Canyon fire causes $50,000 damage to utility poles, wires

A brush fire in Laguna Canyon on Friday charred 15 acres and caused $50,000 in damage to utility equipment, including wires and poles, Laguna Beach Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse said Monday.

Fire officials are still investigating what caused a pine tree on private property near Arroyo Drive to fall into a eucalyptus tree. The two trees then struck electrical wires, creating a power surge that ignited the blaze and caused a power outage, LaTendresse said.

He said he did not know the extent of the outage.

More than 150 Laguna Beach and Orange County Fire Authority firefighters stopped the fire’s progress just after 6 p.m., three hours after the first 911 calls arrived.

Fire officials monitored the area until Sunday afternoon for any remaining hot spots, LaTendresse said.

One Laguna Beach firefighter was hospitalized with an ankle injury but is expected to make a full recovery, according to a news release. No structures were damaged.

—Bryce Alderton

Twitter: @AldertonBryce