Eaton Fire: A rebuilding journey

A fire that sparked up yesterday in Castaic is still burning, but fire officials are starting to gain an upper hand. As of 6 a.m., the Osito Fire near Pyramid Lake is 65% contained and was downgraded from 400 acres to 288, according to official reports. Two lanes were closed on the northbound 5 Freeway and remain closed this morning. No structures have been reported to be damaged and there has been one minor...

Another day, another fire. This year's fire season in Southern California may have gotten off to a slow start, things are beginning to pick up. Two fires--the Oak and Marshall fires--burned in and near the Angeles National Forest within the last 24 hours. This afternoon, a new one began near Pyramid Lake in the Grapevine. A first, it was reported to be rather small, then more than 100 acres and now over 350 acres...

The fire that began earlier this afternoon has prompted the Getty Center to close for the rest of the day. If should reopen tomorrow pending the status of the fire, which has grown to 10 acres and is slowly traveling northward, according to Erik Scott of the LA Fire Department. 250 firefighters are on the ground coordinated with air attacks. Mount St. Mary's College has also been evacuated. No structures or injuries have been...

A fire in the Sepulveda Pass began as a small brusher, only growing to around 10 acres at 3:30 p.m., according to the LA Fire Department. By 4:15 p.m., they said it was 80 acres. Still, no structures have been damaged and no injuries have been reported. As the day moves into late afternoon and nighttime, fire officials are concerned over sundowner winds that could flare up the fire into a larger one. 250...

iPhone photo of Getty Drive fire via Emily Lerman for LAist An LAFD Alert reports that a brush fire of approximately 2 acres is burning in the heavy brush near 1200 Getty Center Dr, in the Sepulveda Pass. "L.A. City Fire Department says they will need to fight this fire from the air, as the area is inaccessible," according to abc7, who are also live streaming video-only (no audio) coverage of the fire. UPDATE,...

This weekend's Fourth of July holiday and the many celebrations taking place all over Los Angeles means that it's time to remind the non-professional pyrotech-ies that fireworks are, in fact, not only illegal, but also dangerous. The Daily News quotes County Fire Captain Mike Brown, who says: "The use of fireworks not only can cause fires, but can result in severe injuries and burns if not used properly."

Motorists spotted a brush fire after midnight last night as they traveled along the 91 Artesia Freeway and the 710 Long Beach Freeway and alerted the California Highway Patrol, reports the Press-Telegram. Firefighters soon arrived on scene to douse the blaze that ultimately "scorched roughly one-fourth of an acre of brush below the transition road" from the 91 to the 710. It took about 15 minutes to get the fire out; no one was...

A Taco Zone truck. (Can anyone confirm if this is the one in question?) Photo by Nathan Jongewaard via Flickr Word of the Taco Zone truck that parks near Vons in Echo Park being on fire spread in much the same manner as the blaze last night via Twitter and food-centric message boards. City Council President Eric Garcetti noted the fire and Tweeted the incident: "Taco truck at Von's is on fire. Called it...

Raymond Lee Oyler, who set the deadly Esperanza Fire in 2006, was sentenced to death today after a jury recommended the penalty with the judge concurring in his final sentence. Five firefighters died when flames overtook them while protecting a house in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains. 41,000 acres burned and 34 homes were lost, too. The 38-year-old arsonist was convicted in March of five counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of...

Thanks, lightning and dry brush. After yesterday's storm, lightning caused at least 19 fires in remote regions of the forest, Angeles National Forest officials report after a early morning reconnaissance flight. Twelve of those fires are full contained, but one fire called the Twin Fire remains fairly active in the the central San Gabriel Mountains. The 680,000-acre forest was struck by lightning approximately 400 times between 2:30am and 8:00pm Wednesday. Inciweb will be keeping...