Los Angeles Fire Department

Firefighters extinguished a one-acre grass fire near the Golden State (5) Freeway at the Ventura (134) Freeway interchange on Tuesday that briefly stopped traffic. Crews from four fire companies, including Glendale and Los Angeles, attacked the blaze, which was reported about 1:25 p.m., said Katherine Main, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman. The blaze was extinguished about 30 minutes later. The northbound 5 Freeway transition to the westbound 134 Freeway was briefly shut down as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze, she said.

A brush fire burned about 4 acres of vegetation on a hillside north of Day Street in Tujunga, near the La Crescenta border, on Tuesday afternoon before firefighters extinguished it. The Glendale, Los Angeles and Los Angeles County fire departments were dispatched to the blaze, which was on a roadside section of Day Street between Lowell and Amanita avenues just before noon Tuesday. Several dozen firefighters took to the hilly terrain on foot, spraying water on the blaze and using hand tools to clear the brush around the affected area.

Fire blazes on hillside, two turn themselves in More than 150 fire fighters responded to a brush fire in the Hollywood Hills on Friday, including first responders from the Burbank Fire Department. Thick plumes of smoke billowing above the Hollywood sign was visible from both the San Fernando Valley and the city of Los Angeles. The fire broke out near the Oakwood Toluca Hills residential complex east of Barham Boulevard near Universal City, Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Ron Myer said.

At 2:50 p.m. on Sunday,  L.A. city fire department responded to a call of smoke in the area of La Tuna Canyon in Tujunga. Firefighters discovered an abandoned vehicle ablaze that lit surrounding brush. In all, 200 firefighters from the city and county of Los Angeles as well as Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena responded to the blaze which ended up igniting approximately 25 acres before being contained. An arson investigation has begun. Seven county and city helicopters and three bulldozers also were requested.

Sheriff and fire sirens chirped at 9 a.m. Saturday throughout the La Crescenta neighborhood at Briggs Terrace, followed soon by a steady stream of cars winding down mountain roads to the evacuation center at Two Strike Park. This was all part of the Briggs Terrace fire evacuation drill sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department with the support of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. The drill took less than two hours from the initial debriefing with emergency responders to the actual evacuation and wrap-up discussion with residents.

LOS ANGELES ? Homicide detectives are investigating the cause of a vehicle fire early Wednesday morning on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway that killed a woman who was apparently unable to exit the car. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene at 1 a.m. to find a compact sedan off on the right shoulder of the northbound Golden State Freeway between the Glendale (2) Freeway and Fletcher Drive offramp, Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. An unidentified man sustained severe burns to his hands and face, but was able to escape the sedan, Myers said.

A special toy delivery was made to Los Angeles County Fire Station 82 early Saturday morning. They weren?t delivered in a sleigh, the normal form of toy transportation this time of year, but in several vintage automobiles. The toys were brought to the station by the La Cañada Early Rodders, a group of vintage automobile collectors that meet from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every Saturday morning. The group had been collecting toys for the last three weeks and on Saturday, an array of glistening cars, from a Plymouth Belvedere to a 1932 Ford Rooster, with their trunks full of toys paraded from United Artists Theater to the fire station to donate to the Spark of Love toy drive.

LOS ANGELES — Even as firefighters tightened their grip on a brush fire in Griffith Park on Wednesday, residents in the Glendale area began easing back into their daily routines under clearing skies. Even though skies were considerably less smoky on Wednesday, smoke from the diminishing fire continued to blow into the city and foothill canyons, forcing some adjustments to everyday life. Most preschools in the area have kept their youngsters indoors, depending on how smoky it is in their respective areas, said Linda Burlison, health services coordinator for the Glendale Unified School District.

Authorities across Southern California were beefing up patrols Saturday night, hoping to catch the person or persons responsible for more than 35 fires over the last two days. Los Angeles police and fire officials were trying to determine whether the fires were the work of one arsonist or several. Some officials believe it would be difficult for one person to have set all the fires but have definitely ruled out a lone arsonist, law enforcement sources told The Times. On Friday morning, 21 fires were started in a relatively small area around Hollywood and West Hollywood.

GLENDALE — A 56-year-old transient man was arrested Friday on suspicion of arson in connection with a May 27 fire that burned a warehouse and a number of new cars owned by Glendale dealer Star Auto Group. The Los Angeles County District Attorney is slated to file charges today against Gary Peters, who allegedly set a blaze that consumed more than 40 cars and caused more than $1 million in damages. Peters, was arrested Friday after two homeless men who knew him contacted the Glendale Police Department with information about the incident, said Glendale Police Det. Miguel Porras, an arson investigator.

