The contest accepted photos taken between May 2024 and June 2025 in Laguna Beach’s Marine Protected Areas, which encompass the coves, cliffs and lagoons along most of the city’s six miles of coastline.

“We’re riding a wave of gratitude for everyone who dove into this year’s photo contest, from the talented photographers to the fabulous finned and flippered stars of theshow,” said Anne Girtz, a Bluebelt board member who runs the contest. “Every entry celebrating Laguna’s Marine Protected Areas overflowed with heart, color and deep love for our magical ocean world. These stunning snapshots don’t just capture beauty, they inspire awe, connection and a renewed commitment to protecting our ocean’s fragile brilliance.”

The contest awarded prizes in professional and amateur categories. Also, for the first time, it included a children’s under 13 category. The judges were Rich German, founder of Project O and an avid paddleboarder and photographer; marine scientist Julianne Steers; and filmmaker and ocean advocate Greg MacGillivray.

Bluebelt founders say the contest is not only a nod to the talent of photographers from Southern California and beyond but also a testament to the success of the preservation efforts of the state’s program of marine protected areas. The images are often used as examples to educate local government and state wildlife agencies about the success of the conservation efforts.

This year, in the amateur category, Kaelin Housewright of Los Angeles took first place; Michael Oakley of Long Beach received second place; and Yvonne Bellgardt of Pico Rivera won third place.

In the professional category, Craig Hatfield of Mission Viejo took first place; Noah Gilbert of Los Angeles came in second; and Jordan Manning of Dana Point won third place.

Hatfield, who took the “Heart Bubble” photo, said he found his image south of Main Beach near the Surf & Sand Hotel while he was in the water with a waterproof camera.

“At first, I did not notice the heart bubble that formed inside the wave,” he said. “I then noticed it at a later time and thought it was quite amazing. My son Chase noticed it looked like it says ‘LOV’ above the heart, and I was completely blown away.”

A fine art ocean and wave photographer, Hatfield said he developed his passion for photography in the water and the beauty of nature as a kid surfing at El Morro Beach. His favorite locations to shoot are along Laguna Beach’s shoreline and at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point.

“I am a firm believer in the conservation of all beaches and especially Laguna Beach, which in my opinion is the most beautiful beach in all of California,” he said.

Each category also included several photographs that won honorable mentions.

“Having photographed the ocean around the world for the past 60 years, I have to say that the submissions to this contest were outstanding and I am so encouraged because the amateur submissions were, in my opinion, equal to those in the professional division,” Macgillivary said. “That says a lot of people love and respect our marine protected area and the gift that the ocean generously gives to us each day is super well appreciated.”

Top winners will receive cash prizes during an artist reception on Aug. 7, hosted by the Laguna College of Art & Design at its gallery on Ocean Avenue, during the city’s popular Thursday Art Walk. The photos will be displayed at the gallery from then until Aug. 17.

The company, which moved its headquarters to Irvine from Washington, D.C. two years ago, is cutting about 25 employees at Supernal’s Orange County operations along Laguna Canyon Road and Waterworks Way through Aug. 29, according to a filing made with the state’s Employment Development Department.

The company also is laying off 27 workers at its Fremont facility in the Bay Area, and a single employee at the company’s Mojave facility, where a demonstration flight test of Supernal’s electric air taxi technology is to take place later this year.

The layoffs, which began June 30, are expected to be permanent, the filing said. Following the cuts, Supernal will have 500 workers.

“The primary reason for this reduction in force is organizational realignment from the technology development phase to the product development phase of our business,” said Supernal spokesman Veronica Grigoriou. “The decision is not one we made lightly, and was undertaken after careful consideration of our roadmap, available resources, and goals for the remainder of the year.”

She said the company is actively working through a certification process for its technology with the Federal Aviation Administration, with the application process beginning in 2026, and a specific design of an aircraft — called “type certification” — expected for approval by 2028. “Our schedule has not been impacted by these changes.”

“Our production aircraft is slated to begin deliveries in the end of 2028,” Grigoriou said. The company has yet to determine a production site for its flying taxis.

Also see: California’s flying e-taxi business startups face daunting hurdles ahead of LA28 Olympics launch

The company conducted tethered flight tests in March but plans “untethered” tests at its Mojave facility later this year.

The layoffs follow last year’s hiring of a key NASA employee to develop a prototype.

In March 2024, Supernal named David McBride as chief technology officer. McBride, who formerly worked with NASA on several space missions with the space agency’s Flight Research Program, remains with the company.

In July 2023, Supernal LLC, which is South Korea automaker Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Air Mobility company, opened an engineering headquarters in Irvine to research a flying taxi.

The layoffs targeted a wide range of positions in order to “support [Supernal’s] long-term strategic goals and priorities,” according to a June 30 letter filed with the EDD by Hyunsik Kim, head of human resources with Supernal. Positions included battery cell test engineers, electrical and wiring manager, head of data, information technology coordinator, senior electric power distribution engineer, manager of intelligent flight and technical project coordinator.

The filings were made as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — commonly referred to as WARN, which are required when an employer lays off more than 50 employees. All affected employees are notified at least 60 days before their terminations are scheduled to occur, according to Kim.

Electric taxi concepts lift off vertically and don’t need a runway, creating a niche for air travel in a crowded urban landscape. Once these aircraft take off in the air — like a helicopter — their engines and propellers tilt to fly like an airplane.

