COSTA MESA : Fire at Apartments Forces Tenants to Evacuate Overnight

Fire damaged a four-unit apartment complex Sunday morning, forcing tenants in the building to move out for the night, fire officials said.

The fire, at 2977 Mendoza Drive, began about 10 a.m. in a second-floor bedroom of one of the apartments, Battalion Chief James Ellis said. There were no injuries, but three people fled the burning building and the rest of the tenants, who weren’t home at the time of the fire, were told to stay out of the building until Monday.

The building’s owner found housing for the tenants Sunday night, Ellis said.

It took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which caused an estimated $60,000 damage to one apartment, Ellis said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although arson has been ruled out, he said.