Briefly in the news

-- Deepa Bharath

An early morning two-alarm fire gutted a Costa Mesa store that sold

vintage goods and damaged one other shop Thursday, officials said. No one

was injured.

Firefighters were dispatched to the 2500 block of Newport Boulevard

about 1 a.m. They found black smoke swirling from the second story of the

building and flames leaping out of the rear of the store, said Barbara

Marcosa, spokeswoman for the Costa Mesa Fire Department.

It took 25 firefighters about half an hour to get the fire under

control, she said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“But it was really fortunate we were able to contain the fire to one

unit,” she said.

Bigira Kirokiro, owner of the African Corner, directly below the store

that was burned, said his store suffered smoke and water damage.

“When I came here at 1 in the morning, there was water everywhere in

my store,” he said. “Some of my statues were broken, and the city says we

need to close the store so they can redo the ceiling.”

The store, which sells African art and musical instruments, is also

home to the Drumming Circle, a 75-member group that meets Sundays to play

African drums.

“Looks like we won’t be able to do that at least for a few weeks,” he

said. “A lot of people are going to miss it.”