A La Cañada Flintridge resident, who spent months warning officials about overgrown vegetation saw his worst fears realized Tuesday when a brush fire, believed to have been ignited by a weed whacker, charred a half-acre of hillside and threatened his home before being extinguished.
Neal Peterson, of 400 Gleneagles Place, had been urging Pasadena Water and Power since May to clear brush from the hillsides in Hahamongna Watershed Park surrounding his property. The utility owns the parcel.
Work began Monday after delays brought on by budgetary constraints and had been expected to be completed by the end of the week, said Shan Kwan, an assistant general manager at the utility.
But shortly before noon Tuesday, a fire started in the dry brush as contractors with Mariposa Landscapes worked to clear the land with gas-powered weed whackers.
Peterson and his wife Marianne were inside when they noticed the smoke billowing up from the hillside.