3 Youths Face Charges in Sunday’s Brush Fire in San Clemente

Three youths face felony and misdemeanor charges in a brush fire Sunday afternoon that scorched 60 acres and threatened valuable homes in San Clemente.

Their parents may also be held responsible for costs of fighting the blaze, which necessitated calling in crews and equipment from the Orange County and Laguna Beach fire departments to help San Clemente forces, said the city’s interim police chief, Al Ehlow.

San Clemente Fire Chief Tom Dailey said the costs of fighting the blaze in Boca de La Playa Canyon Sunday probably will exceed $25,000.

Ehlow said complaints were being readied Monday for filing in Juvenile Court alleging that the youths--two 17-year-olds and one 16-year-old--committed a felony by unlawfully starting a fire, as well as two misdemeanor offenses, one in violation of a Fire Department code barring entry into a restricted hazardous fire area and one for shooting BB guns within the city limits.

After questioning, the youths were released to their parents. Their names were withheld because of their age.

Both Ehlow and Fire Department spokeswoman Caroline Deak said brush in Boca de La Playa Canyon was ignited by a homemade device the boys had rigged to shoot tennis balls from a tin can.

“We don’t want to tell too much about it, because we don’t want others trying to duplicate it,” Deak said. “I can say that it involved the use of lighter fluid.”

The blaze flared up just before 4 p.m. Sunday in the canyon near Calle Corral where, according to Deak, the terrain was so steep and the canyon so deep that “in several spots firefighters just had to wait for the flames to come up to them” before water from their hoses could be effective.

“But of course the main idea was to protect the homes, and that was done,” she said.

Homeowners and a number of other citizens helped firefighters with garden hoses and shovels.

Structures that were threatened by the fire were on Calle Corral, Via Blanco and Acantilado, as well as some homes in new construction areas.

Deak said fire crews combed the 60-acre site Monday and found no additional “hot spots” among the blackened brush. She said flames came as close as “about 100 feet” to some structures, but residents Sunday said fire came within 10 feet of some homes.