13-year-old suspected of lighting fireworks that ignited Southern California brush fire
The blaze, dubbed the Rancho Fire, ignited at about 2:06 p.m. local time on July 7 in the hillside area of Laguna Beach, the city said in a statement. The fire scorched through dry brush and vegetation in the area and grew to about four acres, threatening nearby canyon homes, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
Preliminary reports said the fire may have started from illegal fireworks, the Laguna Beach Police Department said in a statement on July 8. As the blaze spread along the hillside of Rancho Laguna — a neighborhood located above the village area that overlooks the Pacific Ocean — police said witnesses reported "seeing a juvenile in the area possibly involved in setting off fireworks."
Laguna Beach police rangers initially detained two juveniles who were later determined to be witnesses, not suspects, according to police. Officers later obtained video evidence that they said showed a "juvenile suspect lighting a firework and fleeing the scene."
After further investigation, police said they identified the suspect as a 13-year-old boy and obtained search warrants for his arrest and the seizure of electronic devices. The boy was then taken into custody on suspicion of felony reckless burning of forest land.
"Due to the absence of any injuries or immediate threat to structures, Orange County Juvenile Hall would not accept the suspect for booking," according to police. "He was processed at the Laguna Beach Police Department and released to the custody of his parents."
The case will be submitted to the Orange County District Attorney's Office for review and the possible filing of criminal charges, police added.
Laguna Beach, a tony Southern California city known for its vibrant beach scene and art gallery district, is about 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, the city has a population of more than 22,500 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
2025 got off to a deadly start: How bad will wildfire season be in the US this year?
Laguna Beach fire fully contained by July 9
Laguna Beach police said detectives were continuing to work with the Laguna Beach Fire Department and the Orange County Fire Authority to investigate the fire's origin. About 200 firefighters, five helicopters, two planes, and drones were used to battle the blaze, said Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King.
While no injuries or damages were reported, the blaze forced the evacuations of about a hundred homes in the Arch Beach Heights neighborhood, according to Laguna Beach Mayor Alex Rounaghi. The fire broke out in the Bluebird Canyon area, which had been recently approved for fuel-reduction work through hand crews, the mayor said in an update on July 7.
In addition to the evacuations, several roads were closed, and the city reported an intermittent loss of power in the area. The evacuation order was lifted at around 7:30 p.m. on July 7, according to the city.
The fire, which was mapped at 4.6 acres, was fully contained by 8 a.m. on July 9, and all roads that had been closed were reopened to traffic, the city said.
Laguna Beach officials have spent $25 million over the past several years in compliance with a 2019 fire mitigation plan, the Los Angeles Times reported. Following the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County earlier this year, city officials updated the plan and aimed to improve fire safety.
"The effectiveness of the City's fuel modification zones (FMZ) was also evident, with vegetation clearing along the ridgeline helping to slow the fire's progression," according to the city. "Notably, the FMZ closest to the fire was recently approved and installed."
Wildfire season: Western US braces for fiery Fourth
Blaze comes amid heightened fire risk
The Laguna Beach fire had put residents on edge after a series of blazes devastated parts of Los Angeles County earlier this year. The blaze was one of more than a dozen wildfires that sparked across California in recent weeks, according to the latest Cal Fire data.
A fast-moving wildfire in central California, called the Madre Fire, became the largest in the state so far this year. The fire broke out on July 2 and scorched through a remote area in southeastern San Luis Obispo County.
As of July 9, the Madre Fire had grown to over 80,600 acres and was about 62% contained, according to Cal Fire.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned on July 9 that high temperatures between 95 and 105 degrees were expected in inland areas. The agency noted that there was an "elevated to brief critical fire danger" for interior and southwest Santa Barbara County.
"Dangerous heat possible next Tuesday through Friday, especially away from the coast," the weather service said in a post on X. "There will also be elevated fire weather concerns with an increased risk of grass fires in the mountains, deserts, and interior valleys."
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
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A 13-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly lighting fireworks that likely sparked a brush fire this week in coastal Southern California, prompting evacuations and causing power outages in the area, authorities said. The blaze, dubbed the Rancho Fire, ignited at about 2:06 p.m. local time on July 7 in the hillside area of Laguna Beach, the city said in a statement. The fire scorched through dry brush and vegetation in the area and grew to about four acres, threatening nearby canyon homes, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Preliminary reports said the fire may have started from illegal fireworks, the Laguna Beach Police Department said in a statement on July 8. As the blaze spread along the hillside of Rancho Laguna — a neighborhood located above the village area that overlooks the Pacific Ocean — police said witnesses reported "seeing a juvenile in the area possibly involved in setting off fireworks." 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Inbound traffic from Dana Point was diverted at Crown Valley Parkway and southbound vehicles on Coast Highway were redirected from the downtown area onto Laguna Canyon Road. The city distributed a media release on Wednesday morning declaring the Rancho fire had been 100% contained and all roads had been reopened. 'This is a terrifying incident for our community, but we've been preparing for this since [the devastating 2018 Paradise [fire] and putting together the wildland fire mitigation and fire safety subcommittee and really investing in our community on wildfire mitigation,' Calvert, the police chief, said. 'We saw the results of that, and the team effort that I saw [on Monday] was nothing short of outstanding. 'Do we have room to improve? Of course, but we'll take this. I told my team this was a test for us, and we're going to get better from here, but our officers were on scene within minutes of this being reported, and they were immediately coordinating resources and asking for mutual aid.' Other agencies that responded to the incident included Anaheim fire and rescue, Cal Fire, CERT, the Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Orange County and Los Angeles County fire departments, the Orange County Fire Authority, the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the Irvine police department, O.C. Parks, and the Laguna Beach County Water District. Laguna Beach put forth its initial wildfire mitigation and fire safety plan in 2019. The city reestablished an ad hoc committee to focus on the plans in January as wildfires in the Los Angeles area renewed concerns among residents that more needed to be done. 'We have two refillable water stations on the ridge and soon to have a third one in South Laguna,' said Councilwoman Sue Kempf, who was appointed to serve on the committee along with Whalen. 'It's really a force multiplier. It really allowed us to get at that fire very, very quickly. 'Since 2019, when we did our fire mitigation and fire safety plan, we've spent about $25 million, and I think we're going to spend another three to four [million dollars] this coming year, which is a drop in the bucket when you figure if we had a catastrophic fire here, we're going to have a loss in the millions.' Kempf added that the city is looking at technological solutions, including the use of artificial intelligence cameras and the installation of a traffic signal priority system to coordinate signaling across Coast Highway. Hallie Jones, the newest member of the council, credited previous iterations of the governing body for making 'hard choices at times.' 'The fuel modification program, specifically, that's an expensive program, and it's a controversial program,' Jones said. 'They're hard, nuanced decisions that this council makes, and we don't always see the benefit of those decisions until a decade, 15 years later. 'I really want us to all take a moment and think about what happened [Monday], and what could have happened … if we didn't have a council … that was brave enough and courageous enough to make some of these unpopular decisions that proved to be so critical and so important.'
