A woman whose home was damaged in an Orange County fire last week has filed a lawsuit blaming San Diego Gas & Electric equipment for starting the blaze.
The suit contends the fire erupted near an SDG&E distribution line at Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte in San Clemente.
In a statement, SDG&E officials acknowledged that the company’s distribution line experienced an outage around the time the Norte Fire began Friday morning. But the company insisted there is no basis for blaming the utility’s equipment for the fire.
Firefighters in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano had the Norte Fire 90% contained Tuesday and will continue encircling the 570-acre blaze that destroyed homes and prompted evacuations.
“Containment has increased to 90%,” according to the Orange County Fire Authority. “Firefighters are patrolling the fire perimeter, checking for remaining heat and securing containment lines.”
The fire broke out at about 11:30 a.m. Friday in the area of Portico Del Norte, the OCFA reported. Driven by fierce Santa Ana winds, it grew to 250 acres within an hour and destroyed or damaged seven homes.
The wind-whipped blaze prompted evacuation orders in multiple neighborhoods of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, including streets off Camino Las Ramblas down to the Interstate5.
According to San Clemente Chief of Police Services Justin Chevalier, approximately 6,000 homes and 16,000 residents were initially reported under evacuation orders.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
