Cause of fire that destroyed Laguna Canyon home Sunday remains under investigation
An investigation continues this week into the cause of a fire that destroyed a home in Laguna Canyon shortly before sunrise Sunday, displacing its residents and damaging a nearby house.
“It’s completely destroyed. ... It was a multistory, so like a lower level. ... It looked like most of the living floor, the main floor, that’s where all the fire damage is, really, but it included their main deck, all their belongings, all the contents of the house, so it will be a complete rebuild,” Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King told the Daily Pilot. “The lower floor didn’t burn completely, but for them to rebuild, it would all have to be starting from a foundation.”
Emergency dispatchers began fielding calls concerning the blaze at 6:29 a.m., with the first call coming from the homeowner of the Castle Rock Road property, authorities said.
Laguna Beach fire and police personnel, as well as the Orange County Fire Authority, responded to the fire, which was contained and extinguished in about two hours, city officials said.
The home’s residents, a family of three, were able to safely vacate the property before emergency personnel arrived and did not need assistance finding a place to stay, according to King.
“They were able to provide housing for themselves,” King said.
But when firefighters reached the scene they saved the family dog from the burning home.
“We were lucky that we were able to go in and make a quick rescue of the pet in a timely fashion,” Deputy Fire Chief Crissy Teichmann said. “The pet did not seem like it was hurt, and so we were able to reunite it with its family. The firefighters are happy to be able to do that. It was uplifting. It was a great feeling.
“Obviously, when someone is experiencing the worst day of their life — this is a tragedy for the family — and I think the fact that we could bring every part of their family back to them is very important.”
Although conditions such as wind did not further complicate efforts to put the fire out, firefighters faced significant challenges. Those included a narrow, single-lane roadway with switchbacks to get near the property. Two fire engines were able to get close to the house, where hose lines were plugged into a hydrant to begin fighting the fire, Teichmann said.
Additional personnel had to park down the street and transport their equipment up to the property.
Laguna Beach residents turned out en masse for a town hall meeting on the issues of insurance and wildfire on Tuesday.
“There was a home that sits up above it on some very tall pylons, and that home had an exposure to flame impingement on the exterior of the house,” Teichmann added. “Luckily, because there was no wind to push the fire any further than that and the firefighters were relatively able to contain the exposure from growing into that additional property, that limited the spread.
“Obviously, that area is surrounded by vegetation, and the house above was a challenging access. The crews had to put a ladder on the side of the hillside to climb up and gain access.”
Members of the public who may have information regarding the incident are asked to contact Laguna Beach Fire Investigator Brent Buccola at [email protected].
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