Fire Burns, Smoke Billows Into Air From CA's Laguna Beach Blaze

16 hours ago A fire burned in a hilly area of California’s Laguna Beach on Monday (July 7), with plumes of smoke rising into the air, video and still photographs from the Newport Beach Fire Department showed.

Reuters was able to verify the location as the terrain matched the street view images, as well as the metadata of the original video. The date was verified by the metadata of the original video. Officials had also announced an evacuation order in the area due to the wildfire on Monday.

The Rancho Fire began at around 2:15 p.m. (2115 GMT) on Monday when a vegetation fire broke out in a hillside area, local media reported. The fire was contained to an area of approximately 4 acres (1.62 hectares), Newport Beach Fire Department told Reuters in an email.

Authorities said the blaze may have been caused by fireworks, local media reported.