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 .