Fire destroys unfinished Newport Coast home
Lolita Harper
NEWPORT COAST -- A fire destroyed the structure of a million-dollar
dream home in Newport Coast just after midnight Friday, leaving only the
charred remains of framework on the hilltop property.
Firefighters responded to a call of flames on Pelican Vista at 12:15
a.m., said Jim Hall, dispatch supervisor for Newport Beach Fire
Department. A Corona del Mar man called the fire department after he saw
what looked like a burning pile of wood through his telescope, Hall said.
The 5,000-square-foot home under construction was completely engulfed
when firefighters arrived and flames threatened a neighboring
construction site to the east and an occupied home to west, Hall said.
Nobody was injured, but the blaze ravaged the house in the making. The
heat was so intense it deformed the steel support beams, Newport Beach
Fire Capt. Terry Hoiland said. Whatever work had been completed on the
home will now have to be torn down and done over, he said.
“It’s a total loss. Maybe the foundation is OK,” Hoiland said.
Fire officials estimated at least $250,000 in damage.
The property sits atop the hills in the gated Newport Coast community
overlooking the ocean. One could see the waves breaking on the beach
through the skeletal remains of the house.
Upon arrival, firefighters were immediately concerned that the fire
would spread because of the exposure of raw materials, such as wood,
normally found on a construction site, Hoiland said. Some wood of the
house under construction next door was blackened but the structure was
saved from serious damage, he said.
On the other side, palm trees in the yard of the neighboring house
caught fire and the heat from the flames cracked the windows of the home.
Fifty-four firefighters from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa fire
departments and the Orange County Fire Authority responded to a fire. The
blaze was extinguished within an hour, Hall said.
Hot spots flared Saturday afternoon, prompting firefighters to return
and spray the area with foam.
Pat and Mike Noggle, who live next door to the site, were in Palm
Springs watching a tennis tournament when they heard news of the fire.
The couple drove up to their home Saturday afternoon to find shards of
glass in their yard. Mike Noggle said the broken windows were a blessing
in comparison.
“Close enough,” Noggle said, as he surveyed the damage.
Burning embers also carried on the light breeze and ignited an
occupied home on a nearby street, but the blaze was quickly put out. Fire
officials said the high quality construction of the million-dollar homes
-- which includes tile roofing and fire retardant materials -- kept the
fire from causing any damage.
Janet Zaugg was in the neighborhood Saturday to walk her dog and check
on the construction of her own dream home just down the street. Zaugg
questioned the possible cause, clearly thinking about her house, which
was just drywalled.
“I’m horrified,” Zaugg said. “But thankfully no one was hurt.”
Hoiland said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
This is the sixth fire in just over two weeks to plague the
Newport-Mesa area. The unusual string of unrelated fires started Feb. 28
when an explosion rocked a Costa Mesa townhome complex, killing one man.
Those same residents watched another neighbor’s home burn less than three
days later. In the days following, smoke caused extensive damage to a
tailor shop, a fire gutted a Lido Island home and a blaze destroyed a
two-story Costa Mesa business complex.
-- Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)
574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .
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