LIV and let live: Masters still about who wins green jacket

• April 6, 2023

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Masters Chairman Fred Ridley sat among 33 champions in green jackets at golf’s most exclusive dinner. It was a time to celebrate Scottie Scheffler as the most recent winner, to share laughs, memories and even a few tears.

That’s how it is every year at Augusta National.

“I would not have known that anything was going on in the world of professional golf other than the norm,” Ridley said on the eve of a Masters unlike any other. “So I think – and I’m hopeful – that this week might get people thinking in a little bit different direction and things will change.”

There’s a full menu of activity at this tournament.

Tiger Woods returns for his 25th appearance with hopes his course knowledge can compensate for battered legs as he pursues another green jacket. Rory McIlroy gets another crack at the one major that keeps him from the career Grand Slam. No one has won the Masters back-to-back since Woods in 2002, and with Scheffler the No. 1 player in the world, he has an excellent chance.

The forecast is for the weather to turn nasty this weekend. The real storm has been brewing for the last 10 months since the launch of LIV Golf and the 18 players at the Masters who defected to the rival league for its Saudi riches.

There have been accusations that LIV Golf isn’t serious competition with its 54-hole events, and even some name-calling – Fred Couples referred to Phil Mickelson as a “nutbag” – of LIV players for turning their backs on the tour that made them famous.

“Everyone thinks we suck now, so I want to play great,” Harold Varner III said, a LIV player with “Golf Saudi” on his bag. Varner joined for the money. He makes no secret about that.

All that gets set aside on Thursday when the players – professional and amateur, PGA Tour loyalists and those with LIV – have one thing in common.

“We talk about all these issues in golf, but we are here this week – these 88 players – and that’s all that’s on their mind is playing for that green jacket,” Ridley said. “It’s a great symbol of celebration of this game. And we’re looking forward to seeing someone donning it on Sunday afternoon.”

Normalcy is hard to find these days.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are involved in an antitrust lawsuit – a case management conference before a federal judge is scheduled for Friday afternoon, about the time Woods should be headed to Amen Corner.

A London-based arbitration panel reportedly will rule this week in favor of the European tour’s ability to sanction LIV players.

The large oak tree next to the Augusta National clubhouse is where all the VIPs across golf gather. Missing was Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf.

Norman stoked the debate by telling The Daily Telegraph if a LIV player won the Masters, the other 17 would be waiting for him behind the 18th green to celebrate. Norman won’t be there because he says he wasn’t invited.

“They only sent me a grounds pass last year and nothing, zilch, this time around,” he said. “I’m disappointed because it’s so petty, but of course I’ll still be watching.”

Ridley was quick to point out that Norman, typically invited as a two-time British Open champion, showed up only twice in the last 10 years, once while doing radio commentary.

“We did not extend an invitation to Mr. Norman. The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world,” Ridley said.

That includes LIV players. Ridley made sure of that when he announced in December that while he’s not happy with the fractured environment in golf, the Masters would honor players who qualified under the criteria.

By appearance, it certainly seems normal.

The players invited to take part in formal press conferences were the usual suspects – that included British Open champion Cameron Smith, the last big name to sign with LIV – though Phil Mickelson declined. The starting times had a mixture of PGA Tour and LIV Golf players, though none of the LIV players are part of the featured groups that will be streamed live.

Brooks Koepka played a practice round Tuesday with McIlroy, who has delivered some of the sharpest digs at LIV Golf over the last year. Koepka, a four-time major champion, last week became the first multiple-event winner at LIV Golf. McIlroy sent him a text to congratulate him and Koepka asked if he wanted to play a practice round.

Was it an indication of thawing relations between the rival circuits?

“I guess you could say that. It’s more just two friends wanting to play together,” Koepka said. “I just wanted to play with him, just compare my game. I know he’s been playing well. It was good for me to see, and I think it’s fun to be able to go play with these guys.”

And then he was back to playing with LIV colleagues on Wednesday.

“Everything’s been good, man,” Koepka said. “We’re still the same people.”

The idea is to make this the same Masters as it’s always been, and Ridley said he was happy to see the “tone has been really good here this week.”

“Golf brings people together, and I’m equally hopeful this week Augusta can be the beginning of a path forward for our game,” he said.

