Brush Fire Threatens Glendale Homes

A brush fire swept across the Verdugo Mountains above Glendale and Burbank on Monday, charring 800 acres and prompting evacuations of dozens of homes, authorities said.

There were no injuries and no homes were damaged, fire officials said. But the blaze, of undetermined origin, was only 20% contained by 8 p.m.

For a while, a column of dark smoke was visible from miles away.

Flames threatened a group of transmission towers used to relay radio and cellular phone signals, causing Glendale officials to cut power to that area. With the lack of electricity, local radio stations were forced to run on backup power supplies, officials said.

More than 310 firefighters representing agencies from Santa Barbara to Orange County, aided by two water-dropping planes, three fixed-wing aircraft and eight helicopters, were battling the fire, which broke out around 11:45 a.m. near the Brand Park library, north of the intersection of Mountain Street and Grandview Avenue, said Glendale Fire Capt. Thomas Marchant.

No firefighters were hurt, but a Glendale policeman directing traffic away from the fire was struck by a motorist and suffered injuries to his right shoulder.

Early Monday afternoon, Jean Essa contemplated what she, her son and husband should take with them after mandatory evacuation orders were issued by fire officials for 33 homes on Thurber Street and Via Alta, tranquil canyon streets on the Burbank-Glendale border.

Essa, a high school teacher, said that every year, she asks students in her morality classes about what they would take with them if their house were on fire.

“I guess I’ve given this some thought,” she said as she loaded up her car with insurance papers, a cat, photos and a painting.

By 8 p.m., the evacuation order had been lifted, although the Red Cross set up shelters for people who did not want to return home.

The steady march of flames appeared to slow in midafternoon under a heavy aerial assault from the helicopters. At one point, firefighters thought the brush fire might burn out as the flames hit the upper reaches of the Verdugo Mountains.

By late afternoon, however, the fire had crossed the peaks and continued to head northward toward La Crescenta and west toward Burbank. By evening, firefighters were concentrating on the western flank. Voluntary evacuations were underway in the Whiting Woods community of north Glendale, as well as the streets Via La Paz and Paseo Redondo in Burbank.

Few residents appeared to be leaving the Whiting Woods area. “We would certainly take off if they told us the fire was coming and we had to,” said Brock Hill, 44, who lives on Whiting Woods Road.

Local homeowners association President Denis Brumm, 49, watched the fire through field glasses from his home on Hillway Drive. He said he and other residents felt confident that the firefighters would protect their community.

*

Times staff writer Carol Chambers contributed to this report.