Supernal isn’t the only manufacturer working on an electric flying taxi.

Others include San Jose-based Archer Aviation, Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation and Mountain View-based Wisk Aero, a subsidiary of aerospace giant Boeing Co.

In Buena Park, an 8-year-old girl died after an illegal firework display malfunctioned and misfired, igniting additional illegal fireworks near the child.

In Pacoima, a man died and a woman was critically injured in a house fire linked to fireworks, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

And in Laguna Beach, a 13-year-old was arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks that sparked the Rancho Fire, which burned four acres and forced evacuations.

Many police and fire stations logged a steep rise in calls for service on the holiday, though year-over-year comparisons were mostly unavailable, and some departments said they saw less.

San Bernardino County Fire saw a dramatic spike in calls, responding to 778 incidents on July 4 — more than twice the 359 calls handled on June 4. Fire-related calls alone jumped from 23 to 207.

“We didn’t have a single area that didn’t have a serious uptick in calls for service,” said department spokesperson Eric Sherwin. “It was a very busy day countywide for us.”

To prepare for the holiday, the department began interdiction efforts in May, anticipating the influx of illegal fireworks brought in from out of state. Fire personnel were stationed at agricultural inspection sites along the 15 and 40 freeways, where they issued 105 citations and seized more than 28,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, Sherwin said.

“If you can get one person to think twice and it stops a house from burning down or a child from being injured, it’s worth it,” he said.

Additional efforts on the holiday led to 10 more citations and the seizure of another 230 pounds of fireworks. Despite the surge in calls, the department said, there were no major incidents or fatalities reported there.

Fullerton fire officials also reported an elevated call volume, with more fire-related incidents than usual for a single day. Santa Ana police said they received hundreds of fireworks complaints – but said activity was slightly lower than in previous years.

The Riverside Police Department issued more than 60 citations for illegal fireworks use on Independence Day — more than twice as many as last year, according to Officer Ryan Railsback.

For the first time, drones supported real-time enforcement, allowing officers to spot and document illegal fireworks activity as it happened — even in cases where individuals dispersed before officers could arrive on foot. Railsback said the increase in citations was largely due to the department’s ability to spot and document illegal activity as it happened.

“We’re not focused on the families having an Independence Day party doing sparklers — little stuff — on their property,” Railsback said. “We’re talking about those commercial-grade, illegal fireworks — the ones you’re not allowed to have in California.”

Fines are being mailed this week to property owners, some of whom may not yet realize they were cited.

Hemet also deployed drones for the first time as part of its Fourth of July enforcement efforts. The department received over 160 fireworks-related calls, along with dozens more tips submitted through a dedicated reporting line.

Nineteen citations were issued, and numerous illegal fireworks were confiscated — many before they could be ignited.

Long Beach received 646 fireworks-related reports on Independence Day — a 4% decrease from 2024, city officials said. The drop followed the launch of the city’s Celebrate Safely campaign, which aimed to educate residents about the dangers of fireworks, how to report violations, and tips to ensure a safe holiday.

“Gold Coast: Treasures of California,” this year’s theme for the annual Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, offers a rich overview of the state’s significant museums, such as the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, destinations like Hearst Castle in San Simeon, and one of the newer additions, the Hilbert Museum of California Art gracing the campus of Chapman University — all in a span of roughly 90 minutes.

Pageant Director Diane Challis Davy and her volunteer researchers selected 12 museums, along with several art sites within driving distance from the pageant, culling works intriguing enough to be transformed into the show’s signature tableaux vivants, or living pictures.

This year, it seems that Challis Davy and her crew have taken a somewhat different approach to the show: Instead of cleaving almost exclusively to the formula of turning figurative paintings, such as “Recreation” (1857) by Jerome Thompson (at the De Young Museum in San Francisco), into living pictures, they added theatrical stage scenes featuring people visiting a museum and looking at still paintings.

Susan Hoehn’s 2024 works “Blue Dog” (at the Broad) and “The Artist at LACMA” exemplify this new trend, which thus allows subjective or abstract paintings to be shown in a pageant setting. (Hoehn’s paintings are also included in this year’s Festival of Arts, Booth 104.)

Previously, for example, there were stage replications of fashion show audiences or other smaller scenes involving the acting out of situations.

This time, the audience gets the vicarious thrill of dancing at Hearst Castle or sauntering through the museums influenced by a young woman armed with a cellphone.

The Hearst Castle segment features the opulent residence in several configurations. Designed by architect Julia Morgan, the castle has a theater showing film clips of William Randolph Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies; lavish rooms filled with sculptures and urns from ancient Greece and Rome; and a swimming pool dazzling with its mosaics.

Staged scenes of ballroom fetes with fashionably attired real dancers keep audience imaginations connected to past and present.

Among recreations of sculptures, as sculptures vivants if you will, there are several standouts, with the volunteers enacting figures displaying remarkable acrobatic skill.

“Mechanics Monument,” by Douglas Tilden (in San Francisco), comes to mind as does the majestic “El Cid Campeador,” by Anna Hyatt Huntington (at Balboa Park, San Diego).

Then again, there is the graceful 1789 “Mantel Clock,” by Pierre-Philippe Thomire (at the Getty), that prompts the imagination back to an era when keeping time might have been a gentler process than today’s cacophony of cellphones.

In a different vein, the charming Indian Chess Set (at the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena) can make one forget that chess is a war game.

