Around 4pm today a one-acre fire broke out within sight of the Griffith Park Observatory. ABC has been running indepth coverage, although there is very little news online and no photos available at this time. Hikers have been evacuated. If anyone knows anyone who may be hiking in the park, they are being asked to contact them on cell phones. Visitors to the Observatory were evacuated from the building and were being kept in the parking lot at the time that ABC switched back to its normal programming around 5:15 pm. It appears the observatory area has been evacuated now at 6 pm and the fire is almost contained. Two to five acres between the Observatory and the Hollywood sign have burned. I can smell the smoke as I type this post.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

LOS ANGELES—A small brush fire broke out in Griffith Park Tuesday, prompting visitors to evacuate the park's landmark observatory. The 1-acre fire was reported around 4 p.m. down hill from the Griffith Observatory, city fire spokesman Ron Myers said.

Fire officials said there was no mandatory evacuation order, though TV news crews captured crowds of visitors leaving the observatory as the fire burned on a nearby ridge. Helicopters were making water drops and there was minimal wind.

No further details were immediately available.

A representative of the observatory had no immediate comment.

A wildfire blackened 820 acres of Griffith Park in May, forcing the closure of the three-domed observatory, a zoo and other facilities in the sprawling urban park.

Photo by Dave Bullock (aka eecue)