Firefighters Battle Barn Blaze

An early-morning fire fully engulfed a hay barn, storage area and offices, and caused $500,000 worth of damage at polo fields near San Juan Capistrano.

The fire was on the grounds of the Oaks Polo Fields, 30753 La Pata Ave., Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi said.

The building, a barn-like structure, contained hay, heavy equipment and offices, Concialdi said.

“It was a large metal building that housed a couple of hundreds of barrels of hay, two semi-loads of horse shavings, as well as fertilizer, a tractor, a forklift, two small vehicles with diesel power, two golf cars and there was offices. It’s a complete loss,” the fire captain said. “They leased the property from the city of San Juan Capistrano.”

The fire was reported at 3:20 a.m. and under control by 5:30 a.m., he said.

The 45 firefighters on scene had to contend with low water pressure and three water tankers were called to supplement the available water supply, Concialdi said.

About a dozen hand crew members would remain on scene during the day to deal with the remainder of the smoldering hay, Concialdi said.

The fire caused $200,000 to the structure and $300,000 to its contents. A cause of the fire remained under investigation, he said. No injuries were reported.

-City New Service