For now, all paths lead toward a green jacket. And that makes this Masters no different from so many others.

MIZE AND LYLE TO PLAY FINAL MASTERS; HOGE WINS PAR-3 CONTEST

Larry Mize and Sandy Lyle delivered two of the most memorable shots in Masters history in consecutive years.

Mize, the first champion born in Augusta, holed a 140-foot chip from the right of the 11th green in the second hole of a playoff to beat Greg Norman in 1987, probably the one shot that haunts Norman the most. The next year, Lyle hit 7-iron from the fairway bunker on the 18th hole to 10 feet and made the birdie putt to win.

Now they are linked again. They announced this will be their final year playing the Masters.

“As they were in 1988, when Larry presented the green jacket to Sandy, they are connected again this week,” Masters Chairman Fred Ridley said. “We commend them for their fine play over four decades and for representing the Masters so well. Rest assured, their victories will forever be remembered.”

This is Mize’s 40th consecutive Masters, while Lyle was part of the “Big Five” from Europe who once seemingly ruled the Masters. Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo combined to win nine times between 1980 and 1996, including a stretch of seven wins in 12 years.

The news was shared with the 33 champions at the Masters club dinner Tuesday night.

“Larry got a little emotional,” two-time champion Jose Maria Olazabal said. “He had a hard time trying to speak. Actually, he didn’t. It was a very emotional dinner. So it was nice.”

PAR-3 CONTEST

Tom Hoge aced the eighth hole over Ike’s Pond on his way to winning the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday.

Hoge received a crystal vase for the hole-in-one, a crystal bowl for his winning round of 6 under, and some steep history to overcome: No winner of the Par-3 Contest, which dates to 1960, has gone on to win the Masters.

“I made a few birdies early and then the hole-in-one on 8, so that was cool to see that go in,” Hoge said after walking off the recently renovated Par-3 Course in the northeast corner of the property. “Just a fun day out here this afternoon.”

Bubba Watson also had a hole-in-one and finished second at 5 under, while Seamus Power stole the show with back-to-back aces, joining Claude Harman in 1968 and Toshi Izawa in 2002 as the only players to accomplish the feat.

“Obviously to get one was special,” Power said, “but to get the second one was a bit surreal.”

ROLLING BACK THE BALL

Ridley tipped his hand without trying to during his annual news conference Wednesday when it came to the USGA and R&A proposal for a modified local rule rolling back the golf ball.

It would mean tournaments could choose to require a different ball, and use it to curtail distance, and it’s clear the U.S. Open and British Open will go along. It’s not a done deal, though, as the comment period goes through Augusta.

“Our position has always been that we support the governing bodies,” Ridley said of the Masters. “I think, in a general sense, we do support the proposal, but because it’s in the middle of a comment period, it could change. … So we will look at the final product and make a decision.

“We believe distance needs to be addressed,” Ridley added. “I think the natural conclusion is, yes, we will be supportive.”

CRITERIA UPDATE

Even as Augusta National said in December it would keep its criteria for invitations, which allowed LIV Golf players to get in, Ridley offered a reminder that the club looks at every aspect of the Masters and was open to changes.

The ones made this year were minor, though.

The Masters offered a special invitation to Gordon Sargent, the NCAA champion from Vanderbilt, and starting next year the college champion will be a permanent category. That means seven amateurs will be offered spots.

Everything else was roughly the same. The Masters added language similar to the U.S. Open that says those that qualify and are eligible for the Tour Championship will be offered invitations. Talor Gooch qualified for East Lake by being in the top 30 in FedEx Cup points, but he wasn’t eligible because the PGA Tour suspended him for joining LIV Golf.

The language also was tweaked on giving spots to winners of PGA Tour events offering full FedEx Cup points, only because starting in 2024 the tour is going away from a wraparound season. The short version: Players winning tournaments in the fall will still get into the Masters.

WEATHER WATCH

Blue skies, puffy white clouds and warm, humid temperatures greeted players for their final practice rounds Wednesday, but the forecast for the weekend calls for far different conditions around Augusta National.

The opening round Thursday will still be warm, with highs in the mid-80s, but rain is expected to move through the area on Friday. With it comes a cold front, dropping highs into the 50s, and there is a near-100% chance of rain this weekend.

