On Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 2:25 PM, 15 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 2 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 3 LAFD Helicopters, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 4 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, 2 Angeles National Forest camp crews and 1 Battalion Chief, 4 L.A. County Fire camp crews and 1 Battalion Chief, all under the direction of Battalion Chief Michael Bowman, responded to a Brush Fire at 11120 N. Oro Vista Av. in the Tujunga area.

After receiving several frantic 911 calls, the OCD Dispatch Center dispatched a brush assignment to an area near a previous burn in the Tujunga area. The responding men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department were joined, through Automatic Aid, by the Angeles National Forest Firefighters and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, forming a Unified Command.

The first arriving Los Angeles Firefighters found one acre of medium grass/brush burning. With no wind to aid the fire, firefighters established firelines along the flanks and with the aid of the aerial attack and the aggressive work of hand crews, it took firefighters 50 minutes to call a knockdown. The fire did advance up a small hill towards a previous burn and this "natural" fire break assisted in providing additional protection to structures in the area. No structures were threatened and no evacuations were necessary.

The fire was contained to three acres and the cause is undetermined at this time. There was only one minor injury reported to an ANF hand crew member.


Submitted by d'Lisa Davies
Los Angeles Fire Department