After intermission, the show veers into Southern California to, somewhat puzzlingly, a statue of Helena Modjeska, a Polish emigree better known for her Shakespearean acting than for making art.

But subsequent drawings reveal that she loved to invent fairy tales for children of friends and family members and accompany them with intricate pen and ink and color illustrations. Ghosts and fairies and creatures of her own invention abounded in the pageant.

Then it was on to the beach culture. Not surprisingly, the segment emphasizes surfers and water enthusiasts in the form of Bill Limebrook’s sculptures of surfer Phil Edwards, surfing acrobats Barrie and Steve Boehne, and surf and sailing pioneer Hobie Alter in “Hobie Riding the Wave of Success.”

A giant mosaic replica of the movie poster for “The Endless Summer” underscores the legends. Built by local mosaic artist Mia Tavonatti, the piece graces Waterman’s Plaza in Dana Point.

Local audiences can transpose themselves a couple of blocks down from the pageant into the Marine Room, a once notorious biker bar turned family friendly pub, replete, under the brush of painter Bradford J. Salamon, with a visiting dog, billiards players and a cat.

Brought to life here, the painting is part of the Festival of Arts Permanent Collection.

Salamon, a former FoA exhibitor, created more local scenes, like “Monday at the Crab Cooker” and “Seal Beach Nighthawks.” Both are in the Hilbert collection.

Altogether the show features six paintings from the Hilbert Museum, established in 2022.

The pageant ends with Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” a traditional closing to the show.

“Gold Coast: Treasures of California” nightly through Aug. 29. Tickets start at $47. Visit foapom.com for more information.

Laguna Woods resident takes part in third pageant

By Daniella Walsh

Correspondent

When the Pageant of the Masters announced auditions in January for its “Gold Coast: Treasures of California” production, Laguna Woods resident Reggie White decided to give it another shot.

After all, he had taken part in the pageant for two seasons already.

Last year, White appeared in Daniele Tamagni’s photograph “The Playboys of Bacongo,” part of the pageant show “À La Mode: The Art of Fashion.”

“I posed the entire summer last year and was also an alternate,” White said in an interview. “I had to stand still a lot.”

In early June, the pageant notified him that he was in the stage cast again.

“I get to walk through a simulated museum in the (California) Museum Suite,” he said. “This year, I am only in costume with no makeup, which is simpler than last year. I did several walk-through rehearsals and two in costume.”

White explained that there are two teams of actors – a blue team and a green team, which perform in alternating weeks. Altogether he performs for one month of the season, though he did not perform on opening night.

White taught himself to stand still for 90 seconds – the time required of the cast members to pose in the tableaux vivants.

“You have to freeze,” he said. “Some people can’t do that,”

In 2022, White was accepted for the pageant show “Wonderful World,” celebrating global culture.

“The stage piece was about holy rollers. It was a long, 15-minute piece, and I was singing in it,” he recalled. “Singing was easy. I sing in church. I learned the lyrics and really enjoyed myself.”

Altogether the pageant involves more than 500 volunteers who contribute more than 60,000 hours to the seasonal production.

“As long as they’ll have me, I’ll come,” White said. “Everyone should experience the pageant at least once.”

Recently held in Aliso Viejo, the inter-agency simulation organized by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department gamed out the scenario of a blaze in the fire-prone wildland and canyons that stretch between Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills and other neighboring South County cities. Lessons learned from wildfires that scorched local canyon communities in the recent past — the Coastal fire, the Aliso fire and the Bond fire — were pulled in and law enforcement personnel from Pasadena spoke about their experiences in the Eaton fire in January.

“Getting all parties into these rooms are critical,” said OCFA Division 5 Chief Mike Summers. “Wildfires impact all our communities differently and potentially very negatively. So, I think we all go in with the same mission in mind, that we all have a different role to play in that mission, whether it’s evacuation, care and shelter, fire suppression, traffic control, perimeter security, investigation or how we can support the city and the county.

“We’re all looking at it from different lenses.”

While individual departments and mutual aid partners routinely communicate and host trainings, these joint operation briefings organized by the Sheriff’s Department offer a focused examination of the coordination and collaboration needed to beat a wildfire that is spreading fast and threatening life and property. Within minutes, Monday’s fire in Bluebird Canyon, which officials believe was sparked by fireworks, had grown from a small 50-by-50-foot fire to 30-foot flames climbing the steep canyon walls toward homes. Within hours, combined multi-agency resources, including several strike teams, 186 personnel and six aircraft dumping more than 100,000 gallons of water and fire retardant, had stopped the blaze’s progress. Officials announced Wednesday that the 4.6-acre fire was completely contained and extinguished.

Resources outside Laguna Beach fire and police came from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Orange County Fire Authority, CalFire, Los Angeles County Fire and city fire departments from Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Orange. Irvine and Tustin police and CHP also assisted, as did Laguna Beach County Water District and the Community Emergency Response Team.

The recent training created a unified process for carrying out that response involving so many agencies, Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King said.  Instead of making plans on the fly as the fire burned, agencies had already planned out specifics for the smooth handling of communications, evacuation plans and resources that would need to be called in. With the recent training, Laguna Beach Police Capt. Mike Peters said, all the protocols were fresh in everybody’s mind on Monday when the fire started.

“It put quick communication and reaction at the forefront,” Peters said.

