Progress on Griffith Park fire but area is still tinderbox

LOS ANGELES - The third wildfire this year in an urban tinderbox in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills was half-surrounded Wednesday and hundreds of evacuees from a nearby neighborhood were allowed to return to their homes.

If the weather cooperates, firefighters expected to fully contain the erratic blaze by Thursday evening after it chewed through 817 acres of Griffith Park, a sprawling mix of wilderness and landmark cultural venues in the rugged hills between downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

Fighting fires in the area is especially difficult because of the heavy brush and narrow, twisting roads that weren't designed to accommodate fire engines.

“These hills haven't burned in 50 years,” fire Capt. Carlos Calvillo said. “It's only a matter of time until we have a really serious, life-threatening fire on our hands in the hills.”

Last month, winds blew a power line down on a hillside, and flying embers damaged or destroyed three homes in neighboring Beverly Hills. In March, authorities said teenage tourists set a fire near the Hollywood sign that destroyed about 200 acres before it was doused.

The area is part of the eastern Santa Monica Mountain range running about 40 miles from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County.

Temperatures hovering near the 90s and low humidity of about 2 percent threatened to stifle progress against the fire that started Tuesday afternoon in Griffith Park.

The danger to homes south of the park had eased, but officials warned that things could change throughout the day.

“Conditions are extremely dry and wind conditions are a major factor,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. “We're not letting our guard down.”

Cooler temperatures overnight and continuous water-dropping by helicopters helped hundreds of firefighters make progress against the fire.

The 4,000-acre park remained closed and only residents were being permitted to enter.

Stoked by extremely dry, hot conditions, the fire spread quickly after it began, forcing closure of several major attractions, including the recently renovated Griffith Park Observatory, Los Angeles Zoo and Greek Theatre.

Villaraigosa said 25 residents had refused to evacuate, placing police officers and firefighters in danger because they had to stay and protect them.

Authorities were still determining the exact cause, but they said it did not appear to have been intentionally set.

“At this point there's no indication that it was anything but an accident,” said Battalion Chief John Miller, who oversees arson investigations.

Fire investigators remained interested in a man who was found with burns on a park golf course as the possible source of the fire, authorities said. But police Sgt. Lee Sands said the department was finished questioning the man and did not consider him a “person of interest.”

The man, in his early 20s, suffered second- and third-degree burns to his upper torso. David Schaefer, a Fire Department paramedic who treated him, said the man told him he fell asleep while smoking a cigarette and woke up with his shirt on fire.

The fire destroyed Dante's View, a trailside terraced garden on Mount Hollywood. However, a bird sanctuary was saved.

“This is a tragic sunrise,” City Councilman Tom LaBonge said while surveying the damage. “You look right there and you'd think you were at the observatory looking at Mars.”

LaBonge said damaged trails would be repaired. “We will rebuild this park,” he said.

The flames and smoke had forced officials to put most of the zoo's 1,200 animals inside holding quarters.

“So far the animals are faring fine,” said Jason Jacobs, director of marketing and public relations for the zoo.

In Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the firefighters as heroes and said he had issued an executive order to direct the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to mobilize additional firefighters when necessary and enlist other personnel to battle blazes.

“The fire season has come very early this year and we must be prepared,” he said.

 

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