Burbank residents ordered to evacuate as 2,000 acre wildfire rages toward homes
Channel: Sport Team
Date: 2017-09-02

Residents in Burbank at the foot of the Verdugo Mountains were ordered to evacuate late Friday as firefighters struggled to contain a raging wildfire that grew to 2,000 acres, fanned by strong, erratic winds.

As a band of flames burned over the ridgeline and crept toward dozens of homes, authorities ordered those living in the Brace Canyon Park area to “leave immediately” and head to evacuation shelters, according to an alert issued at 10:35 p.m. by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire threatened about 50 homes in the area, but the overall evacuation order affects about 200 homes, based on streets identified by police.
They include: Haven Way, starting at Joaquin Drive to the top of the canyon; Olney Place; Ramey Place; Mystic View Place; View Crest Drive; Lamer Street from Brace Canyon Road to Keystone Street; and the Castleman Estates.
The flames were expected to reach firefighters’ defense lines shortly after midnight, according to LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
“It’s not the typical nighttime fire behavior,” Stewart told KNBC-TV. “We’re using every resource we have.”
An evacuation center was set up at Sunland Recreation Center in the 8600 block of Foothill Boulevard in Sunland and McCambridge Park in the 1500 block of North Glenoaks Boulevard in Burbank.
Dubbed the La Tuna fire, the blaze has already forced the closure of a miles-long stretch of the 210 Freeway and threatened dozens of homes in the Tujunga area. The 210 was expected to remain closed through Saturday morning, officials said.
The fire was reported before 1:30 p.m. on the south side of the 210 in the 10800 block of La Tuna Canyon Road , said LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
The blaze was initially estimated at an acre or less, but a wind shift about 2 p.m. sent embers flying a quarter-mile north across the freeway, where they landed in dry brush and sparked another fire, Stewart said.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said at 5 p.m. that the fire had spread to about 500 acres, and dozens of firefighters were working on the ground to halt the forward progress of the flames.