Fire Causes $550K in Damages at Dana Point Harbor Inn

Originally posted at 10:24 a.m. Feb. 12, 2014. Updated to post photos. 

A three-alarm fire at a block of hotel units in Dana Point resulted in about $550,000 in damage, authorities said today.

The fire started around 8:10 p.m. Tuesday in an unoccupied ground floor unit of the Dana Point Harbor Inn in the 25300 block of Dana Point Harbor Drive, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

Damage was estimated at $450,000 to the structure and $100,000 to the contents, Concialdi said.

The unit where the fire started was part of an unoccupied two-level block of 22 units on the southern side of the hotel property, which has been undergoing repairs since mid-November, Concialdi said.

Concialdi told Patch it will be a little while before investigators figure out what caused the fire.

"Our fire investigators just have to speak with the contractors that have been working on renovating all the hotel rooms," he said.

Thirty occupants of a separate two-level block on the north side were evacuated and displaced. Concialdi said the hotel arranged separate accommodations for them, aided by the American Red Cross.

Ten of the southern block units sustained extensive fire, smoke and water damage, Concialdi said. 

The fire was knocked down in 55 minutes by 85 firefighters from both the Orange County Fire Authority and Laguna Beach Fire Department, Concialdi said.

--City News Service

Patch Editor Penny Arévalo contributed to this report.