utility.
Song said Edison’s report — which is required for certain types of events — is intended to put the California Public Utilities Commission “on notice of an incident, so that it can conduct its own investigation.”
“Our top priority is the safety of customers, employees and communities, which is why we continue to enhance our wildfire mitigation efforts through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices,” he added.
Some of California’s most destructive fires have been caused by power lines damaged by winds, including the Paradise inferno and the massive 2017 blazes in wine country. Edison faced more than half a billion dollars in fines from the California Public Utilities Commission last year related to several big fires, including the Thomas and the Woolsey.
The Coastal fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in a coastal canyon near the Pacific Ocean in an upscale section of south Orange County. Hundreds of residents fled as the flames swept into a gated community of multimillion-dollar homes overlooking the ocean.
The fire remained at about 200 acres Thursday morning, and an estimated 900 homes have been evacuated, officials said.
Information about containment was not immediately available.
TJ McGovern, assistant chief of operations for the Orange County Fire Authority, said crews worked hard Wednesday and overnight to establish containment lines. However, the fire is still smoldering and officials are concerned about coastal winds anticipated in the afternoon. Crews will be on scene widening the containment lines with bulldozers.
“We’re confident the fire is not going to escape those lines,” he said. “However, we’re not putting it out (as) a mop up stage because we still have to reinforce those containment lines. There’s still a lot of work to be done out there today.”
Thick smoke choked the Coronado Pointe neighborhood Thursday morning. Ash rained down on cars still parked in driveways and on trash cans that had been left along the curb. A firefighter attempted to hose pink fire retardant off a white Cadillac and BMW that had been abandoned on a circular driveway as flames approached the neighborhood. Officials said residents could see flames approaching as they fled their homes Wednesday afternoon. The flames were about 200 feet from their homes as they fled, leaving them little time to grab belongings.
A smoke advisory remains in effect near the burn area.
“I know it’s been a long night for the people of Laguna Niguel,” said county Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. “My thoughts and prayers go out to all the residents who have been affected by this terrible fire.”
No resident injuries have been reported. However, one firefighter suffered a medical emergency on the fire line and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to McGovern.
Wind-driven embers played a significant role in the early hours of the fire. The wind, paired with significant fire behavior, cast those embers down and threw them in front of the blaze. Such conditions can flare into new spot fires, said OCFA Capt. Greg Barta.
“One of the things that’s truly devastating is when those embers get inside attic vents and catch vegetation right up next to the home on fire. That’s why we always advise people to have clearance around their homes,” Barta said.
Neighbors said they saw workers clearing defensible space around the homes days before the fire broke out.
The homes are newer construction, which can fare better in fire zones. But the extreme fire behavior and the strong winds created a toxic recipe.
“When you have a fire that’s wind driven like that with significant flame links that is moving so quick, the minute you get that flame up against a home or you get embers into the attic vents it’s really hard to control that,” he said “Our firefighters did a great job. A lot of additional homes could have been lost had we not gotten in there so quickly.”
Sara Nuss-Galles watched the fire grow from her ridgetop home on Via Estoril in Laguna Niguel for more than an hour Wednesday afternoon before deciding it was time to leave. Smoke choked the hillsides as ash fell across the city.
“My clothes smell from the hour I spent in the house,” she said. “It’s just plumes of smoke. It’s very scary.”
OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy said at least 20 homes had been destroyed. In a statement Thursday morning, county Supervisor Katrina Foley said the fire had burned 24 structures.
California has secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will allow local agencies to seek reimbursement for some of the costs associated with battling the blaze, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Thursday.
“Local communities have been working around the clock to fight this fire and protect the citizens who live in the area,” Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, wrote in an earlier letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “Approving this request will help local authorities with the vital cost associated with fighting these fires, including the costs for emergency equipment, supplies, field camps and safety items.”
The destruction underscores the year-round danger of fires in Southern California, even in cool conditions.
“It’s sad to say that we’re getting kind of used to this,” Fennessy said. “The winds we experienced today are normal winds. … We’re seeing spread in ways we haven’t before. Fire is spreading very quickly into this very dry vegetation and taking off.”
Unlike many wildfires in the region, the Coastal fire was fanned not by Santa Ana winds from the desert but by strong gusts coming from the Pacific Ocean.
Gusts reached 30 mph in parts of Orange County on Wednesday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Brandt Maxwell. The winds drove the flames across drought-parched hillsides.
Persistent drought conditions in California and across the western United States have left vegetation so dry that it doesn’t take much for the fuels to ignite, Fennessy said. Efforts to contain the blaze were further complicated because the area is covered by thick vegetation that Fennessy said probably hasn’t burned in decades.
“The high risk of wildfire will continue unless we develop an aggressive climate action plan for Orange County and invest more in fire prone areas in Irvine and South County,” Foley said in a statement. “We must replace dry hazardous vegetation, especially dead limbs and trees prone to spread fire, with drought tolerant plants and trees that retain moisture even in a drought, to reduce the chance of wildfire causing damage. The cost of investing in preventive measures pales in comparison to the cost to respond to the fire, the loss of property and, worse, life.”
Vegetation across the county had already seen little rainfall. Between October and April, Southern California’s rainy season, less than 7 inches of rain fell at nearby John Wayne Airport, nearly 40% less than normal levels, Maxwell said.
And the previous year, the area was even drier, with less than 4 1/2 inches.
“Our fuel moistures right now are very low, which basically means that when a fire starts it’ll get established very rapidly. Throwing some wind on that and the terrain, the steepness of it, was a bad recipe,” McGovern said.
This is Orange County’s fourth fire this year. The Emerald fire broke out in Laguna Beach in February. In March, the Jim fire broke out in the Cleveland National Forest, and another ignited near Ortega Highway near San Juan Capistrano.
“We don’t have a fire season,” McGovern said. “It’s year-round now and these last four fires that we’ve had just proved it to all of us.”
