Valleywide : Controlled Burn Consumes Fire Hazard

A controlled burn in the Santa Monica Mountains that cast a pink-tinted pall over the western San Fernando Valley on Thursday consumed more than 1,000 acres of dense brush that could have become wildfire fuel.

Officials at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area planned the burn to thwart future wildfires as well as to clear the area of old brush that hampers new growth.

The fire in Cheeseboro and Palo Comado canyons just over the Los Angeles County border in Ventura County was ignited in several spots around the periphery of the burn area at 8 a.m. and was out by 1:15 p.m.

“We mark the area and then systematically use a drip torch or flares to light the edge of the fuel and let it burn in toward the center,” said O.J. Hunt, spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Los Angeles County joined Ventura County, the National Park Service and other state and local agencies to provide 120 firefighters to ensure the blaze stayed within the prescribed boundaries, Hunt said.

A helicopter also dumped water around the outside of the circle.

“We’re also using this as a training mission and to observe fire behavior,” Hunt said.

“The helicopter is also making water drops to ensure the fire doesn’t jump out of control lines or safety zones.”