Methane plant fire damages power generator at Newport Coast

Newport Beach firefighters extinguished a small electrical fire Thursday at a methane collection facility on a shuttered landfill in Newport Coast.

Firefighters responded around 5:30 a.m. to 20661 Newport Coast Drive, where they found heavy smoke and electrical equipment in flames, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Fire Department.

Units brought the fire under control “quickly,” and no firefighters or workers at the site were injured, according to the Fire Department.

Although the facility collects methane from area wells, there was no risk of the gas igniting, Newport Beach police Lt. Jeff Brouwer said.

“Any time there’s any kind of fire, the plant automatically shuts things down,” he said.

Authorities still are determining the extent of damage from the flames but said at least one power generator was damaged, according to the NBFD.

The cause of the fire also is under investigation, Brouwer said.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck