Brush Fire in Northeast Valley Quickly Knocked Down

A car with an engine fire sparked a small brush fire off La Tuna Canyon in the Northeast Valley a quarter to 1 p.m. today. Flames spread towards the 210 Freeway, prompting multiple lanes to close and a SigAlert to be issued. But 35 firefighters quickly stomped out the blaze. They will now stay at the scene for cold trailing, where they check for smoldering, bury any tree trunks and generally make sure nothing flares back up again. The fire burned an area estimated to be a 200 square foot area in addition to the car at the side of the road, which we hear was a Mercedes SL500. Ouch.