Photo by breesays via Buzznet "Ohhhhh, the trolley at the grove ran off the tracks! Someone was ambulanced away," reported breesays via Twitter as she snapped the above photo. At 9:39 p.m., the trolley at The Grove/Farmer's Market lost its brakes hitting a large planter at the end of the tracks near the clock tower. It did not come off the tracks or strike anyone, according to d'Lisa Davies of the Los Angeles Fire......

Yesterday, a Los Angeles City fire helicopter makes a water drop on a brush fire near the Griffith Observatory with the Planetarium and the telescope domes seen in the background. (AP Photo/Kevork Djanse) Yesterday's fire was knocked down quickly, but it started to bring back memories of last year, almost to date. The big 2007 wildfire charred 800 acres, but when yesterday's fire began, the Los Angeles Fire Department went aggressively after it, sending......

Earthquake Photo via Shanghaiist The nearly 10,000 person death toll (and rising!) after yesterday's massive 7.8 earthquake in the Sichuan province of China serves as a reminder to Los Angeles that we are just as vulnerable to such a large shaker. It was just last month that scientists said "California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037." And they're talking about "the big one." Shanghaiist, a sister......

Photo by skunks via Flickr One year ago today, the blaze that ripped through more than 800 acres at Griffith Park began. Seen from all over Los Angeles (see this photo essay), the sight of the fire eating up Los Angeles' gem saddened many in the city. It took three days to knockdown. Today, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Tom LaBonge and other city officials will be holding a ceremony to honor those who fought......

Yesterday, two men visiting Los Angeles took a hike in Griffith Park and before they knew it, it was dark. Probably not a place for night hiking if don't know your way around, especially with the constant tease of being within sight of the city lights below, but many cliff jumps away. Eventually, they were on their cell phone with park rangers trying to find their way back to their car, but after some time,......

This morning's greater alarm structure fire in Hyde Park was knocked down after one hour and twenty-two minutes with over 100 firefighters responding to the scene. One civilian male was injured with second and third-degree burns and is in stable condition. Ron Myers said the fire started in a cabinet shop when a flammable liquid fell and spilled near a power tool which ignited fumes. The fire, located at 2327 Southwest Drive in the Hyde......

Just a few blocks away from last week's massively big fire that nearly leveled a city block at Gage and Gramercy in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South LA comes another fire this morning at 2327 Southwest Drive that was called in at 10:38 a.m. this morning (map below). Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers reported via a text message alert that a two story office building was showing heavy smoke from the upper......

After all was said and done, yesterday morning's fire in Hollywood severely damaged Basque nightclub and the Blood Shot tattoo parlor. Two other adjacent occupancies of the building sustained moderate damage -- Sandee's shoe repair and the San Miguel Spa and Salon. Of the 180 firefighters who reported to the 5:31 a.m. fire, there were no injuries. For those who think an arsonist is involved in the recent spate of fires, Battalion Chief John Miller,......

The fire at Hollywood and Vine spit flames 40 feet into the air. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) After just under two and one half hours, the fire at Basque nightclub was knocked down by the Los Angeles Fire Department, save for one flare up on a rooftop hotspot fifteen minutes later. At 5:31 a.m. this morning, a 9-1-1 phone call alerted officials to a fire at the building located on the northwest corner of Hollywood......

Update: The fire has been knocked down. Read the update here.A major alarm fire broke out at 5:31 a.m. this morning at the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine in the Basque nightclub space (map below). When firefighters responded, the building was fully engulfed in flames. It is suspected that it started in the attic. At 6:00 a.m., fire fighters went into defensive mode on the exterior of the building. By 7:15 a.m., 115 firefighters......

......

Smoke as seen from the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles | Photo by Callie Miller On air news reports are saying that one whole city block is basically destroyed in a fire that started in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles around 2:15 p.m. this afternoon near the major intersection at Western and Slauson, more specifically at the industrial block of Gage and Gramercy. As of 4:30 p.m., fire officials said......

A strong fire is rocking through a one-story commercial warehouse that manufactures and stores wooden palettes in an industrial part of the Hyde Park neighborhood in South LA at 6236 Gramercy Place (map below). The wooden palettes are fueling the fire so much, it is being described as a huge bonfire. Not too long after the arriving, Los Angeles firefighters had to evacuate the building because the damage to the building made it unstable and......

On this evening's earlier story about the fire at Off Vine, a reader posted their experience in the comments section: I was eating here with my family and friends for the first time after attending the play Wicked. The waiter had cleared our plates and we heard commotion on in the kitchen. I asked what was happening and was told there was a fire upstairs. We were seated in the table closest to the kitchen......

A fire reported at the address of Off Vine Restaurant on Leland Ave. in Hollywood has left the building with heavy fire damage after a 34 minute aggressive firefight, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. At 5:20 p.m., a cell phone call prompted 86 firefighters to respond to the blaze, which was originally reported to be at a single family home, but later corrected as a home converted-to-restaurant....

