Aliso Summit News Today

The blaze that blackened 200 acres and devastated an upscale hilltop neighborhood in Laguna Niguel is now 80% contained by lines of cleared vegetation and the mandatory evacuation zone is down from 900 to 71 homes, authorities said today.

Fire crews extended the containment line Friday around the destructive 200-acre Coastal Fire in Laguna Niguel that devastated an upscale hilltop neighborhood, while authorities continued evaluating when to allow hundreds of evacuated residents back in their homes.

The wind- and terrain-driven fire chewed through brush in Aliso Wood Canyon between Laguna Niguel and Laguna Beach.

A wind- and terrain-driven fire chewed through at least 200 acres of brush in Aliso Wood Canyon between Laguna Niguel and Laguna Beach today, then marched relentlessly through an enclave of multimillion-dollar estates on the hillside overlooking the ocean, destroying at least 20 homes.

Firefighters are working Thursday to put out hot spots and lingering flames of a fire that swept through a ritzy neighborhood in Laguna Niguel prompting hundreds of households to evacuate and destroying multimillion-dollar homes.

Evacuations are in place for people living north of the intersections of Flying Cloud and Pacific Island Drives, and Highlands Avenue and Pacific Island Drive.