Uncleared Brush May Have Stoked Fire

A brush fire that burned five condominiums along a coastal canyon in San Clemente proved so destructive in part because some residents failed to clear vegetation around their homes, fire officials said Thursday.

Coastal sage and other native vegetation known to be highly combustible weave their way through many backyards along the canyon’s ridge, in some cases growing far too close to foundations, officials said.

Under the county’s Uniform Fire Code, residents in hillside areas must leave 30 to 100 feet of so-called defensible space for firefighters to work within. But Battalion Chief Scott Brown said some residents failed to comply with the ordinance, and homes didn’t have the required buffer zone.

“It was one of the contributors to the rapid fire spread,” Brown said.

The flames raced up the canyon Wednesday afternoon, forcing residents to evacuate their homes and requiring more than 100 firefighters to battle it. No one was injured, but the fire destroyed a three-unit condo complex valued at nearly $1 million as well as one unit in a neighboring structure. A home on the other side of the canyon was seriously damaged.

Investigators are searching for two or three teenagers who were seen running from the area near the beach where the fire broke out. A source close to the investigation said officials have identified suspects and expect to make arrests soon.

The Orange County Fire Authority is responsible for making sure homes in San Clemente meet building and fire standards. But inspectors do not visit older neighborhoods unless there is a specific complaint.

Residents Vow to Take Precautions

“It would be unrealistic to think that we would be inspecting each and every canyon. There are thousands of them,” Brown said. “It would be impossible for us to do that.”

After the fire, many residents said they will immediately move to clear brush around their homes, which are nestled in a horseshoe shape around the ridge of the canyon.

“Nobody has ever cleared the brush from their places, but it should be done, and I think we’re going to do it from now on,” said Kay Owens, whose condo was condemned because of severe damage.

City Councilman Wayne Eggleston, who lives a few doors from Owens, said the fire was a wake-up call in an area where residents up to now have been complacent about the risks.

“We all have to be very diligent now,” he said.

Jerry Koger, president of the Driftwood Bluffs Condo Assn., said his board plans to plant various types of fire-resistant trees and shrubs. “We will become more aggressive,” he said.

Some residents said the homeowners association had talked in the past about planting fire-resistant vegetation around the canyon but had been told that the California Coastal Commission doesn’t allow nonnative plants.

Officials from the commission said they would never thwart efforts to clear buffer zones. But they said their goal is to keep the canyons themselves flourishing with native plants.

The dense vegetation near homes was only one factor in the fast pace of the fire. The condos were built in 1980 and had exterior wood shingles that would not be allowed under today’s fire codes.

The fire broke out just after 3 p.m. near Calle Conchita and Esplanade in an upscale neighborhood overlooking the San Clemente pier. Although fire officials urged residents to evacuate, many stayed to protect their homes with garden hoses.

Some spent Thursday sifting through what remained.

Kay and Jack Owens managed to pull out a large blackened porcelain figurine and other damaged knickknacks in hopes of restoring them. Kay Owens tried to look on the bright side. As she dabbed at tears behind her sunglasses, she said she felt worse for her neighbors, who lost everything.

Christine Yost, 49, had lived on the ridge for a year with her husband and hoped to eventually purchase the unit they were renting.

“It took us 29 years to get here, and now we’ve got to start over at 50,” she said.

Yost, who does not have renters insurance, said she’s not sure what the couple will do.

“This was going to be our retirement home,” she said. “This was going to be our last place.”

Some residents complained that it took firefighters more than 20 minutes to get to their side of the canyon.

“If they had gone to the right address, there would not have been a disaster, period,” said Tony Wood, 61, whose home was gutted. Wood said he cleared vegetation just last month, so he doesn’t think it was factor with his home.

But fire officials maintain that they handled the response properly. The first engines were called to the mouth of the canyon, where the fire was initially reported. They arrived within eight minutes of the first call.

Homeowners Urged to Report Violations

At that point, the flames were racing up the canyon and toward the homes that were eventually lost. Fire crews were then redeployed up the canyon, arriving within 18 minutes of the first call, officials said. The engines were slowed by curious motorists who pulled over on the narrow canyon streets to look at the fire.

Officials said one of their biggest challenges is educating residents who live so close to undeveloped patches of land about the importance of maintaining effective fire breaks, and identifying and reporting anyone who is not doing so.

“Our defensible space is critical when you have a fire in those areas,” Brown said. “We rely on the homeowners to contact us and bring those types of things to our attention.”