Easing winds could help Southern California firefighters on Friday in their ongoing battle against stubborn flames that continued to ravage an upscale, oceanside community.
The Coastal Fire, burning in and around Laguna Niguelwas 25 percent contained by Friday morning, after having charred at least 200 acres, destroyed 20 homes and damaged 11 more, the Orange County Fire Authority reported,
About 563 firefighters are battling the blaze, according to the OCFA. Two firefighters were injured but have been released from the hospital.
Local winds across Orange County were not expected to reach more than 10 mph on Friday, down from peak gusts of 16 mph on Thursday and 30 mph on Wednesday afternoon when the wildfire ignited.
Laguna Niguel residents Keith and Lynn Morey lost all of their possessions in their five-bedroom home that went up in flames.
But the 68-year-old health supplement manufacturer said he won’t dwell on the destruction.
“There’s going to be hiccups in your life, and this is a hell of a hiccup. But instead of looking back, I’m looking forward,” he told NBC News on Friday. “I’m not going to cry in my milk. You always get through it — why ponder on it?”
One of the few items that firefighters pulled from the rubble of the burned-down house was a framed picture from their wedding day.
“We lost everything, so that was really special when we got this from the house — that made my day,” Lynn Morey said.
Sassan Darian, 38, and his young daughter had recently moved back into his childhood home that’s now burned to the ground.
The flames, though, didn’t wipe out Darian’s fond memories, such as “a crazy house party I had there in my early 20s when the police had to come to break it up.”
“Everyone is safe and sound,” Darian said Friday. “I mean there’s no injuries or death, not just us but that’s the whole neighborhood, so that’s the perspective (to have).”
Helen Kwong contributed,