“I think it will be a long week,” said Patrick Cantlay, the former UCLA and Servite High star. “Usually when there’s weather, the rounds drag on and it looks like there may be some delays as well. I imagine the golf course will play particularly long this year.”

That also doesn’t bode well for players such as Woods, whose bodies get a bit creaky when temperatures take a dive.

Asked whether he’d seen the forecast, Woods replied: “Oh, yeah. I’ve seen it.”

AP sports writer Dave Skretta contributed to this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Wednesday, April 5

• April 6, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Wednesday, April 5

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

WEDNESDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

NATIONAL CLASSIC

Cypress 1, El Dorado 0

Vista Murrieta 5, Fullerton 2

Bishop Amat 4, Villa Park 3

RYAN LEMMON TOURNAMENT

Northview 7, Aliso Niguel 1

Corner Canyon 6, Portola 2

El Toro 16, University 3

San Clemente 3, Woodbridge 2

Canyon 7, Edison 1

Yorba Linda 7, Bountiful 2

Laguna Beach 11, Esperanza 4

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Kennedy 2, Tustin 1

ORANGE LEAGUE

Savanna 9, Western 8

NONLEAGUE

Saddleback 2, Santa Ana Valley 1

Covina 7, Valencia 4

West Covina 14, Godinez 0

Laguna Hills 12, Oxford Academy 1

Costa Mesa 15, Azusa 1

Anaheim 14, Bell Gardens 0

SOFTBALL

TRINITY LEAGUE

JSerra 11, Rosary Academy 3

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Pacifica 10, Crean Lutheran 3

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Ocean View 12, Katella 7

Garden Grove 3, Westminster 2

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE

Costa Mesa 4, Estancia 3

Calvary Chapel 9, Orange 2

NONLEAGUE

Brea Olinda 11, Savanna 0

​ Orange County Register 

Brandon Benjamin, Carter Bryant, Shea Joko win John R. Wooden Award

• April 6, 2023

Three Orange County basketball players were named John R. Wood Award winners for the 2022-23 season.

The awards are presented to the most valuable player in each CIF Southern Section division and the Los Angeles City Section.

Two county boys players were chosen: sophomore Brandon Benjamin, who was the Orange County player of the year at Canyon, and Sage Hill junior guard Carter Bryant. Benjamin transferred to Mater Dei after the season ended.

Junior point guard Shea Joko of Orange Lutheran was among the girls players to receive the award.

Benjamin was boys Division I winner, Bryant the boys Division IV winner and Joko the girls Division 1 honoree.

The award is named for the late John Wooden, who coached UCLA to 10 college basketball national championships.

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​ Orange County Register 

SCNG’s Scott Reid wins prestigious investigative reporting honor

• April 6, 2023

The Southern California News Group’s Scott Reid won an Investigative Reporters & Editors Award for Sports Investigations for his reporting on allegations of emotional abuse and bullying by former Olympic and Cal swimming coach Teri McKeever.

Reid’s coverage of McKeever spanned decades of allegations by more than 40 former and current swimmers against the most successful and famous female coach in swimming history.

McKeever, who had coached the Golden Bears to four NCAA team titles during her 29 seasons and was the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Olympic women’s team, was fired by the university on Jan. 31.

Among the allegations levied against McKeever were swearing at and threatening swimmers on an almost daily basis, using racial epithets and body-shaming and pressuring athletes to compete or train while injured or dealing with chronic illnesses or eating disorders, even accusing some women of lying about their conditions despite medical records saying otherwise.

Nine Cal women’s swimmers told Reid they made plans to kill themselves or obsessed about suicide as a result of McKeever’s bullying.

The IRE judges said of Reid’s work: “The Orange County Register painstakingly illuminated the shocking actions of UC Berkeley swim coach Teri McKeever, an international icon in her field. Her abuses are recorded in revealing on-the-record interviews with frightened, reluctant sources, some of whom spoke about suicidal thoughts and mental health consequences. The paper encountered considerable resistance from the university and other official sources. Ultimately, however, the coach lost her job.”

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The IRE winners were selected from more than 400 entries. The awards, given since 1979, recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year.

