Wild Fire Erupts in Hollywood Hills
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wild Fire Erupts in Hollywood Hills*
Saturday March 31, 2007 1:01 AM
By PETER PRENGAMAN
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A fast-moving brush fire erupted in southern
California Friday, sending smoke seeping into the Warner Bros. studios
and towering high in the sky behind the famous Hollywood sign before
losing intensity.
The 150-acre blaze started near a corporate housing complex east of
Universal City, south of the Warner Bros. studios complex in Burbank.
``The studio is fairly filled with smoke at the moment,'' said Scott
Rowe, vice president of corporate communications for Warner Bros.
Entertainment. ``It's at our back door. I think a couple of our
entrances have been closed at this point and we're operating normally
but that could change any minute.''
The fire was burning on the back side of the hill that holds the giant
white Hollywood lettering but was not expected to cross the crest, and
by late afternoon the landmark appeared to be well out of any danger.
Nonetheless, dozens of people gathered at the foot of the hills to take
pictures of the sign and smoke.
``If it burns, we would be losing an icon,'' said Russ Mitchell, a Los
Angeles resident.
Some 200 firefighters with five helicopters battled the flames, Fire
Department spokesman Ron Myers said. There were no reports of structural
damage, he said.
The region had an extremely dry winter with little rainfall, leaving
much of the area parched.
``I don't know the exact last date we've seen a fire in this particular
area but the hills are prone to fires throughout the year,'' Myers said.
``This is just a little bit earlier than what we normally see.''
The Hollywood Hills bisect Los Angeles, forming the southern side of the
San Fernando Valley.
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Associated Press writers Noaki Schwartz, Solvej Schou and Daisy Nguyen
contributed to this report.