Los Angeles firefighters have made big gains in battling the Sunset fire, which had triggered mandatory evacuation orders in Hollywood and the Hollywood Hills late Wednesday.
“It’s a miracle that no homes burned here,” one firefighter told The Times. Hours earlier, the flames had approached the mansions that line North Curson Avenue. By 10:30 p.m., flames were barely visible on the distant hillside.
“These are really nice houses up here,” one fireman said to another as they watched a helicopter fly by to drop water. Firefighters on scene said the fire had been 50 acres at its peak, and was now down to 42.3 — in retreat.
The blaze, for a short while, raised alarms throughout Hollywood. A mandatory evacuation order was issued around 5:30 p.m. for areas north of Hollywood Boulevard and south of Mulholland Drive, and east of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and west of the 101 freeway.
The fire was reported at 2350 N. Solar Drive in the Hollywood Hills.
The evacuation encompassed iconic locations such as the TCL Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, the Dolby Theatre, and Ovation Hollywood, the shopping center in Hollywood.
Earlier Wednesday, David Potts, 66, stood on his front porch just a few hundred yards from the active fire, a fire truck parked directly opposite him.
Just up the hill, the crackle of flames punctuated the low hum of engines and flowing water. Every seven minutes or so, another helicopter came by and dropped water that sprinkled over the neighborhood. He stopped to see if the water had extinguished a burning tree he could see from his perch.
His home of 11 years sits next to Runyon Canyon. Around 4:30 p.m., he saw a nearby fire on the news and stepped outside to a thick smell of smoke. He could see the flames just a few hundred yards up the hill, with one property between him and the blaze.
When the mandatory evacuation notice came shortly thereafter, his wife, daughter and son-in-law quickly packed and left.
It took them two hours amid the chaos to drive to Glendale, but David stayed and got out his hose.
“A friend lost his house this morning in Altadena and I figured I would stay until the last minute,” he said.
He packed up his truck with essentials and started spraying his house and yard.
For a while, no help arrived. “Right as I was about to throw in the towel, two helicopters came,” he said. They dropped water and he saw a white cloud of steam that sent embers flying everywhere.
He kept hosing: “I could see progress from the helicopters.”
Potts knows his neighbors well, he said, and all left except for him. It fell to him to text them updates while he scrambled to find a mask, get his ladder and continuously spray everything he could reach.
Later on Wednesday, at the base of Curson Avenue — a snaking street that climbs from Franklin Boulevard into the hills adjacent to Runyon Canyon — some 50 people stood at the police line, some wearing masks and most wielding smartphones to capture the firefight. At one point, the hillside was lightly glowing.
Firefighters and residents alike credited the efficient water dropping for stemming the blaze. The nearby Hollywood reservoir allowed for frequent trips, a firefighter said. By 10:30 p.m., the water drops were happening around every 10 minutes. A Times reporter could feel the drizzle of water from the water drops as the last remnants of fire could be seen from his location.
Up the hill, some firefighters stood watch as others walked hundreds of yards above with chainsaws and garden tools, cutting a fire line near the peak of Runyon Canyon. Their flashlights swung left to right as around a dozen men walked single file across the hilltop.
Most of the mandatory evacuation orders for the area were lifted except for a few city blocks, affecting areas north of Franklin Avenue, west of Camino Palmero Street and east of Sierra Bonita Avenue. Firefighters wanted the area to stay under evacuation orders to ensure vegetation in the area does not flare up.
Citing improving conditions on the ground, the Los Angeles Fire Department is expected to lift all evacuation orders for the fire by 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters will remain in the area and LAFD advises residents to “be careful while returning to your homes.”