Reid’s in-depth reporting on McKeever was also recently recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as among the top 10 in investigations, the 14th time he’s earned the distinction. He was also named among the top 10 beat writers in the country for his coverage of Olympic sports.

​ Orange County Register 

Shohei Ohtani shakes off rough start in Angels’ victory over Mariners

• April 6, 2023

SEATTLE — Shohei Ohtani demonstrated how good he is by how he pitched when he wasn’t good.

After having issues with his command throughout three shaky innings, Ohtani tacked on three dominant innings in the Angels’ 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.

Ohtani walked four and hit two batters in the first three innings, but he faced the minimum over the next three, striking out the side in the sixth.

“He’s been in the league long enough where he knows what he’s doing better than anybody,” catcher Logan O’Hoppe said. “I kind of leaned on him to do what he’s capable of doing and that he could get himself out of it, which he did. It was pretty impressive.”

Ohtani and O’Hoppe, who hit a two-run homer, helped lead the Angels to their fourth victory in the first six games of the season, with the home opener coming on Friday.

“When he’s not on his game and pitches like that, we’ll take that every day,” Manager Phil Nevin said.

Ohtani got the victory on a day when it didn’t even look like he’d make it through five innings. He needed 69 pitches in those first three shaky innings, even though he allowed just one run.

In the first inning, he walked the first two hitters of the game, Julio Rodriguez and Ty France. Eugenio Suarez then poked a single into right, scoring a run. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe’s throw hit France in the back, but third baseman Gio Urshela threw France out at the plate as he tried to score.

Ohtani was also called for his first pitch timer violation in the first inning when umpire Pat Hoberg ruled that Ohtani began his delivery before the hitter was ready.

Ohtani and Hoberg spoke on the field for a couple of minutes after the inning, and then again after the game was over. The issue is that Ohtani pitches from the stretch all the time, with very little movement before his delivery starts, so there was a conversation about when the hitter is sufficiently prepared for him to start.

“I talked to the umpires after the game and cleared things up,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “I should be fine.”

Ohtani worked around trouble in the next two innings, getting A.J. Pollock on a groundout to leave the bases loaded in the third.

“The biggest thing for me was I couldn’t command my fastball,” Ohtani said.

Over the next three innings, though, Ohtani locked down. He mixed in a few more cutters and even threw his first curveball of the season. He eventually got command of the sweeper, which is his go-to pitch.

He gave up a leadoff single to Jarred Kelenic in fourth, but he was erased on a double play. Ohtani pitched a perfect fifth, finishing with 93 pitches. Normally, that might have been enough.

Nevin said he could tell from the way Ohtani was acting in the dugout between the fifth and sixth that he wanted to go back. With Aaron Loup warming in the bullpen, Ohtani began the sixth.

Ohtani struck out the side, finishing with 111 pitches, tied for the third most in his career. No Angels pitcher had thrown that many pitches in April, when pitchers are typically on shorter leashes, since 2016.

“I’m not so much worried about a number as I am about how he’s feeling,” Nevin said. “If he tells me he’s good, like I’ve told you guys a million times, I’m going to trust when Shohei tells me he’s feeling alright.”

Just after Ohtani was done, the Angels finally got some insurance.

They hadn’t scored since O’Hoppe’s second-inning two-run homer. They wasted a two-on, no-out situation in the sixth.

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In the seventh, though, they parlayed three soft hits and a walk into two runs.

The Angels needed those runs because the Mariners answered with two in the bottom of the seventh. Matt Moore gave up an infield hit, and then Jimmy Herget allowed a double and a single, cutting the lead to 4-3.

Herget got through the eighth with the help of a diving stop by first baseman Brandon Drury.

Left-hander José Quijada pitched the ninth, picking up the save. Nevin said he gave the ball to Quijada because Carlos Estévez had pitched on Sunday and Monday.

“He had thrown back-to-back days, thrown a lot of pitches,” Nevin said. “I’m just not going to do that to any of my guys this early in the season.”

