Fireworks to Blame for Hillside Blaze?

Fireworks may have caused a fire that burned the roofs of two San Clemente homes Tuesday and charred a nearby hillside, officials said.

The fire, with flames as high as 40 feet, was driven by winds that pushed the blaze uphill and threatened four houses on La Cima Drive, said Capt. Paul Hunter of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Four fire engines and 35 firefighters responded at 1:11 p.m. and extinguished the flames in less than 30 minutes, Hunter said. Marine Corps units from Camp Pendleton helped fight the fire.

“It was mostly green vegetation,” Hunter said, “but with the slight ocean breeze, it moved up there rather quickly.”

Firefighters evacuated the homes, two of which had roof damage, Hunter said. No injuries were reported.

“A witness, who was in his front yard, heard a pop before the fire and saw a golf cart driving away with kids in it,” Hunter said.

A teenager who lives in the 500 block of Avenida San Juan said he heard what sounded like fireworks going off near his home before the fire started.

“I heard it, and then my brother ran in the house saying there was a fire,” said Colin McLeod, 15. “It started on the bottom of the hill here and burned half the house up top.”