La Tuna Fire Chars 5,000 Acres And Is 10% Contained

SUN VALLEY (CNS) - Officers were going door to door early today to enforce mandatory evacuations caused by a relentless massive brush fire that was threatening at least 50 homes in Burbank and more in the Sun Valley area and had blackened more than 3,000 acres.

Evacuations were likely to stay in place at least until this afternoon.

The blaze, dubbed the LaTuna Fire, broke out for unknown reasons at 1:25 p.m. Friday near the 10800 block of La Tuna Canyon Road, just south of the Foothill (210) Freeway, and was only 10 percent contained as of midnight.

Firefighters used night vision goggles to make overnight water drops on the blaze, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department, which was working in a unified command with the Burbank Fire Department.

About a half-acre of medium brush was on fire when the first crews arrived Friday afternoon. Wind-blown embers sparked a spot fire on the north side of the freeway and by 4 p.m. Friday, firefighters were battling flames on both sides of the freeway as the fire raced up a hillside of the Verdugo Mountains in the direction of Burbank.

``We have a very large amount of active fire on both sides of the 210 Freeway,'' the LAFD's Margaret Stewart said, adding that the fire had spread into Burbank.

Authorities called for mandatory evacuations at 10:30 p.m. Friday for the Brace Canyon Park area of Burbank when the fire jumped the ridgeline and when firefighters performed structure defense operations to protect homes in the area.

Evacuated streets included: Haven Way from Rolling Ridge Drive to the top of the hill, Olney Place, Ramey Place, Mystic View, Lamer Street from Brace Canyon Road to Keystone Street, Brace Canyon Road above Rolling Ridge Drive, and the community of Castlean Estates and Stough Canyon Nature Center.

Burbank police directed evacuees to McCambridge Park at 1515 Glenoaks Blvd. in Burbank and an additional evacuation shelter was established at Sunland Recreation Center at 8651 Foothill Blvd. in Sunland. Stewart said pets were also welcome in the shelters.

About a half-acre of medium brush was on fire when the first crews arrived Friday afternoon. Wind-blown embers sparked a spot fire on the north side of the freeway and by 4 p.m., firefighters were battling flames on both sides of the freeway as the fire raced up a hillside of the Verdugo Mountains in the direction of Burbank.

There were no reports of injuries or structure damage as of midnight but flames were growing closer to homes near the top of the hillside.

The DeBell Golf Course at 1500 E. Walnut Ave. in Burbank also was evacuated earlier Friday, according to the Burbank Police Department, which reported portions of Walnut Avenue and Harvard Road were closed and were likely to remain closed today.

The fire prompted the shutdown of the Foothill Freeway eastbound at the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway and westbound at the Glendale (2) Freeway.

Transition roads were also closed from the eastbound Ronald Reagan Freeway to the eastbound Foothill Freeway, the northbound Glendale Freeway to the westbound Foothill Freeway, the northbound Glendale Freeway at the Ventura (134) Freeway and the eastbound and westbound Ventura Freeway to the northbound Glendale Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP had no estimate on when the closures would be lifted, but Stewart said the Foothill Freeway closure would likely remain in place until at least later this morning.

Around 500 firefighters were battling the blaze, according to Stewart. Roughly 260 of those were from the LAFD, she said. The Los Angeles County, Angeles National Forest, Glendale, Pasadena and Burbank fire departments also sent units to help with the air and ground fire attack and structure protection.


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