Fire investigation continues at park

The Orange County Fire Authority is investigating a brush fire that

blackened about four acres of Talbert Regional Park on Wednesday

afternoon, Costa Mesa fire officials said.

The fire at the county-owned park was probably the closest one yet to

the neighboring townhome complex on Balboa Boulevard.

As of Thursday evening, the park was closed and county units were

still cleaning up, said Costa Mesa Fire Capt. Scott Broussard.

“They will stop at 6 p.m. and resume work [today],” he said. “The park

will be closed until it is determined to be safe.”

He said a cause for the fire has not yet been determined.

Several neighbors said Wednesday that the park has been plagued with

the problem of homeless people setting up camps at night.

But the problem was dramatically reduced two years ago when Costa Mesa

police removed several transients from the park, Lt. Les Gogerty said.

“Our calls for service have been drastically reduced,” he said. “Every

now and then, we do have a few calls, but that happens with most parks.”