The early decision to request additional ground and air resources based on the smoke visible enroute made all the difference - LAFD hit it hard and fast.

At 1:57PM on 12 June, 2018 the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported brush fire at 9808 W Portola Drive in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles.  The LAFD responded with a full brush assignment which totals approximately 50 firefighters.  The immediate request for 16 more fire engines plus 4 LA County Fire Department hand crews quickly brought the total to over 150 firefighters.

The fire was burning in a draw from west to east between Portola Dr and Yoakum Dr, towards San Ysidro Drive.  As the fire grew to over 20 acres, homes on both flanks of the fire were under immediate threat.  Facing steep and remote terrain in the valley, ground crews were placed at homes along the ridges to defend the stretch of single family dwellings at risk.  While LAFD and LACoFD helicopters began a continous rotation of water drops.  Recognizing the risk and the difficulty of the terrain, Incident Commander Assistant Chief Andrew Fox requested an additional strike team and fixed wing assests.

Over the course of the next two hours, firefighters worked tirelessly to anchor and hold the fire. Their teamwork and dedication paid off.  The fire reached over 30 acres but was held to the perimeter established and all homes were defended from any damage.  While evacuation orders were in place for an area covering 86 homes, all evacuations were lifted by 8PM.

At the peak of the incident, over 250 LAFD firefighters were working the fire and with the assisting agencies (LA County Fire Department, Santa Monica Fire Department, Culver City Fire Department, Beverly Hills Fire Department and Mountains Recreationa and Conservation Authority) to toal was over 400 firefighters.

By nightfall, the bulk of the fire was extinguished but significant mop up was required for the hot spots throughout the valley and up the hillsides.  Replacement crews arrived and continued the work through the night with LAFD Air Ops on scene to assist.  By 5:00PM on Thursday 14 June, firefighters achieved 95% containment.  Control of the incident and the final mop up transitioned to the local fire companies.

Our unmanned aerial system (UAS), commonly referred to as a 'drone' was used to closely monitor the fire overnight on the 12th, providing the Incident Commander with valuable intelligence not visible to the nake eye and allowing both a rest period for the LAFD pilots and a cost savings due to reduced flight times.  Footage from this flight can be viewed in it's entirity via LAFD YouTube channel.  The UAS continued to be used as needed and greatly assisted in the transition period to ensure the remaining work could be safely handled at the battalion level.

The cause of the fire was determined to be from a "weed eater" used during brush clearance operations.  This serves as a strong reminder for all residents to use only properly licensed contractors (list here) who adhere to the safey requirements such as no metal blades and having an extinguishing agent at hand.  The exhaust manifold can get very hot, causing a fire and it is likely this happened today.  Brush clearance is not only mandatory by city ordinance but necessary to provide firefghters the chance to defend your home. However, it's important to take the advice of our colleagues at CalFire and "Don't Do the Right thing the Wrong Way" (click link for video on safety tips for brush clearance).

While no civilians suffered injury, two LA County FD firefighters were transported for non-life threatening injuries.