Fanned by offshore winds, a brush fire exploded in Laguna Niguel Wednesday, consuming nearly 200 acres and burning two-dozen homes. The blaze, dubbed the Coastal Fire, broke out around 2:45 p.m. in Aliso Woods Canyon, prompting evacuation orders as the fire advanced on an upscale gated community with multimillion-dollar homes. Residents fled the coastal area as homes went up in flames and the fire tore through the steep terrain, fueled by extremely dry vegetation created by California’s continuing drought. Aerial video from Sky5 showed flames gutting multiple homes as thick smoke billowed over ..read more

A bat tested positive for rabies after being found last weekend at Laguna Niguel Regional Park, Orange County health officials said Thursday. The bat was discovered Saturday at the park, which is located at 28241 La Paz Road, according to an O.C. Health Care Agency news release. Even though human cases of rabies are extremely rare, the virus can be deadly and each potential exposure should be evaluated out of precaution, the agency said. Anyone who possibly had physical contact with the bat at the park is urged to determine their risk by calling the Health Care Agency's Communicable Disease Co ..read more

Train service was halted Thursday for the next two weeks as crews shore up unstable ground along cliffside railroad tracks in coastal Southern California. The planned closure between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station in southern Orange County and the Oceanside stop in northern San Diego County is expected to last until Oct. 3. “Between the sea, the sand and the earth, there has been some movement of the railroad tracks" in southern San Clemente, Metrolink spokesperson Paul Gonzales said. There are 43 Metrolink and Amtrak passenger trains a day that go through that area, the Orange C ..read more

A driver was taken into custody after a pursuit through Orange County Monday morning. California Highway Patrol officers first tried to stop the vehicle for speeding, but the driver refused to yield and officers began chasing the vehicle on the 405 Freeway near Rosecrans Avenue, officials said. Officers chased the vehicle for several miles on the freeway before it exited shortly before 7 a.m., taking to the streets in the Laguna Hills area. The vehicle being chased, a silver Ford hatchback, appeared to have a blown front left tire. Video from Sky5 showed the vehicle attempt to make a U-turn on ..read more

Bob Orozco, a 90-year-old fitness instructor at a Laguna Niguel YMCA, is retiring after working for the organization since 1955. The Navy veteran has built a loyal following over the years and his students say they’re sad to see him go. May Fong, 83, says she’s been taking his 6 a.m. seniors aerobics class for 15 years. “He’s my guru. And I’m telling you, if I can last as well as Bob at 90, I’ll be perfectly happy,” Fong said. “You gotta keep moving and that’s what Bob did.” Orozco says when he was 8 years old, his family was very poor as the Great Depression hit, and that’s when he was gifted ..read more

A man was killed after an exchange with deputies Monday in Laguna Niguel, officials said. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call of a man and a woman involved in a dispute on the 40 block of Coral Sea Lane, where the Seaside at Laguna Heights apartment complex is located. Deputies arrived and found a man in his 30s who was believed to be armed with a hammer, officials said. The man was fatally shot during the confrontation, but it is unclear what led up to it. No deputies nor the woman were injured during the shooting and it is unclear how many deputies were involved. The d ..read more

Four years after a deadly stabbing at a Laguna Niguel bar, a previously convicted white supremacist gang member was sentenced Friday to 56 years to life in prison for the killing, prosecutors said. Craig Matthew Tanber, a 40-year-old Los Alamitos man who had been out of prison for just three months at the time of the September 2015 slaying, was convicted late last year of second-degree murder. The parents of the victim in the Laguna Niguel stabbing, Shayan Mazroei, were disappointed in the verdict since prosecutors were seeking a first-degree murder conviction, according to the Orange County R ..read more

A 40-year-old convicted white supremacist gang member was found guilty Wednesday of the fatal stabbing of a 22-year-old man at a Laguna Niguel bar in 2015, officials announced. Craig Tanber, 40, is shown in a booking photo released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Sept. 11, 2015. A jury found Craig Matthew Tanber, of Los Alamitos, guilty of one felony count of second-degree murder. The fatal stabbing of Shayan Mazroei happened on Sept. 8, 2015, after Tanber and his girlfriend were told to leave The Original Patsy’s Irish Pub, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office reported. O ..read more

Two Laguna Niguel brothers who ran a  business that supposedly offered rental listings for hard-to-find Section 8 housing have been ordered to pay $6 million for what federal officials called a scam that preyed on low-income, disabled and older people. The Federal Trade Commission obtained the judgment last week in federal court against Steven and Kevin Shayan and Apartment Hunters Inc., their Laguna Niguel-based company that also did business as WeTakeSection8.com. The court also permanently barred them from offering future rental listings. The company’s state business license was revoke ..read more

Babe Ruth has hit another one out of the ballpark. The bat used by the legendary baseball player to hit his 500th home run was auctioned on Saturday for more than $1 million. SCP Auctions didn’t identify the buyer. The auction was held in Laguna Niguel, California. Ruth hit his 500th homer on Aug. 11, 1929, in a game against the Cleveland Indians. According to SCP Auctions, the ball cleared the right field wall at League Park and rolled down Lexington Avenue. Ruth was the first of just 27 Major League Baseball players to reach that mark. He gave the autographed bat to his friend, former Suffer ..read more