Los Feliz Fire May 8th 2007

he LA City Fire Department responded at approximately 1:30 pm PST on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 to a report of a brush fire off of Vermont Avenue nearby Los Angeles' famous Griffith Park and Observatory. After sundown, the fire surprised fire officials by intensifying and spreading despite the efforts of nearly 150 fire fighters, five helicopters and a water taker. Winds had picked up and by mid-evening on Tuesday, the wildfire had become a blazing firestorm with other isolate fires erupting in spots where embers met the dry brush. Fire officials were reporting by mid-evening that the fire had destroyed about 150 to 200 acres of the park's 4,200 acres. Residents of Los Feliz were evacuated as the fire neared homes on the southern side of the park during the evening hours. Earlier in the day when the fire first broke out, officials evacuated visitors, animals and non-essential staff from the Los Angeles Zoo as well as from a nearby golf course and the Griffth Observatory. By 9 pm PST, blazing firestorms were bursting all over the park area lighting up the night sky with firey orange towers of flames. One of the areas destroyed by the fire is Dante's View, a popular public garden and hiking destination on the east slope of Mt. Hollywood.

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YouTube | May 10, 2007

Tags:. .lighting. .during. .officials. .angeles. .fires