Voices From the Fire

“You had neighbors going from house to house making sure nobody was home and trying to warn people. There was a tremendous amount of neighbors helping neighbors. It was wonderful to see.”

County Supervisor Don Saltarelli, who represents the 3rd District, which includes Lemon Heights, after viewing the fire scene.

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“I ran up the street and begged the firemen to come to my mother’s house. I screamed, ‘Please come, it’s going to go.’ But they didn’t get there in time.”

Neela Mousavian, as she surveyed the damage on Stockbridge Road.

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“I feel like I’m in a movie, a really bad movie. I’m all cried out.”

Gail Neuman, standing outside her smoldering home on Afton Lane.

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“I didn’t try to save my furs or my jewelry or any of my husband’s things. All I had time to do was get my photo albums, my pictures, that’s it.”

Maryam Boyce, whose house on Stockbridge Road was destroyed.

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“I feel a need to get in my car and go to Lemon Heights and hold and hug these people. It’s so important to have somebody there to say, ‘Take a deep breath, don’t try and solve everything today.’ ”

Robert F. Gentry, former Laguna Beach councilman who lost his home in the 1993 firestorm.

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“The downed tree fell into a power line. Live power lines went down and started some vegetation on fire and the fire spread fairly rapidly after that.”

Capt. Scott Brown of the Orange County Fire Authority, describing the suspected cause of the blaze.

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“I heard explosions, opened up the back door of my classroom and saw the fire across the playground.”

Sue Casagrande, a teacher and administrator at Oakridge Tustin Private School, which was evacuated because of the blaze.

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“These poor people are going to be in for quite an adventure. At first, they’ll be in shock. But soon enough they’re going to realize how really bad it is. People have no idea.”

Sheila Patterson, whose home burned to the ground in the 1993 Laguna Beach fire.

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“I was tearing out shingles with my hands, and the other guy was spraying them off with a garden hose. It’s just one of those things. You don’t think. You just do it. “

Scott Byington, who was driving through Lemon Heights and stopped to help residents protect their homes.

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“It was one of the best kept secrets of Orange County. It’s a place that has maintained the rural feel that was once Orange County.”

Mike Hickman, general manager of Seven Gables Real Estate in Tustin, on the Lemon Heights neighborhood.

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“Any time you allow development in high-hazard areas for fires or floods, you are setting yourself up for major losses like we saw today and perhaps even a loss of life.”

Scott Bollens, professor of political science at UC Irvine.

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“(Monday) morning, when I got up, it just had that feel, that smell, that taste in the air. When I saw what was happening in Lemon Heights, I thought, ‘Oh God, this is so much like three years ago.’ It sent chills up and down my back.”

Laguna Beach Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr.