LAGUNA BEACH – A fire that broke out in a restaurant on Coast Highway is believed to have been caused by a light fixture in a storage room, authorities said.
Twenty-two firefighters fought the fire early Friday morning, shutting down the four-lane highway as they tried to extinguish the flames, officials said. Firefighters used a hydrant across the street from the restaurant in the 31000 block of Coast Highway, closing the road as they extended a hose across, said Laguna Beach Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse.
A firefighter walks inside to help clean up after a fire at a restaurant in Laguna Beach.
KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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The fire was reported at 4:33 a.m. as a burglary alarm, LaTendresse said, because smoke had triggered the alarm. When police officers arrived, they requested firefighters to respond, he said.
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish the flames, he said.
Laguna Beach Fire Department officials also requested the help of firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority, who sent one fire engine and two ladder trucks, said Capt. Marc Stone of the Orange County Fire Authority.
By 6:30 a.m., Laguna Beach officials opened one lane in each direction, to help ease traffic through the area as firefighters continued to fight the blaze. The scene was cleared by 8 a.m.
The fire was kept to a storage room in the back of the Caribbean restaurant, LaTendresse said.
The fire is believed to have caused about $50,000 in damages to the building and its contents.
Contact the writer: shernandez@ocregister.com or 949-454-7361
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