Fires Destroy Home, Force Evacuation of Apartments : Emergencies: Lemon Heights house is gutted by flames. Santa Ana complex residents flee heavy smoke.

Two fires kept Orange County firefighters busy late Sunday and early Monday, with one blaze gutting a home in Lemon Heights and the other forcing evacuation of 300 apartment complex residents in Santa Ana.

A spectacular blaze destroyed a tri-level Lemon Heights house Monday morning and threatened another home in the neighborhood before firefighters controlled it.

Verlynn A. Russell said she and her husband were awakened about 4:15 a.m. by the insistent barks of Greta Garbo, their 8-month-old English sheep dog. They saw that their neighbor’s house was engulfed in flames and immediately called the Fire Department.

County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said the Russells’ house was in danger because of the intense heat and leaping flames. About 30 firefighters battled the blaze, which took nearly an hour to control, Cha said.

“We’re thankful that Greta is a barker,” Russell said. “She’s a real star to us.”

When firefighters arrived, flames were spreading on the roof of the three-story house and slowly moving onto the palm trees surrounding the residence. The fire was also melting power lines connected to the house in the 11200 block of Vista del Lago.

Fortunately, the recent rains helped slow the fire, Cha said.

“Everything was wet still,” Cha said. “The vegetation and landscaping in the area could have played a factor if they were dry.”

Two firefighters who were positioned on a ridge suffered minor back injuries when they were forced to step back in the face of overwhelming heat. The two were taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where they were treated and released.

The owners of the house that burned were out of town. Cha said investigators have not determined the cause of the blaze.

Hours earlier in Santa Ana, black smoke from a car fire billowed into the stairwells and hallways of an apartment complex and drove 300 residents from their homes.

Fire officials say the fire began about 10 p.m. Sunday inside a Dodge Colt parked on the second level of the complex’s underground garage, located at 421 16th St. The fire was doused by the apartment sprinklers.

However, thick black smoke from the car’s smoldering upholstery filled both levels of the garage and then infiltrated the 40-unit apartment complex, said Santa Ana Fire Battalion Chief Tim Graber.

About 30 firefighters had to wear breathing masks to escort residents from their homes. Residents returned to their apartments two hours later after firefighters blew the smoke out the building.

“It was a simple car fire but there was so much smoke,” Graber said. “It was dangerous smoke because of the upholstery, which has many more hazardous toxics. Our first priority was to get the people out.”

Graber said investigators have determined that the fire was deliberately set.