Illegal fireworks at the hands of teen caused Rancho fire, invesitgators believe. Could embers reignite as temps rise?
It's hard to believe since the images are still so clear in my mind, but it's been six months since January's devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County that took the lives of 30 people. Investigations continue into exact causes of both the Palisades and Eaton fires, but in the case of the former there was reportedly some evidence it may have been caused when a New Year's Eve fire dubbed the Lachman fire, possibly started by fireworks and thought to have been extinguished, was rekindled during the fierce winds that blasted through the Southland the first week of 2025.
So it's not stretch to imagine today how Laguna Beach residents might be eyeing somewhat nervously the brush-covered terrain on their hillsides where a blaze dubbed the Rancho fire broke out just after 2 p.m. Monday near Rancho Laguna Road and Morningside Drive. Evacuation orders were swiftly issued along La Mirada Street, Katella Street, Summit Drive and Baja Street. Arch Beach Heights also received an evacuation warning. By nightfall, fire officials believed the blaze was well enough under control that those orders had been lifted.
Our photographer, Don Leach, who was dispatched to document the fire with photos for our paper, told me in one of our phone calls Monday that it looked to him as though firefighters were doing a great job keeping the fire from getting out of hand. He spoke with some awe in his voice of the amount of fire retardant that was being dropped from Cal Fire planes.
The Rancho fire grew to over 4 acres and, as of yesterday morning, was at 50% containment. The cause? A youth allegedly started it by using illegal fireworks.
'Laguna Beach police detectives took a 13-year-old boy into custody on suspicion of committing felony reckless burning of forest land,' the Daily Pilot reported. 'Video evidence was obtained showing an individual igniting a firework and fleeing the scene, police said.'
Because there were no injuries and no immediate threat to structures, Orange County Juvenile Hall didn't accept the 13-year-old and he was released to the custody of his parents.
Temps are expected to reach into the low 80s today and tomorrow in Laguna Beach, which could further dry vegetation on those picturesque hillsides and increase fire danger outside of the acreage already scorched by Monday's conflagration. But, provided the Rancho fire is completely extinguished soon and unexpected gusts of wind do not stir any hidden, lingering embers, Laguna Beach, which has been proactive in its fire mitigation plans may escape almost entirely unharmed this time around. If only Pacific Palisades could have been so lucky.
• Heidi Plummer, vice president of the Orange County Women Lawyers Assn. and co-founder of the Newport Beach Bock & Plummer firm, is the woman I mentioned in an earlier newsletter who said she was walking in a park June 14 to clear her head following the funeral of a loved one when she was swept up in an ICE raid. My colleague Gabriel San Román interviewed Plummer and her attorney, Jesse Rivera, for this story published Sunday in the Daily Pilot/TimesOC. Rivera's description of the incident: 'Plummer, while peaceably walking in Centennial Park, was stopped, detained, handcuffed, arrested and transported to a federal facility in Santa Ana by individuals dressed in black military fatigues with the identification of ICE on their clothing. The vehicles were unmarked.' An ICE spokesperson, who asked not to be identified, told San Román via email that 'there is no record backing her claims.'
• ICE activities may have been the reason behind a 25% dip in attendance this year at the annual Fish Fry held in Costa Mesa's Lions Park the last weekend in June. 'ICE was two blocks away at 19th and Newport, and we didn't know what they were gearing up for, but we were on the lookout,' Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions President Cabot Harvey told the Daily Pilot. 'I spoke to several Latino families who told me the same thing — people were just too afraid to come.'
• Area residents who want to preserve the Newport Beach Golf Course as is rather than allow a developer to go forward with a proposed surf lagoon project in the middle of it got together last Thursday for a rally. Benny Hallock, the chairman of the group Save Newport Beach Golf Course, told the Daily Pilot thousands of signatures have been collected in support of saving the popular 18-hole, 59-par executive course at 3100 Irvine Ave. But the Snug Harbor Surf Park project is continues to work its way through the approval stages, with public hearings expected in August and September.
