A fire in the Palisades Highlands could be seen from Santa Monica.
Last night an alert went out from the Los Angeles Fire Department at 12:17 a.m. that about three to four acres of heavy brush burning under 15mph winds near above Via Las Palmas in the Palisades Highlands. (Near the Temescal Fire Road above Marquez.)
Spokesperson Margaret Stewart told Circling the News the next afternoon that initially LAFD Air Ops was unable to fly due to low visibility.
In the fire update after midnight Stewart noted that Los Angeles Country Fire Department sent Copter 22 and that local firefighters have been making their way via ground to the isolated areas. She said that LA County Fire also sent four camp crews for cutting line. Firefighters are in place to defend at least one home. “There are no widespread evacuations at this time,” Stewart said.
At 2:26 a.m. an LA City alert went out, warning residents of the fire and to be set for a possible evacuation.
Thirty minutes later visibility had improved and three LAFD helicopters joined LACoFD Copter 22 in making continuous water drops. “LAFD firefighters on the ground and LACoFD Hand Crews are making good progress,” Stewart wrote. “There are no structures damaged, no injuries reported and currently no evacuation orders in place.”
At 3:38 a.m. the forward progress of the fire was stopped and firefighters worked to gain full containment, with hose lines surrounding the perimeter of the fire.
At 4:46, Steward reported that firefighters completed the hose line around the perimeter of the fire and that it was fully contained. The mop up operation continued to ensure no flare ups. The fire was held at eight acres, no structures were damaged, and no injuries reported.
Since the area where the fire started is a hiking area in Topanga State Park and isolated from traffic, CTN asked Stewart about the fire source: about the possibility of fireworks, since residents reported loud bangs and fireworks before, during and after New Year’s Eve in town.
One resident wrote on a social media site that “Even with a sizable fire ongoing in the Highlands, I can hear more fireworks down here in town. Parents, if you have teenagers still out and about, call them and make sure you know where they are and what they are doing.”
Stewart said no cause of the fire had been determined.
Palisades was lucky that the Santa Ana winds were not blowing and LAFD responded so rapidly or the Highlands and portions of Marquez would have been threatened.
(Editor’s note: CTN received the following note from Cheryl Zomber. “I read with interest your article on the “Highland” fire. As I know you are known for your accurate reporting, with all due respect, I just wanted to let you know that first of all, it was not the “Highland” fire and second, it was not just Paseo Miramar and Castellammare that were affected. At around 2:45 a.m., we received a notice to get ready to evacuate. There was a steady procession of fire trucks on Lachman lane and the helicopters awoke all of us in MARQUEZ KNOLLS! Thereafter we received notice of a potential evacuation.
Please be so kind as to check the sources. For some unknown reason, other than the residents in upper MARQUEZ KNOLLS being threatened, it was and is now known not as Paseo Miramar, Castellammare or Highlands fire, it was known as Lachman – a Main Street in Marquez Knolls if you have no knowledge. I would appreciate you accurately reporting this matter.)
Thank you for covering this story.
Our son & his family were almost evacuated, but as things improved, they were allowed to stay.
Happy New Year!
Ron & Marka Midwin
Two actions we can take as a town to manage this recurring fireworks and brush fire risk:
1. Get LAPD to subcontract patrol and 911 response to one or more or all private security firms that have multiple cars in the 26 square mile radius of this town, 911 calls need to dispatched to these local firms. We will then have a better chance of patrolling private security firms catching individuals setting off fireworks. Patrol should be on alert during Friday and Saturday nights, as well as holidays. Catch and prosecute suspects to the full extent of the law.
2. We need an experienced PR professional/firm to run a comprehensive and sustained campagn to educate this town’s 29,000 residents about wildfire risk and prosecution for illegal fireworks. A sustained campaign is not a sporadic outcry…it is a drill that continues as long as it takes to make sure every single resident is on board with understanding this town’s vulnerability to fire and signs off in support of public safety. Are there any skilled PR professionals in the community willing to lead such an effort?
It can’t be proven that this was fireworks. Could have been a cigarette. Could have been an arsonist. No one knows. The one thing I do know is that it’s impossible to stop teenage boys from shooting off fireworks, whether they are legal are illegal. Growing up, all just about every kid I knew spent all of their money on fireworks at Christmas and Fourth of July.
I am 3.5 miles away. But no alert here. How far do they send out alerts?
It is NOT impossible to stop teenage boys from shooting off fireworks, especially when there is a very dry season like we are having now. EDUCATION, PARENTAL GUIDANCE play important roles in the development of morals in teens.