Location of the 'Batcave' in Bronson Canyon where two hikers are being rescued A cliff rescue operation began early this afternoon in Griffith Park shortly before 2:00 p.m. One of two hikers in need of assistance alerted the Los Angeles Fire Department that they were in need of help. A female hiker, approximately 24 years in age, was unconscious and in serious condition, according to d'Lisa Davies, LAFD Spokesperson. The male hiker was found......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Over at the Los Angeles Police Department's blog, Lieutenant Rick Banks as been assigned as the "Officer in Charge," and in his introduction post, he touts the success of the web tool and how it has been valuable for the department. But he goes on with a warning to those anonymous finger pointers. "The blog allows you to have a good amount of influence and more with complete anonymity..." Unfortunately,......

A fire on a service truck near the NoHo Metro Red Line Station will cause a minimum of 10 minute delays this morning. Earlier today, the truck came in contact with electrical rails about 100 yards inside the tunnel, prompting it to catch fire. Difficult for Los Angeles Firefighters to extinguish the fire with high voltage running through the rails, Metro shut down the train system for safety reasons and prepared buses in case the......

Photo by Callie Miller/LAist A fire starting in a one story commercial building around 5:45 p.m. this evening added to this afternoon's rush hour traffic, with both 6th and 7th Street bridges closed and traffic being diverted to side streets. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the building at 2285 E. Jesse St. that was engulfed in a "heavy" fire that caused one of the three arch truss roofs to fail. 90 firefighters......

75 years ago: Long Beach earthquake | Photo by Jan Bruce, great aunt of LAist Featured Photos contributor victoriabernal Did ABC's Eli Stone and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborate to put us all on an earthquake watch today? Last night's episode of the San Francisco based "visionary" drama, where Stone's brain aneurism causes him to see the future, was about a giant earthquake hitting the bay city causing the Golden Gate bridge to collapse......

Today, the city council is doing their second round of approval for the DWP rate hikes. And while politicians have spun it saying it will only go up a little by stating facts within certain contexts, the LA Times today did the math: "electricity bills will go up at least 23% over a four-year period, thanks to the Department of Water and Power's decision to ask ratepayers to absorb the higher cost of natural gas......

Yesterday, hundreds of Valley residents headed towards their front and backyard lawns, picking orange and grapefruit trees, lemon bushes and other juicy fruits in name of one of the largest single-day community food donation drives in the city. Around 20,000 pounds of citrus was gathered at Citrus Sunday, a project run by Councilman Greig Smith who represents the 12th district. Residents drop off the fruit to various Valley fire stations and it all ends up......

At just past midnight, a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance carrying four firefighter paramedics and a critical medical patient were involved in a collision with another vehicle at Temescal Canyon Rd. and Pacific Coast Highway. The driver of the other vehicle was airlifted to the hospital in critical or serious condition according to Ron Meyers, LAFD Spokesman. The four firefighters were transported to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries and the original patient in the......

An estimated 6,000 people are Downtown this morning for the procession and memorial services for Los Angeles Firefighter Brent Lovrien, who was killed in the line of duty last week in Westchester near LAX. Firefighters, likely representing almost every agency from around the state, have come to Los Angeles to show their support. It is being aired live on KTLA and on their website. Also airing online is KNBC, KCBS/KCAL and KABC. For those not......

View Larger Map Yesterday evening, an explosion rocked a home a 1108 E. 32nd St., injuring one man. It was caused by a "bug bomb." No, it's not terrorism, it really is something to get bugs. This one just got out of control. This morning around 6:45 a.m., at 1258 W. 58th St. 1 story single family home caught on fire with two people trapped inside. Only on person survived. According to KCBS, it was......

Photo by DRB62 via Flickr Two female bank employees, ages 41 and 39, were transported to Northridge Hospital in stable condition after they were exposed to a $100 bill at San Fernando Valley Washington Mutual this afternoon. The incident, which took place at 10370 Mason Ave. in Chatsworth, happened around 1:00 p.m. The Los Angeles Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Squad were deployed after one teller complained that her hand was burning after touching the......

An alert coming out of the Los Angeles Fire Department states that Canoga Park Senior High School has been "actively evacuated." It is unknown at this time if it is a partial or full evacuation, but the Haz Mat Team was deployed to the campus. Initially a strong odor was coming from a classroom where there were reports of several people feeling sick, but incident was downgraded nearly a half hour later when it ended......

View Larger Map | This map is interactive: click on lines for more info and zoom in and out. Last Wednesday, firefighter Brent Lovrien was killed in the line of duty when responding to a call near LAX. A power saw operated by Lovrien sparked an explosion fatally wounding him and injuring LAFD Engineer Anthony J. Guzman. Tonight, a candle light vigil will be held at Fire Station 5 and the community is invited to......

At 12:01 p.m. today, the USC Department of Public Safety received a call from a Resident's Assistant in New/North (dorms) that a student was not breathing. Captain David Carlisle of USC's DPS said that campus police arrived shortly after the call as well as Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, who pronounced the man dead upon arrival. Homicide detectives from the LAPD were then called out. After their initial investigation, preliminary reports stated that it appeared......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr Raise your hand if the moment you heard about the death of firefighter Brent A. Lovrien being caused by old 1930s technology, that the DWP would use that as a way to help their cause of raising water and power rates? "While we believe this to be a freak occurrence, it is a symptom of a much greater problem that we must address,"......