Carport fire causes $30,000 in damage A...

Carport fire causes $30,000 in damage

A two-alarm fire in a Corona del Mar carport Thursday evening

destroyed two cars and caused $30,000 in damage, Newport Beach Fire

officials said.

Firefighters responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the 1700

block of Marguerite Avenue at 7:20 p.m. As they got closer to the

scene, firefighters saw a column of thick, black smoke, said Donna

Boston, public information officer for the Newport Beach Fire

Department.

When the firefighters arrived on scene, they found two cars on

fire, she said. The 20-by-40-foot carport was near a two-story

apartment building, which cause the incident to escalate to two

alarms, Boston said.

The blaze caused the tires on the vehicles to explode. The fire

caused extensive damage to the carport and charred both cars, but the

blaze did not spread to nearby apartments. It took 27 firefighters

about 23 minutes to extinguish the fire. The cause is still under

investigation, Boston said.

-- Deepa Bharath