Fire on the mountain

Burbank fire officials are investigating the suspicious origins of a

brush fire that burned 1,200 acres in the Verdugo Mountains above the

city by Friday afternoon.

More than 350 firefighters battled the blaze in an area in and

around Wildwood and Stough canyons to extinguish any flames remaining

in the brush cover.

Communications towers on the top ridge were in jeopardy from the

fire.

“The flames were licking right at them and the helicopters came in

with multiple water drops,” Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell said on

Friday. “I can still see them but whether they are damaged, I cannot

tell.”

On Friday afternoon, the flames were moving toward the north and

to the ridge of the mountains, Bell said.

“But it’s strictly a brush fire. No homes are in jeopardy,” he

said.

The fire broke out at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the luau grounds

area of the Castaway Restaurant, Bell said.

Investigators are treating the fire as suspicious and will

interview golfers at the nearby De Bell Golf Course and others who

may have been in the area, Bell said.

“If a fire starts somewhere where it shouldn’t, that’s

suspicious,” Bell said.

City Manager Mary Alvord declared a state of local emergency on

Friday, retroactive to Thursday when the fire started.

There were hopes that the fire could be contained to 30 acres but

when the flames jumped one of the canyons it continued to spread,

City Councilman Todd Campbell said.

“We’ve been very lucky so far with houses,” said Campbell, who

lives in the hillside. “We are concerned about recreational

opportunities and the damage the fire will incur on those.”

Hiking trails branch out into the mountains from Wildwood and

Stough canyons.

A voluntary evacuation was ordered as a precaution in the event

that the wind shifts overnight and threatens the homes along Country

Club Drive, a narrow winding road that goes into the hills.

“We’re at the whim of Mother Nature,” Bell said.

Country Club Drive resident David Shafer had his son Clark clean

dead leaves from the garage roof and clip off tree branches but was

otherwise staying home.

“They have this all dialed in on an evacuation and how to attack

the fire,” Shafer said. “This has always been a dangerous area.”

Virginia McKinney wasn’t ready to leave her home quite yet either.

“I am definitely staying,” said McKinney, who has lived in that

neighborhood for 38 years. “This way I know what’s going on.”

The fire burned an area just beyond the Castaway Restaurant, which

was the site of an employee recognition banquet on Thursday night for

Providence Health System.

The expected 600 guests had to park their cars in a lot near the

Starlight Bowl and be taken to the restaurant in shuttle vans.

The fire ended up having little affect on the gathering, said

Providence spokesman Brian Greene who was at the Castaway.

“We thought it would diminish the diminish the attendance but we

had a full house,” Greene said.

As the flames moved up toward the top of the mountains,

firefighters flanked the flames while the helicopters attacked from

above.

“They are dropping water where you don’t want to have personnel,

at the head of the fire,” said Rich Baenen, the city’s disaster

preparedness coordinator. “The fire moves the fastest right at the

head.”

Campbell encouraged the elderly, children and people prone to

respiratory illnesses should remain indoors and away from the smoke.

“If they have an air conditioner with a filter that should be on

so that the particles from the fire do not get inside the house,”

said Campbell, who is policy director for the Coalition for Clean

Air.

* MARK MADLER covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached

at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at mark.madlerlatimes.com.