Fire Burns 600 Acres, Threatens Valley Homes

A wind-whipped brush fire was finally contained in the rugged hills of the northern San Fernando Valley late Sunday after scorching nearly 600 acres near Porter Ranch and evoking memories of a 1988 blaze that destroyed 13 homes.

By 5:15 p.m. the blaze, which started at 11 a.m., was “well-contained,” said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

No homes were damaged and there were no immediate reports of injuries from the blaze, which could be seen from as far away as the Sepulveda Pass, Humphrey said.

But the flames burned to within 100 feet of some homes earlier in the day.

“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 Braemore Road resident for 30 years.

The fire started near Limekiln Canyon and Horse Canyon roads, 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, of the Fire Department.

Hundreds of firefighters fought to contain what had been described as a “major emergency” brush fire. It moved east to west in the hills between Tampa and Winnetka avenues, north of the Simi Valley Freeway. Helicopters dumped water from above.

Before the fire was contained, Humphrey called it “very unpredictable” and warned that it “could be snuffed out quickly or take a sudden turn for the worse. 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.”

The flames came dangerously close to houses in Porter Ranch.

Resident Bill Mandel said the fire 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 Mandel, 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. 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, as the flames appeared to turn away from the neighborhood. “It hasn’t come this close . . . since 1988.”

Times staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this story.