Investigators may have found cause for house fire

A house fire that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and left a Newport Beach family displaced started near the home’s aquarium and may have been caused by an unexpected culprit: salt, fire officials said.

Over days and weeks, as salt water from an aquarium evaporates, the salt deposits can build up on wiring and even short electrical equipment if it gets inside, Newport Beach Battalion Chief Steve Bunting said.

“Salt is corrosive by its very nature. So when it gets inside the electrical equipment” it can cause a fire, Bunting said.

Nearly 30 firefighters rushed to Inverness Lane Wednesday afternoon after a girl woke up and saw flames in the living room, fire officials said. She grabbed her dog and ran out of the house uninjured and dialed 9-1-1. The fire caused about $500,000 in damage. No neighboring homes were damaged.

— Joseph Serna