DEAR LAGUNA / REFLECTIONS ON A CITY BURNING BRIGHT : VOICES

“God sure has a weird sense of humor, doesn’t he?” --J.W. Johnson, dashing from his house in search of a missing cat

“I was just beginning to feel pretty good, and then we got the first call, at 11:50 a.m., about the fire on Laguna Canyon Road. . . . So far, thank God, we haven’t had any deaths or injuries.” --Emmy Day of the Orange County Fire Department, about 5:30 p.m.

“It looks like the aftermath of a very heavy Iranian air strike--smoke everywhere. The sky is black, the ocean is coal black. . . . I’ve been in L.A. for awhile and I’ve seen some fires, but nothing like this.” --Steve Bittles, managing the front desk at the Hotel Laguna

“You got to give a big hand to the county Fire Department. They organized it and they called it absolutely right. They decided to make their stand and they called in the helicopter drop right on the target.” --Bart Brown, who was having his house painted when the fire broke out

“This is just a living hell, isn’t it? This is where I live, this is my home. “ --Sharon McErlane, standing atop her Mercedes, hosing down her house

“I built it and I’m not just going to let it go.” --Fran Parker, while spraying water on shrubs next to her house on All View Terrace

“Everyone is also afraid of looters. . . . When I first got here, you should have seen it, all these young men were standing around like lookie-loos while the women are loading stuff into their cars.” --Carrie Nuttall, who works at Cedar Creek Inn downtown

“A 2 1/2-million-dollar home up in smoke. I have no idea if it is still there.” --Thomas McGonigal, 64, a 17-year Emerald Bay resident