A brushfire that accidentally started at midday in Mandeville Canyon quickly developed into a “major emergency” as it charred at least 30 acres.
The fire began about 12:45 p.m. and was first reported as burning about 3 to 4 acres of brush near a house at 2969 Mandeville Canyon Road, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.
The fire was caused by a worker who was doing weed abatement for proper brush clearance, Stewart said.
An hour after it began, it spread to 8 acres, burning up hillsides towards the Mountaingate Country Club, Stewart said.
By 3:30 p.m., the acreage total ballooned to 30 acres, she said.
Fire in Mandeville Canyon. pic.twitter.com/nXU9H9v2lD
— Nic Adler (@nicadler) May 28, 2017
A volcano-like smoke plume was visible across the Westside and San Fernando Valley, as the fire consumed moderate to thick brush in an area just off Mandeville Canyon Road, a dead end road that snakes up a deep canyon, lined by expensive view houses.
Mandeville Canyon was shut down at Sunset Boulevard to accommodate fire fighting operations, Stewart said.
The area was expected to remain an active fire operation for at least the next 36 hours, she said.
Some 115 firefighters were on the scene within 70 minutes. Supervisors were making plans to feed 400 firefighters sandwiches for dinner.
The total number of Los Angeles city firefighters assigned to it had increased to 158 by 3:30 p.m., Stewart said.
The city fire department had dispatched two water-dropping helicopters. The county fire department added another water-dropping helicopter and five camp crews to help the ground attack against the flames, Stewart said.
The fire department set up a command post to coordinate the various firefighting agencies at Mountaingate Drive, Stewart added.
Fire trucks were staged for assignment at Sunset Boulevard, two-plus miles downhill from the fire. Another command post was set up at the Mountaingate Country Club, north of the fire and just west of the San Diego (405) Freeway.
Firefighters asked for Los Angeles police to be ready in case houses need to be evacuated. Eventually five houses were evacuated, Stewart said.
No houses were burned and no injuries were reported.
Traffic was snarled at the bottom of the canyon, and only emergency vehicles were allowed north of there.
One family told firefighters they evacuated their home so quickly they left food cooking on a stove. Crews were sent to turn it off.
Equipment that had been assigned to an earlier fire in Lake View Terrace was redirected to a fire station in Van Nuys after the Brentwood fire broke out.
The nearby Getty Center museum did not close, but stopped allowing additional patrons to enter as a precaution, a spokesman said.
“There is a brushfire near the Getty Center, which is being fought by the fire departments,” said the museum’s vice president for communications, Ron Hartwig.
“The Getty Center remains open, but as a precaution we are not admitting additional visitors today,” Hartwig said.
Flames were burning about 1/2 mile to the museum’s west, according to helicopter video from the scene.
–City News Service
Updated May 28, 2017 at 6:02 p.m.