Los Angeles Fire Hits Area Near Universal Studios, Griffith
Los Angeles Fire Hits Area Near Universal Studios, Griffith Park
(Bloomberg) -- A brush fire broke out in California’s Hollywood Hills, burning a 34-acre area close to Los Angeles tourist spots such as the Universal Studios and Griffith Park.
“The forward progress of the fire has been stopped,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said in a post on the organization’s website. “Ground and air crews will continue to battle the perimeter of the still active wildfire, for which the containment goal remains.”
The wildfire was 15% contained as of 6:25 p.m. local time, the fire department said. No structures were damaged. Five helicopters and two aircraft were deployed, along with 236 fire personnel. One firefighter hurt his arm.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. Christopher Drake, a music composer for films, said he evacuated from his studio at Warner Bros., which was on “total lockdown.”
Smoke could be seen right behind the city’s iconic “Hollywood” sign.
It was a lighter moment for theme-park visitors, who tweeted photos of the smoke, with a local blogger calling the fire “the most popular attraction at Universal Studios right now.”
Local DJ Lisa Foxx said she could see and smell the smoke from the balcony of her radio station in Burbank, an area where a number of studios are located.
To contact the reporters on this story: Linus Chua in Los Angeles at lchua@bloomberg.net;John Gittelsohn in Los Angeles at johngitt@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew G. Miller at mmiller144@bloomberg.net, Reinie Booysen, Siraj Datoo
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