Countywide : Two Fires Damage South County Homes

Two fires erupting within minutes of each other Wednesday night caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage and sent a woman to the hospital with smoke inhalation, fire officials said.

About 7:40 p.m., firefighters were alerted to a structure fire in the 800 block of Calle Pluma in San Clemente and saw fire and smoke shooting out of the stucco-and-wood home, said Emmy Day, spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Authority.

The fire took about 30 minutes to control, mostly because the home was on “a very steep hill in a closely confined area,” Day said. “It looks like San Francisco. It’s harder for our engines to get in there and put out the fire.”

A resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

Less than an hour after the first fire was under control, a second residential fire broke out in the 22200 block of Clearbrook in Mission Viejo. The fire was burning in full force when firefighters arrived, Day said.

The two-story home had a wood-shingle roof, prompting firefighters to call in more engines and take extra precautions, Day said.

Damage estimates and the causes for both fires were not available, Day said. No serious injuries were reported.

“The strange thing about these fires is that we expected this [Tuesday], with all the fireworks, not” Wednesday, Day said. “Not to say that these fires were caused by fireworks, by any means.”

A third fire caused $5,000 damage Tuesday to a home in the 13100 block of Roberta Place in Garden Grove.

Firefighters said the fire was caused by an illegal bottle rocket apparently thrown on the roof.