The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-11-25

onltIeyE Nln 11|1n1rr1 making their homes in MardegilIe c6r}oh.
 They were reading to move ort their ppsseealnub if the fire sWeets down the detiIe.
 The flames end9nsering the Bei- Air suburb were on ths znithehst front of q brush fire tl19t has been raging out Of control sii1ob TnGsda1 in q200-suuare mile area Of tlfe Santa Monica mountains to the northwest of Los Ahgeles and HUl- lywood.
 On the west front the fire swept to the sea, burning hundreds of homes and leaving the strand deso- lated for miles with the ruins Of beach cottages. In other directions the fire was eating into untnhabited brushlAnd the Sullivan AGand deville Canyon area was the one relnain- ing danger spot.
 l5 Miles From Downtown
 Approximately 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the two can- yons open onto Sunset Boulevard, g main artery cutting through Holly wnod. They begin up the brnshy slopes where the fire was raging.
 Vaudeville Canyon IS dotted with the estates and fanches of movie rlotables throughout its three-mile length. Others are at the mouth of Sullivan Canyon.
 Just oyer the ridge, Rustic Can yorl was a furnace. Flrelnen stati0t1- ed along the shoulder Wetted down the brush from water tanks placed there for such an emergency. Sparks shot over them and a small area of Sullivan Canyon was ahlaze.
 Fire Chief Ralph Scott said if the fire gained ground in Sullivan Cah-- yon they would be helpless to hold 1t. There are no roadS and no wa ter supply. The 100O-foot walls of the deflle are too steep for fire fighting crews to work from them. Scott was confident, however, that the flames would be kept from reaching the inhabited canyon mouth where Actress Elissa Landfs home is located.
 Vaudeville Canyon IS well sup- piled with high pressure water mains and roads. 1
 Many Homes Gone
 Many movie people had lost rls- tic homes further back in the mountains. Among them were Mad eleine Carroll and Otto Carill0, brO- ther of the actor Leo Carillo.
 Flames reached almost to the doorsteps of Virginia Bruce, Miriam Hopkins, and Director Frank Bor- gage, and for a time the mansions had been reported burned. The former home of Lionel Atwill, Brit isll actor, was destroyed, and fears for his safety arose until it was learned that he had moved. Then his new home next door to Mary Astor was threatened and Mrs. At will said they were packed and ready to leave If the flames came closer.
 Fire encircled 30 firemen and an unidentified woman at the Rustic Canyon ranch of Anatol Josepho, millionaire inventor of the dime -in- slot photographic machine. They fought the flames with hoses fed from the swimming pool and kept a semi-circle island of unburned area surrounding the buildings. Fire trucks ran 8 gantlet of flaming roads to the island. The wuinarl made coffee for the fighters. Later the fire burned itself out along the roadway.
 Near Will Rogers Estste
 Flames had whipped around the Josepho ranch after sweeping so close to the Will Rogers estate that for 8 time it was feared doomed.
 will Rogers, Jr., and party of young friends moved out the furni- ture and his fathers relics, including his silver mounted saddles. Actor Bruce Cabot and his wife and neigh bors went to Rogers aid. Leo Car- rillo galloped to the ranch on 8 white horse from his home nearby. The flames were beaten back and Rogers helped his mother, Mrs. Bet ty Rogers, replace the furnishings.
 There were no deaths but many narrow escapes. Ten Venice City firemen trapped in Santa Ynez Cam yon lay on their faces to escape the Suffocating smoke for three hours before the firS veered from them.
 we feared our last moment had come," said Fireman Alvin Hull.
 Firemen Use Force
 Firemen had to use force to evac- uate grandmother, daughter, and young grand daughter from man. sion in Pacific Palisades. After re- moving the family, the Bremen saved the home, but not until the flames came so close that flreHlen Henry Marritt's canvas coat caught fire.
 There were reports of footing among the abandoned homes, from which the residents had lied, and in the ruins of the estimated 600 homes and cabins destroyed by the blaze. Two youths found poking among the ashes supposedly in search of melted jewelry were taken into custody and later turned ever to their parents. The sherid's ofice sent special guards into the areas as soon as suhsiding flames permitted.
 Chief Scott described 1t as the ''worst fire in the history of the a.l SSa~an AA.kW