“The timing was perfect,” he added. “We had just discussed wildfires in the canyons between us and our jurisdictional partners. And just as we prescribed in that meeting how they would flow in with assistance, that’s exactly how it happened. Within 20 minutes, we had units from several agencies, and within an hour, we had more units.

“If this had gone on longer, we would have had more personnel to throw at this,” he said. “We had the best outcome possible because of the quickness of the response.”

Summers, who was running operations on Monday, said he has participated in prior tabletop exercises and that relationship building with the people on the other side of the badges is a vital component gained from the meetings.

“When we have the joint exercises, it gives us the opportunity to network and get to know each other, exchange numbers and emails, so that when we go to the incidents, it’s not, ‘Who are you, but how are you,’” he said. “That corridor where the fire occurred, we routinely run multiple resources in those areas for remote rescues, and coordinate helicopters to find lost or missing hikers. Having those relationships in place prior to these incidents, along with the joint tabletop exercise, really helped foster trust and communication.

“We understood the resources that would be needed to quickly suppress that incident,” he said.

The next tabletop session is planned in Yorba Linda this month and will include city managers, elected officials and other notable partners, officials said.

On Wednesday, after the fire was declared out, Laguna Beach Mayor Alex Rounaghi praised the teamwork of those who responded and said he’d received a lot of feedback from thankful and relieved residents.

“Wildfire preparedness is truly a team sport,” he said. “Monday’s fire proved that. I’m proud of the seamless coordination between our city departments, local water districts, OCFA, mutual aid partners and most of all our courageous firefighters and first responders. Fires don’t respect our city limits, water district boundaries or layers of government, so our response can’t either.”

Coincidentally, hours after the fire was declared out, King on Wednesday was meeting with consultants who are assessing Laguna Beach’s threats and putting together a fire protection plan and another tabletop exercise. The review is courtesy of a grant from the International Fire Association of Chiefs recognizing the area’s high fire risk. The grant is helping the city develop a community wildfire protection plan.

While King said he is pleased with the success battling Monday’s fire, he warns that the community needs to remain vigilant.

“The fire went well and everybody is grateful,” he said. “It was good to test the system and the system worked.”

But King emphasized that the conditions also played a huge role in the positive outcome.

“It’s not fire season, these weren’t Santa Ana winds. The conditions are going to get worse, we’re going to face wind events and it would have been so tremendously different if that fire was backed by Santa Ana winds,” he said. “Everything was truly working in our favor. It was 3 mph to 5 mph winds on shore, all the resources were available. Like the tabletop,  this was putting some reality to it and testing it. But conditions can be so much worse and the resources can be strained.

“The challenge is still there, the risk is still there.”

That interest in the everyday storytelling is exactly what resonated with Diane Challis Davy, longtime director of the famed Pageant of the Master, the annual summer show in Laguna Beach that recreates artwork as tableau vivants, or living pictures.

Challis Davy is incorporating five of the Hilbert-collected paintings in the pageant’s show this summer, themed “Gold Coast: Treasures of California,” which opened over the weekend.

The show is set up as a road trip through storied California museums and also includes pieces from the nearby Laguna Art Museum, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, the Arden Helena Modjeska Historic House and Gardens in Modjeska Canyon, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and the UC Irvine Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art. Dana Point’s Waterman’s Plaza is also referenced.

Along with paintings, the pageant’s living pictures recreate sculptures and other masterpieces.

With this show, Challis Davy said she hopes patrons will take inspiration this summer and visit some of the featured places.

“We are bombarded by images and images on screen and even reproductions, but it is a very different experience to stand in front of a painting and see the brushstrokes and see how the painting has aged,” Challis Davy said. “You get a connection with the artists being present and seeing the art up close.”

On Wednesday, July 9, in a first-time-ever for the pageant, Hilbert, a Newport Beach resident, will appear as himself in one of his own collected pieces: Bradford J. Salamon’s oil painting, “Monday at the Crab Cooker.” The painting catches a moment at the iconic Balboa Peninsula restaurant, where Hilbert, Salamon and artist Gordon McClelland discuss plans for the future museum.

The pageant and the Hilbert Museum announced their collaboration earlier this summer during an event at the Orange space where Challis Davy and Hilbert spoke about their passions for getting people to appreciate and enjoy great California art.

A major factor of the Hilbert Museum’s public appeal, he said, was an idea from his late wife, Janet Hilbert, that its collection features artwork that tells the story of everyday life.

“It was my wife’s idea to have people in the painting,” he said. “‘When people are in the painting, ‘It’s more interesting,’ she said.”

And now becoming part of the story, “is pretty cool,” he said. “It’s a rare thing for a person to pose in the painting as themselves.”

“It will be fun, they’re going to be putting makeup on me, I’ve never had makeup applied,” he added. “It’s going to be a lot of laughs. It will be an indelible memory for the rest of my life.”

Challis Davy, who picked the Crab Cooker painting without knowing it was Hilbert in it, said her idea to collaborate with the Hilbert started more than a year ago when she saw social media posts from the couple about the art collections they owned and loaned out to museums for exhibit. So, when Challis Davy learned of an invitation from Hilbert, she jumped at it.

“He gave me a personal tour, as he’s famous for,” she said, referring to the regular Thursday tours Hilbert conducts at the Orange museum. “What really connected with me was the fact that he collects the work of artists I was very familiar with. Artists like Phil Dike and Roger Koontz, some of whom my dad showed at his gallery here in Laguna. I just loved seeing he had purchased and put in this permanent collection, all these works I was familiar with. It really resonated with me.”

