Fire near Hilton likely an accident, fire officials say

As wildfires continued to grip Southern California, Costa Mesa got a blaze of its own Saturday morning as the area behind the Hilton on Bristol Street erupted in flames.

Police and fire officials said the fire wasn’t likely arson, but rather an accident by a transient who set a group of trees ablaze while cooking.

Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before 8:30 a.m. and found three tall pine trees ablaze behind the hotel. Capt. Jim Gottenbos said witnesses had reported seeing a man with a backpack leaving the scene shortly before the fire started, and responders found cardboard sheets, clothes and a barbecue grate in the area near the trees.

Crews put out the fire in about 20 minutes with foam and hoses. A brick wall below the trees suffered some char marks, but the flames did not reach the Hilton.

Arson Investigator John Brock said as of Saturday afternoon his department was not investigating the incident as a criminal act.

“We’re not actively seeking out somebody,” he said. “As of now, it’s not an active investigation. If we start to see patterns [with further incidents], then we’ll start an investigation and set up stakeouts to see if we can catch them.”

— Michael Miller