A woman found dead inside a house in the 2200 block of Heather Lane after a fire on Wednesday has been identified as 90-year-old Mary Louise Phillips, according to police.
Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Kathy Lowe confirmed Phillips’ identity and age, but the Orange County Coroner’s Office has not yet released cause of death.
The cause of the fire has been ruled as accidental, according to Battalion Chief Chip Duncan, possibly electrical in nature.
Firefighters responded to a residential fire at the home Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The Newport Beach Fire Department received the call at 10:41 a.m., Duncan said. Firefighters were dispatched to the location and called in additional units, he said, including Costa Mesa firefighters.
The blaze was knocked down by 11:18 a.m., he said, and during the primary search of the residence firefighters found a deceased adult woman.
An advisory warning went out around noon to residents alerting them of traffic congestion along Irvine Avenue, between Santa Isabel and Santiago due to the fire investigation.
Authorities did not name the victim pending notification of next of kin.
The fire department, Newport Beach Police Department and Orange County Coroner’s Office are working together on the case.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
It will likely take some time to complete the investigation, Duncan said.