​ Orange County Register 

Boombox Cartel headlines Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach’s 1st Fiesta Friday since ’19

• April 5, 2023

DJ Boombox Cartel — a Los Angeles entertainer known for his singles “B2U,” “Supernatural,” and 2017 EP “Cartel” — will headline the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach’s first Fiesta Friday since the coronavirus pandemic, the event organizers announced on Monday, March 20.

The last Fiesta Friday was in 2019.

The entire Grand Prix was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. The three-day event returned to downtown Long Beach in 2021 and 2022, but the Fiesta Friday concert did not, because the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach struggled with the logistics of doing so those years, said GPALB spokesperson Chris Esslinger.

Though the Grand Prix typically takes place in April — the 2023 iteration is set for April 14 to 16 — the 2021 race was moved to September amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19. The 2022 race returned to its usual spring slot — but that gave organizers just six months to plan the entire event. The Grand Prix Association also had difficulty finding a Fiesta Friday sponsor for the event both years, Esslinger said in a Monday interview.

“(Because) of all of those things combined,”  Esslinger said, “we just weren’t able to have one the last two years.”

But now, with the Grand Prix’s schedule back on track, Fiesta Friday is making its return.

The evening event, scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. April 14, will close out the first day of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The show will be held in the plaza of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, part of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.

Boombox Cartel, née Americo Garcia, rose to fame in 2015 and put out his first EP, called “Cartel,” two years later, the association’s announcement said. The artist embarked on a U.S. tour in 2019, and has since been featured in Billboard Magazine, Noisey, Complex and DJ Mag.

“Blurring the lines between electronic and hip-hop with Latin influences,” the announcement said, “internationally recognized Mexican American producer act Boombox Cartel has risen the ranks as an unparalleled force in the world of dance music.”

Fiesta Friday has historically featured Latin artists.

Jim Michaelian, the president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, has said previously that it’s among the organization’s efforts to attract a younger, more diverse audience of racing fans. Other musical acts that have headlined the Friday show include El Tri, Fobia, Belanova, Maltina Vecindad and Ozomatli.

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“I’ve always been super passionate about cars and race cars — it’s been a part of my life since I was a kid, going to rally races in Mexico and being a mechanic growing up,” Boombox Cartel said in the announcement. “It’s so special that two of my favorite things will be coming together for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach — music and racing.”

Tickets for the event are available on the Grand Prix website. Friday general admission tickets start at $38 and include access to Friday Fiesta, the Grand Prix’s Lifestyle Expo and all racing events that day.

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ level-headed Will Smith keeps getting better

• April 5, 2023

LOS ANGELES — They have become baseball’s unicorns – catchers who handle the difficult defensive responsibilities of that position while also contributing offensively.

Last year, catchers across MLB combined for a slash line of .228/.295/.368. Each of those parts – batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage – as well as the OPS of .663 were the lowest for any position on the field and it wasn’t even close. Only three catchers had an OPS over .800 last year – Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto, Baltimore’s precocious Rookie of the Year runner-up Adley Rutschman and the Dodgers’ Will Smith.

“I think he’s one of the top three catchers in all of baseball,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who began putting Smith in that ranking during the 2021 season. “I think him, you’ve got to put Realmuto and Rutschman in that conversation. … Given his ability to post and work both sides of the baseball, hit in the middle of the order – you don’t find guys like that.”

Not often these days.

On Opening Day this season, more catchers batted eighth or ninth in their teams’ lineups (13) than batted in the top five (12). Only four batted in the top three – Kansas City’s Salvador Perez, Rutschman and the Team USA tandem from the World Baseball Classic, Realmuto and Smith.

Now entering his fifth major-league season (and third full season), Smith has been a catcher who hits since he arrived in MLB. The Dodgers’ first-round pick from their ultra-productive 2016 draft (14 of their first 16 picks have made the big leagues) has a career OPS of .866. His bat has become so valuable to the Dodgers that Smith started 24 games as the DH last year.

And he only seems to be getting better. Smith started this season with a four-RBI game in the season opener, has driven in 10 runs in the first five games while going 8 for 19 (.478) with home runs in each of the past three games.

“It’s a sign that his swing is in a good place and he’s making good swing decisions,” Roberts said.

Smith has shown an ability to do that in the clutch throughout his career.

