LOCAL : Fires Wreck Two OC Buildings

Two separate fires gutted two buildings in the northern part of the county today, causing more than $500,000 damage, authorities said. No one was injured and investigators are still attempting to determine the causes of the fires.

The more destructive of the two blazes occurred before dawn at a two-story office complex in Orange. Firefighters, who were summoned to the building in the 1800 block of East Orangewood Avenue, said they encountered difficulties spotting the fire.

“There was no wind and the smoke was just hanging on the street level,” Orange Fire Inspector Gary Conniff said. “We couldn’t tell which building was on fire.”

The second fire, in Fullerton, gutted a vacant building that once housed a mortuary. The flames threatened to spread to nearby businesses, including a McDonald’s restaurant, but firefighters were able to bring the fire under control in about 30 minutes, a Fullerton fire department spokesman said.