10-Acre Blaze Snuffed Out on P.V. Peninsula

A 10-acre brush fire on the Palos Verdes Peninsula sent residents scrambling for their garden hoses when it came within a few yards of damaging expensive homes and nearly singed the Palos Verdes Golf Course Thursday afternoon.

The fire, which broke out shortly after 3 p.m. in a grassy stretch of undeveloped Rancho Palos Verdes parkland, sent a tall column of whitish-yellow smoke wafting over the peninsula, dumping ash as it went.

By 4:50 p.m., fire crews had controlled the blaze, which had crossed the city property, called Grandview Park, to Palos Verdes Estates.

Thirteen county fire engines and personnel from 15 different stations responded to the scene, Batallion Chief Robert Ericson said. Two water-dropping helicopters also joined the battle.

No injuries were reported, no homes were damaged, and no one was evacuated. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Ericson said.

Anxious residents, remembering last week’s devastating blazes in Santa Barbara and Glendale, watched as the flames descended a small canyon and began moving toward million-dollar homes along Barkstone Drive, Montemalaga Drive and Yellow Brick Road.

The fire at one point was very near a new tract of mansions on Via La Cuesta in Palos Verdes Estates, where general contractor Bob York said he was just finishing work on the last of four homes valued at $3 million to $5 million.

“It was just outside the tennis court of one house,” he said.

Homeowners said the fire originated in a gully near the end of Ironwood Street and Barkstone Drive and traveled north toward the golf course.

“It burned a little behind the house and then ran straight down the hill,” said Margaret Juneau, whose home on Barkstone Drive is near where the blaze began. “For a while we weren’t sure which way it would go.”

The fire was blocked from reaching several houses by ice plant, a flame-resistant vegetation planted on the border of the field by several homeowners.

“That stopped it around here,” said Capt. Richard Davis, as he led a crew of firefighters digging a fire line in a portion of the field fronting homes on Barkstone Drive. “It’s a great fire break.”

Light winds and a massive response by firefighters also contributed to a swift end to the blaze. “Luckily, it was slow moving,” Ericson said.

Contacted shortly after the fire broke out, Louise Anderson, who has lived in her Barkstone Drive home for 30 years, said she thought the flames were under control.

Ten minutes later, Anderson’s calm reserve was gone.

“It just jumped the canyon and it’s coming this way,” she said when a reporter called a second time. “I’ve got to hang up now. I’m going to water down my yard.”

Elizabeth Putrino, a recreation supervisor for the city, said Rancho Palos Verdes’ recreation plan calls for Grandview Park to be developed eventually as a hiking and picnic area.

Until that time, she said, the land is plowed under annually to prevent brush build-up.

The biggest brush fire to hit the Palos Verdes Peninsula occurred in 1973, when a blaze pushed by sea breezes charred 900 acres and destroyed 11 houses, causing an estimated $2 million in property damage.

Times Staff Writer Shawn Hubler contributed to this story.