'People were coming out of their houses, which were on fire...'

By Bryce Alderton

Oct. 24, 2013 2:17 PM PT

Laguna Beach fire Capt. Scott Jennie described Oct. 27, 1993, in Laguna Beach as “chaos” with parts of the city “looking like a bomb had gone off.”

Jennie, a paramedic, and department colleague Capt. Gary Ganger were on duty that October day, when Laguna Beach endured a firestorm for the ages.

Nearly 20 years later, Jennie and Ganger are still able to recount details of the battle to control the blaze that took such a toll on the city.

The morning began with howling winds and fires already burning in other parts of Orange County, including Anaheim Hills, said Ganger, who had been with the department for seven years at that point.

Jennie recalled winds of 40 to 50 mph and low humidity, conditions ripe for trouble, and residents began calling the department to report downed electrical wires and tree branches.

“We got a call that there was a brush fire starting in [Laguna Canyon],” said Jennie, who began with Laguna in 1990. “We were the third or fourth resource on scene and the fire raced by us. The wind conditions were extreme.”

Some weather stations in Laguna clocked winds at 92 mph, according to the Orange County Fire Department’s report to the county board of supervisors titled, “Orange County Firestorm 1993.”

OCFD dispatch had received five 911 calls by about 11:50 a.m. regarding a fire along Laguna Canyon Road. The fire began on unincorporated county land and quickly moved west toward Laguna Beach.

Firefighters from OCFD, now the Orange County Fire Authority, were first on scene and were soon followed by Laguna Beach fire personnel.

“We figured something might happen with the winds,” Ganger said. “I have not seen winds that strong here for that duration since then.

“If you can’t knock it down, then you go into defense mode. We thought the fire was going in Emerald Bay, which it was initially. From there it started to spread to Laguna. You try to do what you can to defend the properties. If you can’t catch a wildland or vegetation fire in the initial stages, then you have to steer it and build fuel breaks.”

Residents quickly tried to get out of the city, Jennie said.

“At one point, all four lanes on Coast Highway headed south toward Dana Point,” Jennie said. “There was a lot of panic. People were coming out of their houses, which were on fire, in Emerald Bay. It was definitely chaos.”

Laguna Beach fire division Chief Tom Christopher, also on-duty that day, headed first to Emerald Bay. The fire had raced through a canyon east of North Coast Highway and entered Emerald Bay, he said.

At the top of the canyon, the fire burned 100 acres per minute, according to the OCFD report.

Organization and strategy were of paramount importance in battling the blaze, whose flames rose 45 feet, according to Christopher.

“Never put yourself at the head of a land-driven fire,” Christopher said. “You put yourself at the houses and protect structures.”

Christopher stayed in Emerald Bay until 3 p.m., then moved to Mystic Hills, where most of the homes in that area were burning, he said.

“One couple was staying,” Christopher said. “We asked them to leave, but they refused. A lady bit our captain’s arm.”

Firefighting resources were stretched thin, as 20 major fires burned in six Southern California counties from Oct. 26 through Nov. 4, 1993.

“We needed more resources than we had; we needed air drops,” Jennie said. “It took a long time to get the air resources.

“Air tankers were delayed, which was one of the main issues. If we had the fire today, there are better mutual aid and automatic-aid agreements. The result of that fire led to rules in place about getting air tankers immediately versus having any delays.”

Laguna had 16 to 20 firefighters on duty when the fire started, more than the usual 12, but it was still not enough, Jennie said.

The following day, Oct. 28, Jennie and colleagues went east on Laguna Canyon Road near the two small lakes. They planned to set backfires to burn vegetation toward the flames, but the winds shifted.

“We had fire coming at us, so we escaped to a safe refuge,” Jennie said.”Water-dropping helicopters arrived, as we thought [the fire] would make a run to Leisure World [now Laguna Woods].”

It took 1,968 firefighters to contain the blaze by 6 p.m. Oct. 28, the report said. OCFD officials declared the blaze under control three days later. Twenty Orange County cities had sent engines to Laguna.

No one died in the fire, but the blaze destroyed or damaged 441 homes, burned 14,337 acres and caused about $528 million in damage, according to the OCFD report.

The blaze hit multiple areas including El Morro Mobile Home Park, where 44 trailers burned, Emerald Bay, Skyline Drive and Canyon Acres, though firefighters saved 1,082 homes, the report said.

The fire was a learning tool for the Fire Department and city, Ganger said.

“Our building codes are much stricter because of that fire,” he said. “The city changed building standards to make [structures] more fire-resistant.”

Enhanced building requirements also include residential sprinklers, Laguna fire division Chief Dan Stefano said in an email.

Fire safety has become a top priority across the community, from schools and businesses to city departments such as marine safety, public works, planning and zoning, according to Stefano.

The nonprofit Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council formed as a result of the 1993 fire to focus on fire prevention through community awareness, according to the council’s website.

Now, for example, the red flag is flown by select businesses and schools on days rated high on the fire danger scale, the website said.

“It is our intent that on red flag days, it will be difficult for the average motorist or pedestrian to fail to notice the number of bright red flags along the highways and to thus be more aware that they should be more careful with any activity that could start a fire,” the website said.

The Fire Department has also boosted fire safety efforts with expanded weed abatement programs, including the use since 1990 of goats. The animals create fuel breaks by eating brush on the city’s perimeter and in canyons, Stefano said.

‘People were coming out of their houses, which were on fire...’