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Last Night's Laurel Canyon Fire was Reminiscent of the 1979 Blaze
A brush fire broke out in the Mount Olympus neighborhood off Laurel Canyon last night that left approximately 1-acre burned. The blaze began shortly after 7 p.m. on the 2100 block of Laurel Canyon Road the and was knocked down in less than an hour, reportedly leaving no people injured or structures damaged.
Last night's fire reminded the department's spokesman, Brian Humphrey, of the Kirkwood Bowl/Laurel Canyon Fire in 1979 that destroyed 23 homes. "These fires wlill historically follow the same path," he said alluding to the terrain and weather patterns that predate development. The blaze was also the first time a super scooper, otherwise known as a Bombardier CL-215, was used in Los Angeles.
In 1959, the Laurel Canyon Fire destroyed 36 homes and was located just north of yesterday's conflagration.
Although, the standard of fire safety has increased over the years, the roads in LA's pricey and hill neighborhoods are still in their original state. For example, last night LAFD crews were protecting Utica Drive, a narrow one-lane dirt road between a hill and a fence. Check out Google Map's street view of it below:
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