Challis Davy said she selected the five pieces to fit into this year’s theme. Once she realized “Monday at the Crab Cooker” depicted Hilbert, she said she loved it even more for the way it fit into the “storytelling theme.”

“It’s kind of like showing the beginning of the saga of the creation of the museum,” she said.

Hilbert, who founded the museum in 2016, said he can still recall sitting with his two friends and talking about the museum. A waitress snapped the photo that Salamon later used to paint the image.

Challis Davy selected two other local Orange County scenes that appear in Act II; they are also Salamon oils.

“Seal Beach Nighthawks,” an oil painting of people at a beach concession stand, coincidentally also in the Hilbert collection, and “Marine Room,” which captures a scene from the Laguna Beach tavern.

The last painting was created for the show.

“I thought there are these two cool local OC hangouts and I need to have a third,” Challis Davy said. “That’s when we decided we’d ask Bradford if he’d like to paint a third piece having to do with a bar or restaurant. I gave him a choice: it could be the Swallows Inn, the Sandpiper or the Marine Room.”

Challis Davy had to convince the Festival of Arts to commission the piece and it is now on exhibit on the festival grounds. The huge 74-inch painting has a tremendous amount of detail and is a shout-out to the historic Ocean Avenue bar, famous for not selling food.

Salamon had until March to finish the piece so the pageant staff could start working on its set. Challis Davy said that there have only been five art pieces commissioned and shown in the show.

“Theatrically speaking, when you’re doing comedy or skits or things, the magic number is three,” she explained. “To cap off the story, I needed a painting that was really fun. Bradford came up with the whole composition himself. He did a detailed drawing and he went off and painted it without any interference from us. And came up with this great canvas.”

Beyond the novelty of his appearance in the living picture, Hilbert said he is flattered that his museum is included among other notable, longtime institutions, especially the Norton Simon Museum, a favorite of he and his wife. The museum celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

The pageant includes a bronze “Little Dancer” by Edgar Degas and two of the artist’s pastels, “Dancers in Pink” and “Dancers in the Wings,” from the museum’s collection.

Challis Davy said it doesn’t surprise her that the Hilberts admired the Pasadena museum.

“Norton Simon, his collection is very personal,” she said. “He had a passion for Degas. Hilbert has a passion for Southern California art, storytelling, and works of art with people. That’s why it’s such a good fit for Pageant of Masters because we focus on storytelling, and it’s all about artworks with people, so it’s a perfect fit.”

The Pageant of the Masters runs through Aug. 29; get more information and tickets at foapom.com.

• For the latest, see: 13-year-old arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks that sparked Rancho fire in Laguna Beach

Forward progress of the Rancho fire was halted just after 5 p.m. at about 4 acres, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran said.

“We’re making tremendous progress,” Doran said, adding the air attack helped slow the flames.

“It was a hard aerial assault (on the fire),” said Doran, who added mild winds were a factor in helping crews stop the fire.

No structure damage was reported,  Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King said.

King praised the OCFA and neighboring departments for helping with the fight to contain the fire.

“It was great we had air resources come in a few minutes,” King said. “But this is still a very dynamic situation… We’re asking people to not go to the fire and stay clear.”

As of around 4:45 p.m., about 100 homes had been evacuated in the Arch Beach Heights neighborhood after the fire broke out in Bluebird Canyon in an area that had recently been approved for fuel-reduction work by hand crews, Mayor Alex Rounaghi said.

Rounaghi added that by late afternoon five helicopters and one plane were making drops on the fire.

Click here for a map of the fire location.

La Mirada Street, Katella Street, Summit Drive and Baja Street were ordered evacuated. But by 7:34 p.m. evacuation orders were lifted, the city said.

A Care and Reception center had been set up at the Community & Susi Q Center, 380 3rd Street, the city said.

The fire started near the intersection of Morningside Drive and Rancho Laguna Road, north of Fernando Street Park.

“The fire is progressing rapidly up the hillside and is currently threatening homes,”  King said shortly after the fire broke out as ground crews set up for structure defense.

Maryann Minck and her husband Mike have lived in Laguna Beach since 2003 and Maryann said the fire left her feeling terrified.

She was in Laguna Canyon when she received a call from Mike telling her there was smoke in the backyard and “there is a problem, don’t come home.”

Their son, Ellis Minck, 16 was also driving through Laguna Canyon from water polo training at El Toro High School.

“My friend called me and said there’s a fire by your house,” Ellis said. “At the corner of Cress and Temple Terrace, I saw a cloud of smoke. Fire trucks were screaming down the canyon and cutting through the median.”

Ellis and his mother later met up with Mike and waited for the all clear.

Longtime residents Alan and his wife Rosalie, who live near where the fire broke out at La Mirada and Summit, raced out out with only their dog, Benny Buttons, a cockapoo; and very personal treasures. They asked that their last name not be published for security reasons.

“I didn’t see anything but I saw people running,” said Rosalie. “My dog started barking and then I got the order. We were lucky we left right away. There were a few cars and it only got backed up toward the bottom.”

“It’s a haunting experience,” said Alan. “In January after the LA fires we packed up everything, but now it was too close for comfort knowing it was just two blocks away. You have to be focused on what’s most critical. That means your family, your animal’s life.

