Costa Mesa firefighters knock down condo fire as residents evacuated, garage gutted

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue personnel evacuated two individuals Sunday from a two-alarm fire at a condominium in the city’s Mesa Verde neighborhood, after a two-alarm fire fueled by heavy winds broke out in a garage, fire officials reported.

Capt. Joe Noceti said Monday investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, which took place shortly after noon on the 3000 block of Clubhouse Circle at a two-story complex in Costa Mesa.

“The fire started in the garage, and while we were able to contain it to the garage, we had smoke develop into the actual living quarters,” Noceti said.

Two people inside the unit did not require rescuing but did have to be removed from the residence while firefighters concentrated their efforts on the garage. They were both assessed and treated for smoke inhalation but ultimately did not require hospitalization, according to Noceti.

Several Mesa Verde residents took to social media to report smelling smoke nearby. Some surmised the odor might have been from the Lanza fire in Riverside, which broke out Sunday morning and by afternoon had spread to 20 acres in size.

That blaze caused Newport Beach Police Department officials to issue their own public advisory, warning local residents they may be smelling smoke carried by the wind.

Meanwhile, supported by crews from Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze, first reported at 12:09 p.m. in just over one hour, although Noceti said crews remained on scene until 4:30 p.m. to ensure no embers remained.

A building inspector arrived on scene and red-tagged the garage but released the residence back to the occupants after declaring it safe for habitation, according to an incident report.

Additional support was provided by Costa Mesa Police Department, whose officers helped with crowd control and the safe direction of vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area.

The garage of a condominium on the 3000 block of Club House Circle that caught fire Sunday was red-tagged but residents were allowed back into the home hours later.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue)

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