Laguna Beach sees 90% containment on 154-acre Emerald Fire

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A scorched hillside in the Emerald Fire burn area near the 1400 block of Emerald Bay on Feb. 10. Photo by Daniel Langhorne

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firefighters anticipated completing containment on the 154-acre Emerald Fire as early as Wednesday, according to an Orange County Fire Authority statement.

CalFire reported 90% containment on the blaze by Saturday night. Repairs to hillside areas damaged by fire will be done over the next five days, OCFA officials said in a Tweet.

Firefighters are mitigating debris flow risk in the burn area ahead of a storm forecasted to hit coastal Orange County on Tuesday, said Capt. Steve Concialdi, a spokesperson for the Orange County Fire Authority. Crews will install barriers on burned slopes to slow rain runoff and prevent mud and other debris from sliding into neighborhoods. Wildfire fuel modification zones in Emerald Bay, Irvine Cove also help prevent erosion, Concialdi said.

City and county officials have touted the lack of burned structures and injuries from the Emerald Fire as examples of good outcomes when communities invest in robust emergency planning and management.

“The systems that have been put into place and the vigilance and resiliency of the community was put to the test and we came out the other side relatively unscathed,” Laguna Beach Emergency Operations Coordinator Brendan Manning said in a Linkedin post.

Following the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., Laguna Beach embarked on mitigating its very high wildfire risk, ending with the City Council accepting a 128-page report of recommendations.

“Great reports don’t sit on shelves and this report was acted on immediately and several of the recommendations were put into motion,” Jordan Villwock, a former Laguna Beach emergency operations coordinator who spearheaded the City’s report, wrote in a statement.

Among the implemented fire mitigation measures were additional fuel modification zones, outdoor warning speakers, and an evacuation time study coupled with an interactive evacuation map.

“Preparedness matters and City Officials did an awesome job,” Villwock said.

On Sunday, city officials expressed gratitude on social media for the Laguna Beach Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers who helped set up the Care and Reception Center at the Community and Susi Q Center.

“These volunteers play a critical role supporting the City during responses like this, and we thank them,” according to a statement.

For more information on joining CERT, click here.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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