Laguna Fire (1993)

The vegetated wildland areas of Orange County are naturally prone to wildfires. The steep terrain and naturally flammable vegetation are conducive to fire spread, which can be augmented by Santa Ana winds: seasonal hot and dry katabatic winds. In addition to these factors, development in the wildland–urban interface aided fire spread. Many homes were built in vulnerable locations and constructed with flammable materials (e.g. wood shingle roofs and siding). == Progression ==

October 27 The Laguna Fire was first reported near Laguna Canyon Road via 911 calls at 11:50 a.m. on October 27. When firefighters reached the scene several minutes later, the incipient wildfire was burning of vegetation on unincorporated county land, but it quickly moved into thicker brush and intensified, with flames up to tall. By 12:28p.m., the fire had split into three separate fronts, threatening El Morro, Emerald Bay, and Laguna on their march to the Pacific Ocean. The fire's behavior had also intensified: flame lengths were routinely and occasionally reached into the air. As the fire reached Emerald Canyon, burning the upper drainage at a rate of per minute, firefighters recognized the impossibility of defending the homes within the canyon with their limited resources and withdrew. In the afternoon, firefighters began a firing operation on the west side of Laguna Canyon Highway, seeking to deprive the fire of fuel and prevent it from crossing the road to the east. They were unsuccessful, and the fire jumped across the road, establishing itself there while demonstrating behavior so extreme that fire officials observing via helicopter recommended that Laguna Beach itself be evacuated. As law enforcement undertook that process, the fire reached the neighborhood of Canyon Acres, having traveled in only 17 minutes (a speed of more than ). Firefighters established new primary lines of defense within the city itself. The fire reached the incident command post that had been established at Thurston Middle School, destroying a dozen classrooms as firefighters quickly lit more firing operations to protect the Top of the World neighborhood. on October 27|alt=A woman looks at the camera with her mouth open, in front of a car parked on the side of the road. Behind her, thick smoke rises from a line of low hills. Late in the day, the state's Office of Emergency Services announced that the Laguna Fire had become the top priority in the state. Throughout the day, bulldozers constructed firebreaks on the fire's north side between the community of Turtle Rock and Laguna Canyon Road, and firefighters continued with firing operations. Meanwhile, the fire itself burned in Bommer and Shady canyons. By 6:00 p.m., the Orange County Fire Authority's report suggested that the whole fire was "roughly contained". The Laguna Fire was declared 100 percent contained at 6:00 p.m. that evening, == Cause ==

The Orange County Fire Department chief named arson as the cause, but no perpetrator or motive was ever identified. Fire investigators examined the fire's point of origin, which they determined was from Laguna Canyon Road. They found no physical evidence of an ignition source—such as a power line or a cigarette butt—and based on these facts ruled out any chance of the fire starting accidentally. Construction had forced traffic to slow at the time of the fire's ignition, and investigators speculated that the arsonist was in a vehicle. They contacted motorists who had been in the area as they also filtered through hundreds of tips by phone in the weeks following the fire. A $50,000 reward was posted. Orange County fire officials wound down the active investigation by mid-1994, still not having identified the person responsible. In September 1994, a Jose Soto Martinez was arrested for starting several small fires in Fullerton. After his arrest, Martinez confessed to having also set the Laguna Fire, providing investigators with "surprisingly accurate" details. Orange County's district attorney held a press conference following the confession, announcing the arrest and charges against Martinez and declaring that they had found the man responsible for the Laguna Fire. However, it quickly came to light that Martinez suffered from delusions and had been interned in a Mexican prison at the time of the fire. Prosecutors swiftly dropped the charges against him for the Laguna Fire. == Effects ==

The Laguna Fire caused no deaths and eight injuries. The fire destroyed 441 structures. Orange County's sheriff, Brad Gates, deemed the fire the worst in Orange County history. since surpassed by many others. The fire resulted in $528 million in property damage. A 2012 list by the National Fire Protection Association of the 25 largest fire losses in United States history (adjusted for inflation) put the 1993 Laguna Fire at fifteenth place. By 1997, 231 of the destroyed Laguna Beach homes had been rebuilt or were under construction. The Orange County Board of Supervisors had declared a local emergency at 4:00 p.m. on October 27; the local state of emergency was renewed several times at two-week intervals as the deleterious effects of the Laguna Fire (and others in the county) persisted. California governor Pete Wilson declared a state of emergency in Orange County (among others) the following day, and at Wilson's request President Bill Clinton also issued a Declaration of Major Disaster for California. This allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer aid in the affected counties, including Orange. A Los Angeles Times investigation after the fire found that water capacity had generally not been a limiting factor during the fire; instead, it had been the distribution system. In the Skyline and Mystic Hills neighborhoods, pumps were able to deliver per minute to reservoirs there, but firefighters there could use per minute. In other areas, as homes burned, the pipes inside them broke and added to water pressure issues. The city of Laguna Beach and Orange County authorities made efforts to improve their fire prevention and response abilities after the 1993 fire. In addition to building two new reservoirs, the city strengthened building codes by requiring that new homes not have wood shingle roofs, that they have covered eaves, and include automatic sprinkler systems. == See also ==