“I ran without even taking my computer,” he said. “The only thing I grabbed is my Tallis bag. And in it is a special note from my mother before she died.”

Gridlock conditions were reported on southbound and northbound Coast Highway to the west of the fire, with emergency personnel trying to squeeze through the jammed traffic. Trolleys full of passengers were stuck and all vehicles traveling southbound on Coast at the Montage resort were being turned around at Montage Resort Drive.

Coast Highway was temporarily closed while crews worked on the fire, but later reopened.

Rancho Laguna/Bluebird Canyon, 1190 Morningside Drive and the Fire Road in both directions remain closed as of about 7:20 p.m., the city said.

With many roads temporarily closed,  many evacuees were staging at the former Gelson’s market site across from the Montage Resort.

Among the people there was Joshua Hanna, a Laguna Beach resident and Community Emergency Response Team member who as an Uber driver was picking up orders. He ran over to Laguna Beach police officers offering to help direct traffic as Coast Highway became even more gridlocked.

Crime scene tape was seen in the area along with what appeared to be fireworks mortar on the ground and Laguna Beach Police Chief Jeff Calvert said fireworks are suspected as the cause of the fire. All fireworks are illegal in Laguna Beach. No arrests or citations were immediately announced in relation to the fire.

A man nearby said that just before the fire was reported, he heard a loud boom like that of a firework.

“I heard a boom around 1:55 (p.m.), it sounded like an M80. I got up, I went and checked, I saw three kids riding their e-bikes down the hill,” said Roger Robleto, who was house-sitting at a residence at the neighborhood corner where the fire started.

He said he saw faint smoke from the front window of the house. But when he checked the outdoor patio area, he saw a “bellow” of white smoke and went to check it out.

“I walked out to the middle of the street and that’s when I saw the big smoke and the fire. It was raging at that point … It sounded like a dragon,” said Robleto.

The fire broke out in 68-degree weather, with relative humidity around 80% and winds of 4-6 mph with gusts of 10-13 mph, the National Weather Service said.

City News Service and staff photographer Jeff Gritchen contributed to this story.

This summer, six Orange County cities from Laguna Beach to San Clemente, have again launched their free trolleys to shuttle residents to beaches, popular shopping and dining areas and community events.

The Dana Point trolley serves more than 80,000 people each summer and connects to four other neighboring cities’ trolley routes. Summer trolleys can also be found in Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach on the Balboa Peninsula, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

You can use the network of trolleys to get between several coastal South Orange County cities without needing a car.

Dana Point City Manager Mike Killebrew said he makes use of the city’s transportation service at least twice a week, and is even licensed to drive the trolleys for special events.

The trolleys help reduce traffic and parking congestion by simply getting people out of cars, Killebrew said. They also provide chances for tourists to explore the city and for local residents to get around town during the popular season.

One recent rider, Lena Karlsmyr, who was visiting from Sweden, hopped aboard with her three granddaughters. Stopping for lunch at a local restaurant, she said it was the perfect activity for the day.

Local middle and high school students, who can’t yet drive, also use the trolley to get around in the summer. Some load their surfboards into racks on the back to head to Dana Point’s famous surf spots on the route.

One local high school student said he rides the trolley three times a week from his home to Salt Creek Beach to surf with his friends. Usually, he straps his surfboard to the back of the trolley, but recently, he has been bringing his blue-and-white-checkered Boogie Board onboard with him.

Visitors such as Flor Reyes also use the shuttles to get around the beaches. Reyes drives in from Riverside on the weekends, parks and then rides the trolley. This past week, she rode the whole route with her sister and four friends, she said.

Reyes appreciates the sightseeing on the trolleys, and said she can “actually look around” because she’s not focused on driving. The atmosphere of the trolley, with its music, open windows and sea breeze sparks a connection among riders, she said.

“On a bus, everyone is doing their own thing. But people on the trolley are open to having a conversation,” she said.” You get to meet a lot of people from all over.”

This year, Dana Point added four new stops to serve additional areas, going past Sunset Park to reach more neighborhoods. And, Killebrew said the news stops are now some of the busiest, bringing more residents into the city center.

The city also introduced a new app, Passio Go, which riders can use to track the trolleys.

The cities’ trolleys are mostly funded by the Orange County Transportation Authority, which supports local community-based transportation projects with grants. Last year, the OCTA recorded more than 400,000 boardings throughout the summer on all the summer routes.

“It’s a great way to connect people even from our regular OC bus routes or Metrolink train services, to fill in that last-mile gap,” OCTA spokesperson Megan Abba said.

Laguna Beach Councilmember Mark Orgill said the trolleys help manage traffic and the influx of visitors who come to see Laguna Beach’s natural sites. He called them a symbol of the city’s commitment to the environment.

“We have our tide pools and our rock formations on the cliffs. We have our open space and the marine protected area, and we’re committed to nurturing and taking care of those elements,” Orgill said. “There’s a big picture here, and we’re always trying to find ways to manage the people who come into town, and look at ways to protect our environmental resources.”

He said the city is also looking into an electric vehicle fleet for its trolleys and buses.

Hazel Aguilar has been a bus driver for more than 30 years, but this summer is her first time driving the Dana Point trolleys. She said she enjoys handing out the toy trolleys to kids who get excited to ride the shuttle. One parent said the trolley is her son’s favorite toy.

