Glendale brush fire grows to 150 acres, burning away from homes

A brush fire burning in the hills north of Glendale had spread to 150 acres by Sunday evening, as fire crews struggled to battle the blaze through steep, rugged terrain, officials said.

The blaze was traveling at a slow but consistent pace through the hillside, moving away from homes or structures into the canyon, said Dan Bell, community relations coordinator for the city of Glendale. Bell said firefighting efforts from the ground were challenging due to the “treacherous” landscape.

“The fire is burning in areas where hand crews can’t get to, nor would we want to put them in harm’s way,” he said.

An L.A. city bulldozer was going to work through the night to establish a perimeter, and helicopters were scheduled to resume operations in the morning to put out the flame, Bell said.

The fire broke out about 12:30 p.m. Sunday in the vicinity of a cemetery in Brand Park but burned away from the structures and did not cause damage, according to officials. The cause was not immediately known.

As many as 180 firefighters battled the blaze during the day, Bell said. Two firefighters were hit by falling rocks and one suffered minor scrapes but none were seriously injured.

“It kind of tells you the terrain they’re working with,” Bell said.

Five hikers were in the hills at the time of the fire -- three were airlifted out, and the other two walked out on their own, Bell said.