Fire fears intimidate residents near park

Marisa O’Neil

Man and nature are getting a little too close for comfort around the

fire-prone Talbert Nature Preserve, some residents worry.

A Sept. 4 fire burned about three acres in the county wilderness

park between the end of 19th Street in Costa Mesa and the Santa Ana

River. The blaze came within about 50 yards of homes in the Newport

Terrace Condominiums, which is filled with eucalyptus trees and other

greenery that residents worry are drying out and could easily spread

the next fire from the park into the complex.

Oakland fire investigators blamed eucalyptus trees for the

intensity of the deadly 1991 fire in the East Bay hills that killed

25 people.

“The wildlife preserve is always catching fire,” resident Heaven

Moffeit said. “It’s a given. There’s homeless people living down

there, kids playing down there. We have fires down there a couple

times a year. And all it takes is one burning ember to start a fire

here, with all these trees with dead branches on them. We’re scared

that something is going to happen.”

The complex sits atop a 20-foot bluff, overlooking the willow

trees and pampas grass that fill the preserve. That bluff and a

small, residential road are all that separate homes from the 200-acre

wilderness area, which other residents and fire officials agreed

burns a couple of times a year.

Though residents speak of the pristine beauty of the area, they

worry that not enough is being done to maintain eucalyptus trees and

other landscaping around the complex.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous, like the land time forgot,” resident

Lynn Cook said. “There are little rabbits and lizards that run

around. We have so many wonders of nature. But, of course, on the

flip side of that, we get the dangers.”

Moffeit and Cook said they saw burning embers land on the property

during the last fire. Embers could easily ignite dry branches on

notoriously combustible eucalyptus trees or dry underbrush around the

complex, Moffeit said.

“It’s like a match waiting to be lit,” she said.

The property management company is doing its annual tree-trimming

maintenance and has fire extinguishers set around the complex, said

Earl Miller, president of the Newport Condominium Assn. The problem

lies outside the complex, in the park, he said.

Homeless camps and children playing in the park keep the fire

danger there high, he said.

“I’m always worried,” he said. “Every day I’m worried. By the same

token, we’ve done what we can and have had good response from the

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa fire departments.”

County park rangers and police from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa

patrol the area looking for homeless camps, officials said, and they

routinely send campers on their way. Some residents blamed transients

for the latest fire, but the cause has not been determined, Costa

Mesa Fire Capt. Brian Roberts said.

Talbert Nature Preserve covers about 200 acres, Senior Park Ranger

Phillip Shields said. The park, with nature trails for hikers, is a

protected area, so there is a limit as to what can be done there.

Growth in the park is managed by a biologist, Shields said.

Fire crews can alter vegetation in the area only when they have to

protect homes, Costa Mesa Deputy Fire Chief Gregg Steward said.

“It’s a protected area, so you can’t just go altering it just

because you want to,” Steward said.

Fire and sanitation district officials have speculated that the

Sept. 4 fire may have set off a power outage that allowed 13,000

gallons of partially treated sewage to spill into the Santa Ana River

that afternoon. Water dropped onto the fire from a helicopter touched

power lines in the area, causing them to spark.

Orange County Sanitation District acting General Manager Bob

Ghirelli said Tuesday that they have not received any confirmation of

the cause. The spill closed beaches in Newport Beach and Huntington

Beach briefly over the Labor Day weekend.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.