Laguna Beach officials praise coordinated response after Morningside brush fire; 13-year-old arrested

Laguna Beach officials said a quick, coordinated response by city staff, mutual-aid partners and the water district kept a brush fire that began near Morningside in Rancho Laguna from becoming a major conflagration.

Mayor Alex Renogy said he learned of the fire while on a Zoom call in Irvine and went straight to the city’s emergency operations center, which was activated. “The question is not if, but when the next wildfire happens,” Renogy said, adding that the city’s response plan and mutual-aid arrangements were key to protecting residents and property.

The fire’s point of origin was small, but conditions gave it potential to spread rapidly. “It was truly only about 50 by 50,” Fire Chief Niko King said, describing steep slopes, dense dried vegetation and flame lengths he estimated at 35 to 50 feet as the blaze moved upslope. King said the first crews arrived quickly, frontloading the response and calling for air resources early to avoid being outgunned by the fire’s speed.

City and fire officials credited several…