Firefighting Helicopter Drop Might Have Led to Sewage Spill

Water dropped from a helicopter battling a wildfire Saturday may have led to an electrical power interruption that caused a sewage spill that closed parts of Huntington State Beach and Newport Beach, an official said.

The fire, which erupted about noon in thick vegetation in Talbert Nature Preserve, briefly threatened to jump into a Newport Beach neighborhood.

Although firefighters from several departments were able to contain the blaze before sunset, the sewage spill will leave beaches from Magnolia Street in Huntington Beach to 52nd Street in Newport Beach closed for the remainder of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Orange County Sanitation District officials are still investigating what caused its power from Southern California Edison to be interrupted about 1:20 p.m. Speculation centers on an Orange County Fire Authority helicopter water drop that may have landed on power lines, a spokeswoman said.

The interruption knocked out some of the treatment plant’s backup power system, which eventually led to treated sewage that would normally have been pumped out more than four miles offshore being released into the Santa Ana River. From there, it made its way downriver to the ocean and beach.

At its worst, the fire sent 25-foot flames cresting over the top of eucalyptus and palms, said Costa Mesa Capt. Herb Ohde, whose engine was first on the scene.

The cause of the fire was unknown, but Ohde said several previous fires in the preserve had been started by homeless people.

Throughout the afternoon, a helicopter made repeated runs from the nearby river, dropping about 500 gallons of water each time. Large plumes of thick, white smoke billowed up, blanketing surrounding neighborhoods.

Swirling winds temporarily pushed the fire toward the Newport Terrace apartments. Firefighters battled the flames and watered down apartments.

The wind soon changed direction.

“I was looking out my bedroom window, talking on the phone, when I saw these big, red embers flying by,” said Terrace resident Jeanne Hardy.

Sara Girard, a county park ranger, said the fire burned less than 10 acres. Because Talbert is a nature preserve, Girard said, the county does not perform controlled burns to prevent wildfires.

She added, however, that a rehabilitation project in the preserve would eventually replace the towering trees and thick vegetation with sand dunes and native grasslands.

Some residents expressed frustration about fires in the preserve.

“I smelled the smoke driving on the freeway and knew immediately that it was here,” said Laurel Littlefield.

“This is as close to the homes it’s ever come, but it happens every year.”