Newport Beach : Damages Set at $150,000 as Fire Sweeps 6,300-Square-Foot Home
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An early-morning fire partially destroyed a house under construction in an exclusive Newport Beach area Thursday, causing estimated damages of $150,000, authorities said.
Firefighters were called to the scene at Ocean Beach Drive in the Spyglass Hill area about 2:20 a.m. after officers in a Newport Beach police helicopter spotted flames from the two-story structure, police spokesman Bob Oakley said.
About 25 firefighters brought the blaze under control but not before one-third of the building was gutted. Investigators believe that the fire was started accidentally by a plumber’s torch, Battalion Chief Ray Brown said.
Brown said the owner of the 6,300-square-foot home estimated its value at $1 million.
The blaze was about half a mile from a home on Port Ramsgate that was damaged in a fire Wednesday.
That residence, located across a greenbelt from a street plagued with fires the last 10 months, sustained $25,000 worth of damages. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Brown said.
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