Aguilar said the atmosphere of the open-air and beach-viewing trolley is a change from her previous bus routes and she loves it. She often runs into regulars, she said, and hopes to drive the route again next summer.

“Sometimes I have like a party bus in here,” she said.

The trolleys allow tourists and residents alike to better experience the city, Killebrew added. When he and his wife take the trolley to visit Salt Creek Beach, he said he often finds himself asking fellow riders, “Where you from?”

“It’s like a community table at a restaurant. Everybody is enjoying an experience together,” Killebrew said. “People stay longer than if you just had your car right there next to you. They tend to walk around more and enjoy what we have to offer.”

Trolleys arrive around every 15 to 20 minutes and each city runs routes for special events such as free concerts and movie screenings. Most have service on holidays such as Labor Day.

“Honestly, I’ve never seen someone on a trolley upset. They’re always happy and enjoying life. I don’t know what it is, there’s some magic to them that people just enjoy the ride,” Killebrew said. “And it doesn’t hurt that they’re free.”

January

Ivan Spiers’ Bodega Laguna and Skyloft, which opened in 2015, packed up their belongings and vacated the historic Heisler building on Jan. 2. Both prime Coast Highway venues have since remained vacant.

Also at the start of January, Slapfish, the fast-casual seafood franchise noted for its sustainable practices, closed its remaining Orange County location, located in San Clemente. The brand has one remaining California location left at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), as well as venues in Indiana, New Mexico, South Carolina and Utah.

ALSO READ: The Orange County restaurant closures of 2024

After 32 years on MacArthur Boulevard in Irvine, IHOP closed on Jan. 29. “This decision was ultimately made for us when we unfortunately lost the lease for this location,” said co-owner Angela EL Haj (who, along with her sister, Mariam, also co-owns Calaca Mamas in Anaheim), in a written statement. “The property owner, which we have had a wonderfully long relationship with, has chosen to move forward with a different tenant who will be able to pay significantly higher rent. While we have no hard feelings and respect their decision, it is a bittersweet moment for our family and team, as this closure marks the end of a cherished chapter in our lives.” According to Eric Martin, associate planner with the city of Irvine, a Chick-Fil-A will take its place. No word yet as to when exactly the chicken sandwich chain will open.

Mexican restaurant and bar Hectors on the Circle in Old Towne Orange closed in early January. Opening in August 2022, Hector’s moved into the former site of Watson’s Soda Fountain & Cafe, the soda fountain that first opened as a drug store in 1899. Cajun seafood chain the Kickin’ Crab, founded by restauranteur Jan Nguyen, moved into the space.

February

After only 14 months in operation, Hoot Wings, Hooters’ fast-casual, family-friendly chicken wing spot, closed its Orange location in early February. Known for its modesty compared to its “breastaurant” forefather, Hoot Wings hired both female and male servers, who wear t-shirts and khaki pants, with no emphasis on leering. Created in 2017, the business model was an attempt to offset revenue slowdown at Hooter restaurants. Only two locations in Illinois remain open, according to the company’s website. A new eatery has yet to take the place of the former Orange location.

March

On March 1, the Black Marlin, a noted seafood spot in Tustin’s Old Town, temporarily closed for a major renovation. “This transformation will include essential plumbing upgrades, a modernized kitchen, a reimagined restaurant and bar layout, and an exciting new menu carefully crafted to become an award-winning favorite,” the Black Marlin team posted to Instagram in February. No word when on when, or if, it plans on reopening this year.

Another closure that hit hard was the Spaghetti Bender, which closed after 55 years on March 2, along Coast Highway in Newport Beach. When asked why he decided to shutter his restaurant, owner Michael Hoskinson explained, “The ultimate reason is that we hit 55 years and we decided to go out on a high note. What else do we have to prove?” The red-sauce joint, noted for Italian-American staples like spaghetti and meatballs, gnocchi and saltimbocca, as well as its interior decor that hadn’t changed since the 1970s, went out on a high note, with tables booked until the very end.

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The longstanding Peking Dragon in Dana Point temporarily closed on March 16 to make way for an extensive renovation. A sign taped to the front entrance of the 40-year-old Chinese spot read, “Dear customers, our restaurant will be closed for remodeling starting March 16. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your support.” No word yet as to when the owners plan on reopening.

Rodrigo’s Mexican Grill in Anaheim Hills temporarily closed in March to make way for a complete renovation. Originally opening in 1977, the eatery’s in-progress remodel will “serve as the blueprint for future renovations across the brand’s nine additional locations throughout Orange County and beyond,” according to FSR Magazine. The Anaheim Hills location is slated to reopen this hall; Rodrigo’s Mexican Grill’s other locations are still open.

April

Rock and Brews, the rock-music restaurant chain co-created by Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, shuttered on April 6 after five years in Tustin. “After much consideration, we have decided to close our Rock and Brews Tustin location,” said a Rock and Brews spokesperson, in a written response. “We were recently approached by a buyer interested in the space and, after careful evaluation, decided to accept their offer.” The rock-themed 8,950-square foot venue featured 52 beers on tap, 17 flat-screen TVs and a menu of wings, burgers, ribs, beer galore and craft cocktails.

