Burbank Mayor Jef Vander Borght and Rep. Adam Schiff took to the
skies Monday afternoon in a flyover of the 1,100 acres burned in a
brush fire in the Verdugo Mountains, which fire officials expected to
fully contain by this morning.
Riding aboard a Burbank Police helicopter, Schiff, whose district
includes Burbank, and Vander Borght spent about a half hour surveying
the damage done over four days.
The ride gave Vander Borght his first chance to see the damage
caused by the fire that broke out Thursday afternoon.
"For me it gives a chance to get a sense of what happened, how
close it came to the houses and how far it spread," Vander Borght
said.
Schiff is seeking a declaration from state Office of Emergency
Services deeming the mountainous region a disaster area.
"We're working right now to see whether we can get federal
resources to defray these costs," Schiff said.
By Monday evening, 80% of the fire was contained and full
containment was expected Tuesday morning, Burbank Fire Dept. Engineer
Kirk Wishart said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The fire broke out just before 4:30 p.m., Thursday in the luau
grounds of the Castaway Restaurant near the De Bell Golf Course.
Up to 1,400 firefighters, some from as far away as Riverside and
Kern counties and the city of Santa Barbara, fought the blaze that
spread through Stough and Wildwood canyons, threatened communication
towers on the mountain ridge and caused an evacuation of up to 70
homes along Country Club Drive in Sunset Canyon.
The evacuation order was rescinded Sunday morning and by Monday
the number of active firefighters was cut down to 400 as the hot
spots were extinguished.
Monday morning Schiff and Vander Borght visited with some of the
firefighters at the command post set up at John Muir Middle School to
thank them for their efforts.
"They're doing a tremendous job and I have nothing but the
greatest respect for them," Schiff said. "Clearly they saved the
community from having the fires come down the hill and threaten
homes."
Most of the work being done Monday was on the La Tuna Canyon side
of the mountains and at the end of Country Club Drive, Burbank Fire
Capt. Ron Bell said.
"Those are our weakest points with the thickest brush," Bell said.
As bulldozers and hand crews on the scene mix unburned brush with
the hot ground and embers there are occasional flare-ups, Bell said.
Three firefighters suffered minor injuries from fighting the
flames. One suffered a minor eye injury on the first day of the fire,
