Laguna Beach officials lifted all evacuation orders due to Monday’s brush fire.
The evacuation orders were lifted at 7:30 p.m. Monday night, just hours after the brush fire started, according to the city website.
Captain Chip Gilmore, a spokesman for the Laguna Beach Fire Department, said he did not have an official estimate but the fire was “pretty well contained.”
“There were a couple of spots outside of the line that are controlled, and they’re just going to be buttoning that up today,” he said in a Tuesday morning phone interview.
“We do have a line and hose all around the main body of the fire,” he said, adding firefighters’ priority is to check those spots, which aren’t a threat as of Tuesday morning.
The fire, which started around 2:15 p.m. Monday near Morningside Dr. and Rancho Laguna Road, is suspected to have been sparked by fireworks and led to the evacuation of hundreds of homes in the Arch Beach Heights area, according to officials.
Yesterday afternoon it had burnt about 4 acres and caused intermittent power outages and road closures.
Gilmore said most streets have been reopened.
Monday’s fire comes three years after the Emerald Fire burned more than 150 acres along the northern edge of Laguna Beach, and more than 30 years after the Laguna Fire in 1993 burned through more than 400 homes and over 14,000 acres.
Correction: A previous version of the article stated the 1993 Laguna Fire burned through 4,000 homes. The fire burned over 400 homes. We regret the error.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.