Gone up in smoke
So. Calif. mansions ablaze
Chilling new images show the heartbreaking damage of the massive wildfire in Southern California, where multimillion-dollar homes have been reduced to charred skeletons and piles of smoldering ash.
The wind-fueled inferno had burned at least 24 houses and ripped through 200 acres in the ritzy coastal area of Laguna Niguel as of Thursday, forcing the evacuations of 900 homes as Orange County officials declared a state of emergency.
The Coastal Fire broke out between Laguna Niguel and Laguna Beach near a water-treatment plant and was first reported at around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday before rapidly spreading, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
Photos taken at dawn Thursday show mansions reduced to rubble, with smoke still pouring from the scene.
Fire officials didn’t say how much of the blaze had been contained at a press conference Thursday, but the number of acres burned had not increased since Wednesday night.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.
A firefighter was hurt while battling the blaze, fire officials said. There were no other immediate reports of injuries as the flames swallowed entire homes.
“We have damage-inspection teams out . . . They’re out evaluating the damaged homes that we have in the community,” said Orange County Fire Authority Assistant Chief of Field Operations T.J. McGovern.
“The fire is currently being investigated.”
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for some residents, according to KABC-TV. The Orange County Sheriff ’s Department estimated that there were about 100 homes in at-risk areas.
Brian Fennessy, chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, said late Wednesday that about 20 homes had been destroyed in the conflagration.
“You’ve got to remember that this fire was wind-driven,” Fennessy told reporters.
“We have embers cast very deep down into those canyons, many of them up into those palm trees. We had embers in our attic spaces, through vents,” he said.
“The focus is to get into these homes and to really take a look into those attics, to get down in the vegetation, to really make sure we’re not leaving any hot embers in place.”
The combination of the gusty winds and the dry conditions exacerbated the fire, Fennessy said.