Flames Damage 5 Homes as Winds Impede Firemen

Brush fires in Pacific Palisades and Griffith Park blackened 13 acres and damaged five homes Saturday before firefighters--hampered by strong winds and desert-dry conditions--contained the blazes.

The most serious fire broke out about 11:30 a.m. in the 17000 block of Revello Drive in Pacific Palisades. Fourteen engine companies and two helicopters battled the three-acre blaze in rugged, hilly terrain above Pacific Coast Highway, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Larry Ford said. At least a dozen homes were threatened, but only five were damaged. Damage to all five was estimated at $63,400.

At Griffith Park, a blaze charred 10 acres near Green Oak Drive and Green Oak Place, west of the observatory. It took 19 fire companies and three helicopters almost an hour to contain the fire, which erupted shortly after 10 a.m.

The cause of both fires is under investigation, Ford said.

Firefighters should get a break today as the warm, gusty winds that pushed the mercury to 86 at the Civic Center Saturday and created hazardous fire conditions are due to begin subsiding. Winds up to 30 m.p.h. are forecast for today in the coastal canyons and in the foothills, but by nightfall the mild Santa Ana condition should end, the National Weather Service said.