Local fire agencies respond quickly to quell La Cañada fire
La Cañada Flintridge’s mayor thanked local fire response agencies for quickly dousing a fire that broke out in a residential area near Parkdale Place Monday night and caused concern among residents living near the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA.
Crews from Los Angeles County Fire Department were joined by firefighters from the cities of Los Angeles and Glendale in response to a call that came in at around 9 p.m. Water-dropping helicopters were employed in fighting the fire, which was reportedly contained in about an hour.
Battalion Chief Glenn Goulet said Tuesday the blaze broke out behind 1901 Parkdale Place in a residential area near the Foothill (210) Freeway. The exact cause was unknown and still under investigation.
“We had an investigator go out and take a look. (But) we couldn’t figure it out,” he said, indicating the cause may have been accidental.
While initial reports from the scene put the size of the fire at three or more acres, Goulet estimated its span was more likely closer to two acres. The battalion chief said while some residents may have self-evacuated, no formal evacuations were made.
Capt. Keith Harter with La Cañada’s L.A. County Fire Station 82 said a county strike team was already camped out near La Cañada’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, due to red-flag weather warnings that lasted the weekend, when the call came in.
“Sometimes you get those situations where you think, do we need all this staffing? But when something like this breaks and it’s right there, you’re happy you [had it],” he said Tuesday.
La Cañada Mayor Jon Curtis said it was just after 9 p.m. when he was notified by multiple sources, including City Manager Mark Alexander, that a fire had broken out inside city limits. He immediately visited the scene and spoke to responders working at a command center. Residents, he said, were dousing their own properties with garden hoses.
“Structures were definitely being threatened. It threatened the Y,” Curtis said in an interview Monday night after his return home from the scene. “It looks like we dodged a bullet.”
The mayor thanked the multi-agency effort for quickly containing and knocking out the flames before it caused any structural damage or injuries. He urged La Cañadans to develop their own emergency response and evacuation plans as dry, hot and windy conditions continue.
“This is just a highlight of what we need to be prepared for,” Curtis said, warning that in the event of something more cataclysmic like an earthquake, the rapid mutual aid seen Monday might not be so readily available. “It’s so important to be prepared.”
A link to the county’s “Ready! Set! Go! Wildfire Action Plan” is available at the city’s website, lcf.ca.gov.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
