Firefighters take quick action as Hollywood Hills brush fire threatens homes
Fire crews quickly converged on a brush fire that ignited Tuesday evening in the Hollywood Hills below several homes, according to L.A. fire officials.
The blaze ignited around 6:40 p.m. north of West Sunset Boulevard in the 2100 block of Sunset Plaza Drive, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. It burned about a quarter of an acre of vegetation as it moved uphill, briefly threatening nearby homes.
Within half an hour, officials reported that water drops from Fire Department helicopters were “significantly slowing” fire progress below the homes. About 80 firefighting personnel were assigned to the fire, which burned one car but did not affect any structures.
Water drops from L.A. Fire Department helicopters significantly slowed the fire’s progress, officials said.
(KTLA)
By 7:30 p.m., all active flames were extinguished and forward progress had been stopped, according to the Fire Department.
Those living nearby were instructed to shelter in place while helicopters continued water drops to cool hot spots between homes and hand crews worked to reach 100% containment in very steep terrain. Shelter-in-place orders were lifted around 8 p.m.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass praised first responders for their “heroic” and rapid response to the blaze.
“Tonight’s fire in the Hollywood Hills has been stopped without any structures being impacted thanks to urgent action from LAFD handcrews and helicopters as well as strong collaboration with the LA County Fire Department,” she said in a statement on X. “LAFD will remain on site into the night. We will stay alert through the current heat advisory, which the National Weather Service has extended through Wednesday.”
After a sweltering Labor Day weekend across Southern California, a heat advisory remains in effect for a wide swath of L.A. County until 6 p.m. Wednesday, bringing with it an elevated danger of fire starts — a risk compounded by lightning from late-summer thunderstorms.
Amid January’s historic firestorm in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the Sunset fire ignited in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon, prompting widespread evacuation orders and massive traffic jams as residents rushed to flee the area. That fire was reported at 2350 N. Solar Drive, burned about 60 acres and was contained within 24 hours, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
