Gallery needs a new home after fire
Deepa Bharath
Bradford Salamon is afraid to look under the mound of rubble in his
studio.
His lithographs, archives and life’s works are in the studio on
Old Newport Boulevard that a late Saturday night fire ravaged and
that, officials say, caused $50,000 in damages.
But fortunately for Salamon and for Jamie Wilson, who owns Square
Blue Art Inc., a gallery adjoining Salamon’s studio, Newport Beach
firefighters acted quickly, and the fire, which could have resulted
in a far greater loss, was snuffed out quickly.
The blaze began shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters
responding to the call saw 15- to 20-foot flames shooting up from the
roof of the structure, Fire Department spokeswoman Donna Boston said.
The fire had spread up the outside wall of the two-story building
on to the roof and into the attic, she said. Fighting the fire was
also complicated by the wood shingle roof and by the common attic
space, Boston said.
“That’s why the fire had a lot of potential to spread and become a
major fire,” she said.
Boston said firefighters not only doused the flames with water but
identified hot spots in the structure, using thermal imagery to find
and extinguish fires that were still burning in the inner walls, but
not visible.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, she said.
Wilson said she is thankful that her building suffered only smoke
damage. All her paintings were affected by the smoke, but can be
salvaged, she said.
“The works that were on display are irreplaceable because the
artists are deceased,” she said.
Wilson, who rents the space, said she would have to move her
gallery elsewhere.
“I’d love to stay either in Newport Beach or Costa Mesa,” she
said. “This area has a certain funkiness to it that is desirable for
me.”
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