• Following up on a tip from a concerned member of the public, officers with Orange County Animal Control rescued at least 120 cats from a residence in the 2600 block of Balfour Avenue in Fullerton, according to this City News Service report. An Animal Control spokesperson said the cats didn't appear to have been mistreated, but that there were just too many of them in the home. Several were ill with some form of a contagious disease and will be treated, then put up for adoption.
• Hundreds of people spending their Fourth of July holiday at Orange County beaches had to be rescued by lifeguards after they were caught up in monster rip currents. At Newport Beach, the tally of rescues hit 350 people Friday; at Huntington Beach the number reported the same day was pegged at 152.
• Charges were pending as of Monday against a Buena Park homeowner who allegedly operated an illegal Fourth of July fireworks display that misfired at 9:45 p.m. Friday, fatally injuring 8-year-old Jasmine Nguyen of Anaheim, City News Service reported.
• In the run-up to Independence Day, Costa Mesa police ran an operation that led to three arrests and the seizure of 1,339 pounds of illegal fireworks, drugs and a gun, the Daily Pilot reported. Suspects involved in the busts were detained for attempting to sell illegal fireworks online to officers who posed as customers and met the would-be sellers at locations around town.
• A 21-year-old man from Orange, Nathan Ethan Avina, was arrested Sunday morning after he allegedly fatally struck a pedestrian at the intersection of Atlanta Avenue and Delaware Street in Huntington Beach at about 12:45 am. Sunday. Due to suspected impairment, police arrested Avina at the scene.
• Brian Campbell, who was born in Newport Beach and grew up in Irvine, earned his second PGA Tour victory and just over $1.5 million Sunday in a sudden-death playoff at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. This week the 32-year-old is in Scotland, where the Genesis Scottish Open takes place tomorrow through Monday.
• Benjamin Royer, a reporting intern for The Times, dives into a look at how well Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery is faring just three weeks into his current role. In his story, Royer also examines the managerial strategies of Montgomery, as compared to those of Ron Washington, who is out on medical leave from the top job.
• One-time Angel Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star closer and World Series champion with the Chicago White Sox, died Friday in Portugal, where he was treated for a form of stomach cancer, the team announced Saturday. He was 44.
• Seal Beach resident Pat Pattison recently learned one of the 30-minute episodes of his local TV show, 'Pat Pattison's Best of California,' has been nominated for a regional Emmy award. The show airs on Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m. on MeTV station KAZA-TV Los Angeles. The nominated episode is 'Our World War II: California, Part 1,' which aired last November, according to this Daily Pilot feature story.
• Fans of adult romance novels have a new Orange County bookstore that caters especially to them, the Daily Pilot reports, as Mystic Box Bookshop opened in downtown Huntington Beach on June 14. The business is operated by Kate Benito and her husband, Phil, who first established an online presence offering a bimonthly subscription service, where two hardcover books advertised as dark, mafia or forbidden are mailed out to subscribers. Their brick-and-mortar location is at 221 Main St., Huntington Beach and is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• The Times reports Disneyland's Haunted Mansion will temporarily close beginning Aug. 11 so the ride can undergo its annual transformation into Haunted Mansion Holiday in time for the Halloween season, a makeover inspired by 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.'
• The Anaheim Packing District is hosting its annual World Taste event featuring food samples from about 20 different vendors on from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16. Anaheim Packing District at 440 S. Anaheim Blvd. For tickets and additional info, visit anaheimpackingdistrict.com/worldtaste.
• Jazz saxophonist Eric Marienthal presents the Eric Marienthal and Friends concert to benefit the High Hopes Head Injury Program at 6 p.m. this Sunday, July 13. This year's featured guest is Boney James and the event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road. VIP tickets are $175; general tickets are $75 and can be purchased here.
• For the whole family: Phantom Projects Theatre will present its second annual summer all-youth musical, Seussical, Jr., from July 11 to 27. The production, featuring nearly 70 students between the ages of 8 and 18 from Los Angeles and Orange counties, is offered to the participating kids without charging any fees, tuition, or costume charges. Tickets to the musical can be purchased by calling (714) 690-2900 or visiting the Phantom Projects Theatre website.
Until next week,Carol
We appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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