Copters Dip Into Lake to Help Douse Mission Viejo Fire
Water-dropping helicopters helped douse an apparent arson fire Saturday that burned about an acre and a half of brush in a Mission Viejo neighborhood.
The midafternoon fire threatened several homes near the intersection of Alicia and Marguerite parkways before firefighters brought it under control within an hour, said Capt. Scott Brown, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.
Brown said the effort, which involved about 50 firefighters, was made easier because the helicopters drew water from Lake Mission Viejo next to the fire.
Brown said arson investigators were examining an incendiary device that is believed to have sparked the blaze. Details about the device were not immediately available.
The fire broke out in a built-up neighborhood that is interspersed with brush, he said.
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