LAGUNA NIGUEL – (INT) – Firefighters are utilizing the heat seeking capabilities of drones to seek out hot spots within the perimeter of the costly Coastal Fire.

The Orange County Fire Authority says hazards throughout the area continue to be mitigated to render the area safe for residents to return to their homes where possible.

Twenty, multi-million dollar homes were destroyed and ten others damaged when the wind-driven blaze, which began as a small vegetation fire, roared up the slopes showering burning embers on the mansions overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

State Sen. Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, told the Orange County Register Friday that she has assurances from Gov. Gavin Newsom that resources to help in the recovery of the Coronado Pointe community are on their way.

“When you’re there and see the devastation, it’s just so heartbreaking,” she said.

Bates said her community, like many in Laguna Niguel, has large swaths of defensible space between the housing and the wildland in the canyons.

But she added, “When you have wind blowing 30-40 mph, it blows over the defensible space,” she said. “It’s the serendipity of the wind and the embers – that’s why some houses burned and others didn’t.”

Story Date: May 16, 2022