Shock Waves : O.C. Businesses Assess Effects of Bay Area Quake

Although Orange County did not physically experience the catastrophic earthquake that shook the San Francisco area Tuesday, the temblor has made itself felt in other ways.

A number of Orange County businesses have facilities and employees in the Bay Area and others have clients in the stricken communities.

While communications with their offices in the affected areas were spotty at best Wednesday, officials at a variety of Orange County firms said that their Bay Area operations appear to have escaped serious damage and that there were no reports of employee injuries.

At the same time the firms worked the phones to assess the impact, they also launched efforts to assist with the rescue and recovery work.

Newport Beach-based Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. introduced a streamlined policy loan program that will enable clients in the Bay Area to borrow against their life insurance policies and receive the money within 24 hours instead of waiting the usual four-day period, company spokesman Andrew Morrison said.

Fluor Daniel, the international engineering and construction firm based in Irvine, sent five structural engineers to San Francisco Wednesday morning to assist in determining whether homes, office buildings and other structures are safe. They are among 30 Southern California engineers participating in a volunteer program of the Structural Engineering Assn. of California.

Company spokeswoman Deborah Land said Fluor Daniel has about 300 employees in a regional office in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco. She said that there were no reported injuries but that the building was closed Wednesday because of minor damage.

Like many other engineering and heavy construction firms, Fluor saw its stock price rise Wednesday as investors bet that the major California construction companies will benefit from the billions of dollars that will be spent on repairing the damage caused by the 6.9 quake.

Fluor’s stock rose 75 cents a share to $33.38.

While Fluor was the only Orange County company whose stock was affected by the earthquake, it wasn’t the only one to feel a direct impact.

Two fast-food chains based in Orange County--Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bell--reported that several of their restaurants in the Bay Area were damaged or forced to close because of power outages. Both companies said they were working with the American Red Cross to provide food to shelters and rescue workers.

Fullerton-based Beckman Instruments said a scientific instruments plant in Palo Alto and a medical diagnostic kit manufacturing facility in San Jose were shut down Wednesday as a result of the quake, a spokeswoman said.

Bergen Brunswig, the Orange-based pharmaceuticals distributor, operates a major distribution center that serves hospitals and clinics throughout the Bay Area. Bob Dominguez, regional vice president, said the center sustained only minimal damage and was “getting orders out on time.”

“The biggest problems we are having is that there is a telephone gridlock and it is difficult to get around because a lot of streets are closed and normal delivery routes are damaged,” Dominguez said.

Finally, two Orange County-based residential builders with sizable operations in the Bay Area said they escaped significant damage.

Ronald Foell, president of Standard Pacific, a Costa Mesa residential construction firm, said none of the 450 homes his company is developing in the quake area were damaged, including homes in a subdivision in Scotts Valley, just two miles from the epicenter. “We lost some roof tiles, but that was all,” Foell said.

And Dick Randall, president of the William Lyon Co. in Newport Beach, said that several of the company’s Bay Area projects sustained minor cosmetic damage but that no structural problems have been discovered.