Blaze Burns 40 Acres Near Mulholland

Hot, dry weather provided ideal conditions for a wildfire that broke out in the foothills above Tarzana on Wednesday afternoon and burned as much as 40 acres of brush before it was extinguished by a battery of water-dropping aircraft.

A SuperScooper, a big Erickson Air Crane helicopter and smaller water-dropping helicopters from Los Angeles city and county fire departments were called in to battle the blaze, which briefly threatened a group of exclusive homes just to the north.

At the height of the fire, about 125 city firefighters fought the flames, said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis.

Collis said the blaze, which authorities believe was intentionally set, was reported around 2 p.m. It broke out in heavy brush near where Reseda Boulevard meets Mulholland Drive and was put out shortly after 7 p.m.

No injuries or property damage were reported as a result of the fire, but one firefighter was taken to a local hospital after suffering heat exhaustion, Collis said.

A half-hour before the start of the Mulholland fire, another blaze broke out in a rugged, brushy canyon in the Pacific Palisades area.

By late afternoon, after burning about 20 acres, the Palisades fire was “totally under control and contained,” said Battalion Chief Roger Gillis. The closest homes to the fire were more than one mile away, he said, and none were threatened.

The cause of the Palisades fire, which also was extinguished around 7 p.m., was still under investigation.

“It was hot today, but there were no winds driving the fire,” Gillis said. “That was much to our favor. If there had been strong winds today, it could have been a much different story.”

Still, conditions were not ideal as many areas reached triple digits including Van Nuys at 101 degrees; Woodland Hills and Northridge at 102; and Chatsworth at 101. Burbank was one of the cooler spots at 97 degrees.

“This is the normal time for the beginning of our Santa Ana season,” said Gary Ryan, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “This is the time when we get our hottest weather of the year, as far as daytime highs go.”

Because there’s been little wind, meteorologists are describing the weather as a “weak Santa Ana.”

Though Wednesday’s top temperatures came close, they did not set any weather records, according to the National Weather Service.

On Oct. 13, 1950, Burbank sizzled at 103 degrees, according to the NWS. Chatsworth residents on the same day in 1978 must have felt stir-fried at 104 degrees.

Highs today should be a few degrees lower than Wednesday, and Friday should be even cooler. Then expect a return of hot and windy conditions--and high fire danger--for Sunday.

Times staff writer Miles Corwin contributed to this story.