Unrelated Blazes Damage 2 Homes

The upper floors of two houses were gutted in unrelated South County fires Wednesday morning.

The first occurred at 9:30 a.m. at 28255 Flechas in Mission Viejo, County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said.

A neighbor who saw the blaze burning through the roof called firefighters, who controlled the blaze within 11 minutes, Cha said.

The bedrooms and contents on the second floor were destroyed, and the attic and roof sustained extensive damage, she said.

Damage to the house totaled $220,000, $180,000 to the structure and $40,000 to contents, she said. The family was not home.

The second fire occurred at 11:06 a.m. at 51 Hastings St., Laguna Niguel. A smoke detector alerted a grandfather and four children ages 2 to 8, who all escaped unharmed, Cha said.

Firefighters contained the blaze within 12 minutes, she said.

Both families were not immediately identified, Cha said, and the causes are under investigation.