June

Coffee Importers, one of Dana Point Harbor’s oldest businesses, recently relocated near the Ocean Institute, closing its former location on June 15. The move allowed the time-honored establishment to remain operable during the Dana Point Harbor’s ongoing renovation, while adding a bakery and expanding their food options. However, the expansion came at the cost of its ice cream business: Scoop Deck, Coffee Importers’ frozen-treat other half for more than four decades, ceased operations before the move. “That’s really hard, we’ve had ice cream (at the Scoop Deck) for 43 years,” owner Jim Miller told the Orange County Register. “People loved it and they’re bummed. But we’re shifting gears to make it more of a cafe. It’s another level up.”

Seafood-steakhouse chain Eddie V’s closed its Newport Beach location for good on June 15. “Closing this restaurant is a difficult business decision, and one that we made carefully and thoughtfully, particularly because it impacts our team members and guests,” a spokesperson for the restaurant told the Orange County Register in April before its closing.

July

In Downtown Disney, Earl of Sandwich will close its temporary location on July 26 to make way for a new Porto’s Bakery. Meanwhile, the sandwich shop awaits the construction of its new eatery, a two-story location near the Downtown Disney performance lawn. Earl of Sandwich’s upcoming larger venue will include a quick service walk-up counter, sit-down Earl of Sandwich Tavern restaurant and an upstairs cocktail bar. The company laid off 167 employees in the process. Its pop-up location, however, is still open, according to the restaurant’s website.

August

Harpoon Henry’s, which opened in 2025, will serve its final meal this summer. The longstanding restaurant made the announcement in November. While the official closing date has changed since the original announcement, a projected finale is slated to happen in early to mid August. The seafood restaurant’s closure is part of an ongoing $550 million overhaul to the Dana Point Harbor, a project slated to add new hotels, parking structures, restaurants, architecture and landscaping to the 52-year-old harbor.

ALSO READ: Where do Orange County’s top chefs eat? We asked them

2029

In-N-Out, still Southern California’s most synonymous burger joint, plans to shutter its Orange County headquarters at 4199 Campus Drive. This fast food chain is consolidating its West Coast operations into a single location in Baldwin Park, where it was founded in 1948. This move, expected by 2029, will coincide with  the upcoming opening of a new East Coast headquarters in Tennessee. “Some of our associates will be relocating to Tennessee, which makes it even more important to centralize our western headquarters in one location, and our company’s deepest roots are in Baldwin Park,” owner and president Lynsi Snyder said in the news release. “Our West Coast family will be together in one place, where In-N-Out Burger began.”

Eleven-year-old Lauren Litscher wears 3-D glasses while looking at the work of artist John Lucero during the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A blown-glass “rastapus” bottle stopper is displayed at artist Alex Fritz’s booth at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. The piece sells for $100 and is one of several whimsical designs he’s created. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cyanne Walton passes a brightly colored artist palette at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Walton cruised past the photo op site, unaware that her hair perfectly matched the colors on the sculpture. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Archer Kurzawinski, 6 months, of Bakersfield, flies high over his mother, Kaitlyne’s head while they take a snack break at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Artist Beth Kukuk, left, helps customer Vicki Galasso of Laguna Woods, at her Sawdust Art Festival booth in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Kukuk creates delicate hand-formed jewelry. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Artist Beth Kukuk’s delicate jewelry is hand-formed with gold-filled sterling silver. Some pieces are finished off with resin, like the red heart in the center. Her work is for sale at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Laguna Beach High School student Mila Davis’ ceramic “Mushroom” is displayed with other students’ work at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Judy Hong of Long Beach checks out the ethereal work of artist Sathya Burchman during the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. The paintings are oil on gold and silver leaf on canvas. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nico Erngren’s philosophy for art is that it should be “Cheap and happy, not expensive and pretentious.” His booth at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025, features quirky and colorful pieces. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Kristina Irwin of Navada, checks out artwork at the Mr. Durden booth during the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A blown-glass jellyfish nightlight is on display at artist Alex Fritz’s booth during the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Colorful mushrooms sprout from the Lupe’s Ceramic Garden booth during the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mosaic artist Ron Shearer shows a cellphone picture of a piece that his mother created in the 1950s. Shearer would cut the tile for her when he was 8 years old. After being inspired by an artist in Italy 55 years ago, he started creating his work in a style reminiscent of his mother’s. He has a booth at the Sawdust Art Festival where he sells original mosaics and prints. His mother, a hobbyist, only created six pieces, including the one on his phone, which hangs in his home. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mosaic artist Ron Shearer creates mosaic pieces and prints of originals — some topped off with resin, at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Daniella Barrera and Daniel Oermann of Long Beach feast their eyes on a cacophony of color at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025. They were at the Mr. Durden Space Cowboy booth. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Each summer, tucked among the canyon trees, artists showcase their work, visitors leaving with paintings and ceramics, jewelry and sculptures.

The annual Sawdust Festival opened this weekend in Laguna Beach, marking 59 years. More than 185 artists are participating in this year’s festival, named for the sawdust that marks the paths through the festival grounds.

There is also a daily lineup of entertainment and lots of opportunities to participate in the creativity with free art classes.

Watch artist demonstrations and purchase unique and original pieces of art.

Special events during the 66-day festival include a “sip, talk and walk” docent-led tour on Wednesdays, Jazzy Sunday on July 27 and a fashion show on Aug. 3, among others.

If you go

When: Opens daily at 11 a.m. and closes Sundays through Thursdays at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, through Aug. 31

Where: Sawdust Festival Grounds, 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach

Cost: General admission is $12; check the website for discounts

Information: sawdustartfestival.org