In at-bats deemed high-leverage, Smith is actually a better hitter – a .281 career average and .926 OPS with 44 of his 75 career home runs coming with the score tied or within one run. With runners in scoring position, he has hit .296 with a .921 OPS.

“He still looks like he’s 15 but he carries himself like a veteran,” Roberts said of the 28-year-old husband and father who still looks like he should be headed to study hall to cram for mid-terms. “He has since he got here.”

Roberts has repeatedly cited Smith’s “slow heartbeat” and calm demeanor at the plate as a key component of his success.

“That’s the big part of it,” the manager said. “When you’re in a position of failure in the sense of hitting, how do you combat knowing you’re going to fail more than you’re going to succeed? The way you do that is you’ve got to have some type of calm and be able to turn the page. He does that as well as anyone from pitch to pitch, at-bat to at-bat, game to game.”

It’s an innate part of his personality, Smith said, one that his parents cultivated.

“I think I’ve always kind of had that, probably from a young age,” he said. “I think my parents raised me a certain way – to be confident but don’t boast, if you fall, get back up. I think that was instilled in me from a young age.

“I’ve seen how that can translate into being a big-league baseball player. It doesn’t work for every guy but it works for me.”

The other component of handling the defensive responsibilities of a catcher and still contributing offensively is to keep the two separate, Smith said.

“I just compartmentalize the two,” he said. “Every day I can go out there and be super-prepared to call a game. It’s easier to control a lot more when I’m catching. I obviously can’t control where the pitcher is putting the ball. But I can control being prepared every day, catching the ball and all that.

“Hitting, sometimes you’re feeling good, sometimes you’re not. You know that going into the year. You just try to stay steady. Separate the two and treat it like two different jobs.”

Not letting momentary successes or failures at one job bleed over into the other is Smith’s strength, Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said.

“One thing that makes him great is he’s just so level-headed. He doesn’t ride the emotions,” Prior said. “Even when he’s going really well, you might get a smile out of him. And when things are maybe not going as well for him, you never see a ton of frustration. I just think his emotional maturity is ahead of what his age and experience is. I think that’s why he plays so well.”

Handling the defensive responsibilities at catcher has been a bigger challenge with Smith slowly smoothing the rough edges of his defensive game.

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“I think it was the beginning of ’21 you could see there were – not mistakes but some inexperience things,” Prior said. “I think we saw a huge step from the beginning of ’22 to the end of ’22 and he’s just continued that. It’s really just being in situations, understanding what the gameplan template is. And that’s literally just a template. Once we get into a game, we see what they’re doing, you see what your pitcher has and his ability to execute or not execute. And he’s been really good at adjusting on the fly. I think that’s where the growth is, not being too constricted or restrained by, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’”

Youthful as he might look five years into his big-league career, Smith is playing a position that tends to age players at a rapid rate with exposure to injury on every pitch and wear and tear that no other position creates. Maintaining himself physically is a matter of establishing “a good routine” with the idea of doing “as little but as much as possible” from day to day, Smith said.

“It’s listening to your body,” he said. “If I’m feeling worn out, I’m not going to go in the cage and hit a ton. I’ll save my bullets for the game. It’s having the confidence and knowing that you don’t need to take 200 swings before every game. Do 10 flips and be ready to go take an at-bat. Having the confidence to do that, over the long run, is good for your body.”

​ Orange County Register 

15 displaced after fire rips through Buena Park apartment complex

• April 5, 2023

Fifteen people, including four children, were displaced after fire ripped through multiple apartments at a complex in Buena Park early Wednesday, April 5, authorities said.

Orange County firefighters responded to the complex in the 7700 block of 10th Street, just west of Beach Boulevard, shortly past 1 a.m., Capt. Thanh Nguyen said.

The fire started on a first floor apartment and quickly spread to second story units, then to a second building, Nguyen said.

It took more than 40 firefighters about 50 minutes to extinguish the flames, the captain said.

No injuries were reported and the Red Cross was assisting five families, Nguyen said.

The fire, which was caused accidentally by unattended cooking, caused an estimated $2 million in structural damage and about $250,000 in damage to personal property inside the units, Nguyen said.

It wasn’t known specifically how many apartments were damaged by the fire, or how many of those units were occupied when the blaze erupted.

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​ Orange County Register