El Sereno brush fire threatens homes as it quickly chews through acreage on Soto Hill
A brush fire that ignited Friday morning in El Sereno was threatening homes and causing concern among East Los Angeles residents, fire officials said.
The fire broke out on North Eastern Avenue and at 11:26 a.m. was an acre in size, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
As firefighters worked to get lines around the blaze and aircraft made water drops, however, it swelled to 40 acres, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
The fire is terrain-driven, not wind-driven, and is moving upward into heavy vegetation on Soto Hill, fire officials said. By 3:30 p.m., 63 firefighters had surrounded the fire with hand lines.
By late morning Friday, the Saddleridge fire in the San Fernando Valley had exploded to 4,700 acres and burned 25 homes.
No injuries have been reported. It was not immediately clear whether evacuations were being considered. No structures were damaged as of Friday afternoon.
A fast-moving brush fire in the San Fernando Valley that broke out Thursday night was keeping many other Los Angeles firefighters occupied. The Saddleridge fire has destroyed at least 25 homes, closed four major freeways and forced thousands to flee.
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