A fire that broke out in a burn scar caused by the Skirball Fire and flared east of the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass blackened at least 50 acres before it was declared 25% contained Wednesday in a battle waged by two fire departments.
No structures were threatened and no evacuation order was given.
Two firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at the scene, Humphrey said. No civilian injuries were reported.
The flames were reported about 12:15 a.m. in the 1300 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard, near Getty Center Drive, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“The heel of the fire remains on Sepulveda Boulevard at Getty Center Drive, with the fire having moved slowly eastward, the blaze’s flanks stretching north and south from there,” Humphrey said during the early firefighting activity.
Video from the scene showed the fire moving uphill. The department announced at 2:45 a.m. that the progress of the fire had been stopped.
More than 200 firefighters and four LAFD water-dropping helicopters battled the fire, and Los Angeles County Fire Department crews and a water-dropping helicopter assisted in stopping the fire’s progress, Humphrey said.
At 4:30 a.m., the LAFD said the fire was 15% contained. After daybreak, the figure was increased to 25% containment.
“There is a mix of burned, un-burned and partially burned vegetation within the fire area,” Margaret Stewart of the LAFD said at about 9 a.m. “Today, the crews will continue to work through the steep, difficult terrain to complete the fire line and increase containment. Weather remains critical with 96 (degree) temperatures, 9% humidity and winds at 9mph.”
Both directions of the San Diego Freeway remained open, but the off-ramp at Getty Center Drive from the northbound 405 Freeway will remain closed until fire operations are complete, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Sepulveda Boulevard in both directions near Getty Center Drive was closed and drivers were being encouraged to allow for extra time to travel through the area, Humphrey said.
The cause of the fire was unknown.
The Skirball Fire erupted Dec. 6, 2017, scorched 422 acres over the next 10 days, damaged 12 homes and prompted the evacuation of about 700 homes and an apartment building in the Bel-Air area. Three firefighters were injured in the fire, which was determined to have been caused by an illegal cooking fire at a homeless encampment in a brush area next to where Sepulveda Boulevard crosses under the San Diego Freeway.
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