Still burning

Deepa Bharath

It was a sight that was branded on George Pearce’s memory forever.

The Newport Beach Fire battalion chief remembers that day exactly

10 years ago like it was yesterday.

He remembers feeling helpless. And terribly frustrated.

He remembers standing on the hillside as he watched million-dollar

homes drop like cardboard dollhouses as bright orange flames raged

across the scenic landscape.

The Laguna Beach fire of 1993, still remembered as the worst fire

in the county’s history, gutted more than 300 homes, charred about

65,000 acres and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

And Pearce, like 1,000 other firefighters, was standing and

watching, burning inside.

“We saw one house after another light up and fall to the ground,”

he said. “We weren’t able to get the engines up there. There was not

enough water supply. There was simply nothing we could do.”

The fire burned out of control for about a day, driving families

out of their homes as they hugged their families and their most

precious belongings. Miraculously, no lives were lost. But 14

firefighters and nine other people were injured.

The blaze, which broke out at about noon on Oct. 27, 1993,

swallowed about 313 homes, including 60 in affluent Emerald Bay and

100 in El Morro. The fire also burned several homes in Newport Coast,

which was part of the county at the time.

Every single firefighter who worked in Newport Beach at the time

was in Laguna Beach on that day at one time or the other, Pearce

said.

The conflagration spread faster than anyone could have ever

imagined and was soon lapping against Newport Coast Drive,

threatening to invade Corona del Mar, he said.

Several residents were either evacuated or were packed and ready

to leave their homes when the winds died down and the raging fire was

quelled.

Dave Nielsen lived close to Buck Gully at the time. He was surfing

with friends in Newport when the fire broke out.

“We saw the smoke and thought someone was burning trash,” he said.

But when he got home, he saw neighbors loading up U-Haul trucks.

“It was a mess,” he said. “Emerald Bay was on fire. Some of my

friends there lost their homes. They couldn’t get to Laguna because

Coast Highway was blocked.”

So they left Newport Harbor on a boat, docked it off Main Beach

and then swam ashore to their homes, Nielsen said.

He and his family evacuated and stayed at his in-laws’ home in

West Newport for the night.

“I heard firefighters say that if the fire hit Buck Gully, it

would go off like a fuse,” Nielsen said. “I stayed back for a while,

hosed off the roof and even loaded up my surfboards and guitars in

the car.”

Former City Councilman Dennis O’Neil recalls the fire as “probably

the most traumatic and frightening experience of my life.”

“Our house backs up to the Pelican Hill Golf Course,” he said.

“And Newport Coast Drive was pretty much acting as a wall between us

and the fire. We could see the fire on the ridge line, and it was

extremely threatening.”

They packed up and prepared to leave their home when the fire was

brought under control, O’Neil said.

The fires raging last week in the Inland Valley “brought back

memories,” he said.

“It seems like [the Laguna fire] happened yesterday,” O’Neil said.

“It puts the fear into your heart and soul that never leaves you

forever. Losing your home and your possessions is one of the worst

things that can happen to anyone.”

The city is better prepared to face a similar situation now than

it was 10 years ago, Pearce said.

“We have better understanding between the agencies,” he said.

Buck Gully still remains a concern because of homes that still

have wood shingles in them, Pearce said. Newport Coast too constantly

faces the threat of brush fires, he said.

The Laguna fire was unquestionably the fieriest fire he’s ever

seen in his 30 years as a firefighter, Pearce said.

“It lasted about a day,” he said. “But it was truly overwhelming.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.