Fire Out, Smoke Gone, but Pall Lingers

Black water welled up in gutters and the strong smell of burned wood permeated the air Wednesday as residents near downtown Santa Ana’s spectacular fire stood outside their homes Wednesday and surveyed the damage.

Water drained from the windows of the burned apartment complex under construction onto charred stacks of new wood. The extreme heat of the blaze melted window glass and made the paint on nearby businesses bubble and peal. Lamps burned off the top of lampposts and the flowers and plants along 3rd Street drooped and turned brown from the blaze, which forced residents to abandon their homes and belongings.

“We were worried about our children,” said resident Maria Camarillo, in Spanish. “We put water on the house and we ran away. I only took my black sweater.”

Once allowed to return, Camarillo and the eight members of her family, who live on 3rd Street, spent a sleepless night in their house, periodically hearing explosions that sounded like water bombs hitting the blaze, she said.

Actually, firefighters said, the sounds probably were caused by the building’s concrete foundation bursting from the heat.

Residents and business operators said the relief they felt when their buildings survived was followed by the realization that they were without electricity, phone service, gas or garbage pick-up--and this was trash day.

“It’s really an inconvenience for the people who live here,” said Sylvia Garcia, 28, of Riverside, who was visiting her parents on 3rd Street near the fire site. “Some people didn’t get to work on time because their alarms didn’t go off.”

The firefighters, who sprayed each other playfully Wednesday afternoon during the cleanup, handed their work over by early evening to a salvage crew hired by the apartment complex builder, according to Fire Department Battalion Chief Wayne Bowman.

Though the firefighters were leaving, police blockades remained in place throughout the day, preventing looters--and customers--from entering the area.

“We ain’t doing no business,” said John Marmo, co-owner of Restaurant Equipment Re-Conditioning on 2nd Street. “We have no phones and we can’t get any trucks in here.”

‘Nobody There’ for Caterer

Businesses near the site of the fire were not the only ones affected.

Rudolfo Zavala, 28, who runs a catering truck, showed up Wednesday afternoon near the apartment construction site where he usually serves lunch to about 80 laborers.

“That’s my job and now there’s nobody there,” he said. “Yesterday people were working and everything, and now there’s nobody. It was one of our best stops.”

About 1,000 customers were without phone service because of the fire, Pacific Bell spokesman Craig MacDonald said. The fire destroyed three telephone poles and melted 400 feet of cable, he said. The cable held 1,000 wires that had to be individually spliced.

All utilities were expected to be restored by today.

While some businesses were hurt, others saw a business opportunity.

“The whole thing has got to go,” said Craig Chasmar, who works for a local demolition company that will bid to raze what remains after the blaze. He said cement was heated to the point that it melted steel support cables inside the concrete.