Fire Damage

Ten days ago today a large portion of one of California’s great public gardens was destroyed. It was a tragic event and a loss to the gardening community. For several days in early May fire raged in the hills and canyons east of Santa Barbara, spurred by wind gusts as high as 65 mph.   Five thousand homes were evacuated, 8,700 acres were burned and 30,000 people were affected. The fire was front-page news. Ninety-five homes were burned, 80 were destroyed. But for the gardeners of Southern California there was more bad news from Santa Barbara — news that didn’t make the headlines.

A smoke alarm alerted Newport Beach firefighters to a small bedroom fire at 8:29 p.m. Tuesday night at a home on Amethyst in Balboa Island. Upon arrival, firefighters promptly doused the fire in the back bedroom of the home. Nobody was at the residence when the fire began, and no injuries were reported, according to the Newport Beach Fire Department. Twenty Newport Beach firefighters responded to the fire, which firefighters speculate was started by an electrical device, but the cause is still under investigation, according to Fire Department officials.

Deepa Bharath NEWPORT BEACH -- Smoke caused considerable damage when a fire broke out in a two-story office building early Saturday morning, officials said. No one was injured in the blaze. Nobody was in the building, located in the 1100 block of Quail Drive, except for an employee who had dropped by his office to make a couple of business calls before heading out to play golf, said Newport Beach Fire Capt. John Blauer. 'He was on the second floor, but he smelled the smoke and started looking around," he said.

Costa Mesa garage fire kills pet snake A garage fire in Costa Mesa early Monday caused extensive smoke and fire damage and killed a 10-foot snake. Firefighters responded to the fire in the 900 block of W. 19th Street at about 7:45 a.m., Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Scott Broussard said. When they arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from a detached garage. It took about 20 minutes for 25 firefighters to extinguish the flames, Broussard said.

Closet fire breaks out in bookstore Barnes and Noble Booksellers in South Coast Metro suffered $20,000 worth of damage after a fire broke out in one of its closets Sunday morning, Costa Mesa Fire officials said. The fire was "small" and was put out by the sprinklers even before firefighters arrived at about 10:55 a.m., officials said. No one was injured. There was minor fire damage in the closet. Officials said water was also found on the floor and outside the closet with water leaking down into Mikasa, which is directly below.

Portable toilets catch fire, damage offices A single-alarm fire on Wednesday night caused structural damage to two office buildings in the 800 block of West 18th Street, Costa Mesa fire officials said. Firefighters who responded to the call saw several portable toilets between the two buildings on fire, Battalion Chief Scott Broussard said. Flames were shooting up to 10 feet above the buildings, he said. Firefighters quickly put out the fire, minimizing damage to adjacent structures.

BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Fire damages Eastbluff home Newport Beach fire officials say an electrical problem sparked a fire Monday afternoon that caused mostly smoke damage to the second floor of a $1-million Eastbluff home. The 3:05 p.m. blaze started in the computer room of a 4,000-square-foot house in the 2100 block of Arbutus Street, said Newport Beach Fire Capt. John Blauer. Within a half-hour, about 17 firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Authorities believe a fire that started underneath a 1976 Rolls Royce is responsible for a blaze that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and scorched two cars Monday in Newport Beach. Officials said just after 8 a.m. Monday a fire broke out in a Torrey Pines Road home in Newport Beach’s Big Canyon community. The first firefighters to arrive found a garage engulfed in flames and spreading to the house and a neighbor’s home, officials said. The homeowner had recently had some work done on the Rolls Royce, said Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz.

A structure fire in Costa Mesa caused $500,000 in damages to two condominiums and sent one victim to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation Monday, fire officials said. A mother and her three children, including an infant, were displaced and provided temporary shelter and supplies by the American Red Cross of Orange County, communications director Shelly Parsons said. About 40 Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Fountain Valley firefighters contained the fire at 3:35 a.m., 47 minutes after they arrived at 2172 Biscayne Springs.

Those interested in getting training from Newport Beach to handle disasters can register for the next round of classes, which start in January. Classes for the Community Emergency Response Team are available to anyone who works, lives or attends school in the area, officials said. Volunteers are trained over several weeks to become a certified disaster worker, and are prepared to assist local emergency crews in the event of a large-scale natural catastrophe that overwhelms firefighters, paramedics and other city crews.