San Rafael Hills, 1 year later

Claudia Peschiutta

GLENDALE -- A knock at the door brought Larry Myricks the news that he

and his family might be in store for a devastating loss.

One of his neighbors on the 1900 block of Los Encinos Avenue had come

to warn him that a large fire was coming down the hillside behind his

home.

“All you could see was this huge, orange glow,” Myricks said. “Driving

away, seeing the fire on our side of the hill, watching the little hot

spots pop up ... it did look we were going to probably lose everything.”

One year after that night, Dec. 21, 1999, Myricks and many others in

Glendale are still counting their blessings.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Dec. 21, Santa Ana winds began fanning one

of the largest brush fires in local history. Visible from miles away, the

blaze burned for several hours and threatened homes in the hillsides of

Glendale and La Canada Flintridge.

About 600 firefighters from 34 agencies fought the flames of the San

Rafael Hills fire, which eventually burned 525 acres along the Glendale

(2) Freeway.

Despite unruly winds and dry conditions, firefighters were able to

keep the blaze from causing any serious problems. Spot fires left 10

homes with minor damage and one person received minor injuries.

The fire was contained about 14 hours after it began and was finally

put out on Christmas Day.

The Glendale Police Department suffered the only major loss of the

blaze.

The department’s outdoor firing range, which sits above the Glendale

Sports Complex, was completely destroyed, an estimated loss of $500,000.

“I’ll say we were pretty lucky,” said Glendale Police Lt. Mark

Distaso, who is working on plans to restore the facility.

L.A. County Fire Capt. Luis Cervantes of the department’s arson-fire

investigations office said Wednesday the cause of the blaze probably

remains under investigation.

“To determine the cause takes a little while,” he said.

Glendale Fire Chief Richard Hinz was worried about the dry, windy

weather on Dec. 21 hours before he got a call about the fire that night.

“My first reaction, knowing the conditions and knowing how these

things go, was just one great, great concern that we might indeed be

seeing the beginning of a disastrous fire,” he said.

Hinz credited the massive firefighting effort and the department’s

residential brush-clearing program for keeping the San Rafael Hills fire

from becoming a tragic incident.

For some, the night brought back memories of other, more destructive

fires.

In March 1964, two fires burned more than 9,000 acres and destroyed 34

homes in the area. Nearly three decades later, in June 1990, the College

Hills fire claimed 64 homes and caused $18 million in damages.

Though she witnessed both the College Hills and San Rafael Hills

fires, 66-year-old Carole Stonebraker, who has lived in the Glendale

hillsides for more than 30 years, said she has no plans to leave.

“I love it here,” she said. “I don’t feel like moving anywhere else.”

But watching the fire burn near her home was a frightening experience,

Stonebraker said.

“I could see flames in the distance, on the hillsides, big, red flames

and smoke,” she said.

“I didn’t know what I should take,” Stonebraker said. “I just stood

around like a stunned rabbit.”

Myricks, who was asked to evacuate his Los Encinos Avenue home on Dec.

21, returned the next day to find his house intact.

“What did I think?” he asked. “Praise the Lord because leaving, it

certainly looked like we might have only what we left with in the car.”