BREAKING NEWS

COSTA MESA — A candle may have ignited a fire that gutted a house on the corner of Susannah Place and Orange Avenue on Thursday morning.

But Costa Mesa Fire Department officials said an investigation will have to be conducted before they name the source of the fire.

No one was injured in the fire that firefighters responded to after 11:33 a.m., Costa Mesa Battalion Chief Fred Seguin said.

Shannon Miranda, who rented the house with her mother, said a burning candle left on top of a wooden bar started the fire.

Miranda said she was asleep when the fire began. Her phone ringing woke her up to the smell of smoke, she walked out of her bedroom, saw flames near the kitchen and ran out of the house.

Neighbors called the Fire Department, and firefighters arrived about 10 minutes later, Miranda said.

When they arrived, the whole house was engulfed by flames. It took firefighters about 45 minutes to contain the fire. By 12:30 p.m. they were mopping up some hot spots.

The estimated damage to the house is between $600,000 and $700,000, Seguin said.

Miranda, who ran out of the house barefoot and in sweats and a T-shirt, was supposed to move out Thursday. Visibly shaken, Miranda said she was concerned about finding her two Chihuahua dogs, Daisy and Duke.

“The female is pregnant,” Miranda said sobbing.

A two-story house under construction behind the gutted house was not damaged by the fire, Seguin said.