EAGLE ROCK (CNS) - Firefighters from Los Angeles city and county as well as Glendale were working today to fully extinguish a brush fire that scorched at least 30 acres of grass in the Eagle Rock area, forced some evacuations in Glendale, shut down parts of several freeways and jumped the north side of the Ventura (134) Freeway.
The brush fire was reported at 4:09 p.m. Sunday near the 2900 block of West Colorado Boulevard, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
Overnight, the Los Angeles Fire Department maintained firefighters and resources at the site and worked with Glendale firefighters to handle hot spots, Stewart said.
As of about 8 a.m. today, the fire was about 40 percent contained, and firefighters were mopping up and working toward full containment.
On Sunday afternoon, the fire spread to the north side of the 134 Freeway and slowly backed its way toward homes in the area, Stewart said.
Three LAFD water-dropping helicopters and two L.A. County Fire Department helicopters assisted firefighters with water drops, helping firefighters make progress against the fire on the left flank while the right flank required additional resources, Stewart said.
The 134 Freeway was shut down on the westbound side at Figueroa and on the eastbound side at Glendale, and the southbound Glendale (2) Freeway was closed at Mountain, according to Stewart. The transition road between the westbound 134 and 2 freeways was also shut down, as was the transition road from the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway to the 134, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The fire caused major traffic tie-ups on all the affected freeways and officials asked motorists to stay out of the area.
A first SigAlert was declared by the CHP at 4:57 p.m. Sunday. The eastbound 134 was reopened around 11 p.m. The westbound lanes were reported open about 1:15 a.m. Monday.
The Southbound Glendale Freeway was reopened from the Foothill Freeway and the northbound side was open from the Golden State to the 134, CHP Officer Tony Polizzi said at about 12:30 a.m. Monday. All westbound 134 lanes were reopened about 1:15 a.m. and all northbound Glendale Freeway lanes remained closed at the 134 with traffic diverted to the eastbound 134 for the rest of the night, he said.
In addition to Los Angeles County and Glendale firefighting resources, the LAFD committed at least 215 firefighters to battling the major emergency.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered by Glendale officials on Glenoaks Boulevard from Mount Carmel Drive to Bywood Drive including all streets in between. The evacuations were lifted about 10 p.m. No injuries were reported and no buildings burned, Stewart said.