Firefighters extinguished a one-acre grass fire near the Golden State (5) Freeway at the Ventura (134) Freeway interchange on Tuesday that briefly stopped traffic. Crews from four fire companies, including Glendale and Los Angeles, attacked the blaze, which was reported about 1:25 p.m., said Katherine Main, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman. The blaze was extinguished about 30 minutes later. The northbound 5 Freeway transition to the westbound 134 Freeway was briefly shut down as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze, she said.

Authorities across Southern California were beefing up patrols Saturday night, hoping to catch the person or persons responsible for more than 35 fires over the last two days. Los Angeles police and fire officials were trying to determine whether the fires were the work of one arsonist or several. Some officials believe it would be difficult for one person to have set all the fires but have definitely ruled out a lone arsonist, law enforcement sources told The Times. On Friday morning, 21 fires were started in a relatively small area around Hollywood and West Hollywood.

Sheriff and fire sirens chirped at 9 a.m. Saturday throughout the La Crescenta neighborhood at Briggs Terrace, followed soon by a steady stream of cars winding down mountain roads to the evacuation center at Two Strike Park. This was all part of the Briggs Terrace fire evacuation drill sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department with the support of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. The drill took less than two hours from the initial debriefing with emergency responders to the actual evacuation and wrap-up discussion with residents.

At 2:50 p.m. on Sunday,  L.A. city fire department responded to a call of smoke in the area of La Tuna Canyon in Tujunga. Firefighters discovered an abandoned vehicle ablaze that lit surrounding brush. In all, 200 firefighters from the city and county of Los Angeles as well as Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena responded to the blaze which ended up igniting approximately 25 acres before being contained. An arson investigation has begun. Seven county and city helicopters and three bulldozers also were requested.

A brush fire burned about 4 acres of vegetation on a hillside north of Day Street in Tujunga, near the La Crescenta border, on Tuesday afternoon before firefighters extinguished it. The Glendale, Los Angeles and Los Angeles County fire departments were dispatched to the blaze, which was on a roadside section of Day Street between Lowell and Amanita avenues just before noon Tuesday. Several dozen firefighters took to the hilly terrain on foot, spraying water on the blaze and using hand tools to clear the brush around the affected area.

A special toy delivery was made to Los Angeles County Fire Station 82 early Saturday morning. They weren?t delivered in a sleigh, the normal form of toy transportation this time of year, but in several vintage automobiles. The toys were brought to the station by the La Cañada Early Rodders, a group of vintage automobile collectors that meet from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every Saturday morning. The group had been collecting toys for the last three weeks and on Saturday, an array of glistening cars, from a Plymouth Belvedere to a 1932 Ford Rooster, with their trunks full of toys paraded from United Artists Theater to the fire station to donate to the Spark of Love toy drive.

Los Angeles County Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Steve Martin is a 22-year veteran of the department and knows the foothill area well. He was born and raised in Monrovia and worked in the Altadena fire station for four years as an engineer. He is now battalion chief with three platoons to supervise from Altadena to Little Tujunga. "There are seven different fire stations in this area that I oversee," said Martin, whose office is in Station 82. He says he understands La Cañada's unique relationship to the Angeles National Forest.

GLENDALE — A 56-year-old transient man was arrested Friday on suspicion of arson in connection with a May 27 fire that burned a warehouse and a number of new cars owned by Glendale dealer Star Auto Group. The Los Angeles County District Attorney is slated to file charges today against Gary Peters, who allegedly set a blaze that consumed more than 40 cars and caused more than $1 million in damages. Peters, was arrested Friday after two homeless men who knew him contacted the Glendale Police Department with information about the incident, said Glendale Police Det. Miguel Porras, an arson investigator.

LOS ANGELES — Even as firefighters tightened their grip on a brush fire in Griffith Park on Wednesday, residents in the Glendale area began easing back into their daily routines under clearing skies. Even though skies were considerably less smoky on Wednesday, smoke from the diminishing fire continued to blow into the city and foothill canyons, forcing some adjustments to everyday life. Most preschools in the area have kept their youngsters indoors, depending on how smoky it is in their respective areas, said Linda Burlison, health services coordinator for the Glendale Unified School District.

Firefighters praised the owner of a house in the hills above Sunland on April 27 for excellent brush clearance as flames from a late afternoon brush fire came within several hundred feet of the man's home and other structures. The Oro Vista fire burned about eight acres of dry brush, in temperatures that hovered in the mid-90s, with light winds. Temperatures at the scene of the fire topped the low 100s. The blaze was reported near Big Tujunga Canyon Road and Oro Vista Avenue at 2:55 p.m. and eventually consumed about eight acres.