Wind Whips 600-Acre Brush Fire

A wind-whipped brush fire scorched nearly 600 acres in the rugged hills of the northwest San Fernando Valley before firefighters reported containing the blaze about 5 p.m. Sunday.

No homes were damaged and there were no immediate reports of injuries resulting from the blaze, which could be seen from as far away as Sepulveda Pass, said Brian Humphrey, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.

But as flames burned to within 100 feet of some homes earlier in the day, residents were reminded of a 1988 fire that destroyed 13 homes in the area.

“When the winds come up and it’s dry like this, I always look out the window to see if there are any fires. Everybody here does,” said Walt Jager, 56, a 30-year resident of Braemore Road.

The fire started about 11 a.m. near Limekiln Canyon Road and Horse Flats fire road, Humphrey said.

“We have no idea at this time what the cause is. We haven’t even started the preliminary investigation because extinguishing the fire was our primary concern,” said Bill Ward, a division chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Hundreds of firefighters fought to contain the “major emergency” brush fire, which was moving east to west in the hills between Tampa and Winnetka avenues north of the 118 Freeway. Supporting efforts on the ground, helicopters dumped water from above.

“This [was] a very unpredictable fire which could be snuffed out quickly or take a sudden turn for the worse,” Humphrey said. “We [were] planning for the long-term. We would be foolish to think Mother Nature would make it easy on us.”

He said crews in tractors plowed a containment line around the blaze just before dark, but added, “Winds could pick and blow some embers overnight so firefighters will patrol the fire line throughout the night.”

Earlier in the day, flames came dangerously close to houses in the Park at Porter Ranch development, a gated community of homes ranging in price from $250,000 to $750,000.

Resident Bill Mandel said flames came with 100 feet of his Crystal Ridge Lane home, which he shares with his wife and two children.

So concerned was his 8-year-old daughter, Allison, that she began packing her toys before the fire turned in a different direction.

His wife, Linda, said the wind was blowing furiously.

“It almost feels like an earthquake because it’s shaking the house,” she said.

The fire in December 1988 destroyed 13 homes, damaged two dozen more and forced the evacuation of 8,000 people. Fanned by 70-mph winds, that blaze devoured 3,000 acres.

Jeannette Stramat, 42, said she was reminded of that blaze Sunday as neighbors on her block hosed down their homes and began packing their possessions.

A brush fire veteran, Stramat held off on packing, but said she was ready.

“I know what stuff we need to grab quick,” she said, feeling some relief as the flames appeared to turn away from the neighborhood. “It hasn’t come this close . . . since 1988.”

Staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this story.