Fires in the Los Angeles area are pushing residents – and some animals – to evacuate, as the result of two fires raging on both the western and eastern edges of the Los Angeles area.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has up-to-date evacuation information, including evacuation center locations, on their emergency information website.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available. 

Brush fire in Griffith Park 

The Los Angeles Zoo, one of the top tourist spots in the city, was closed Friday due to flames that erupted in early morning in “steep terrain” beyond the Zoo, according to Los Angeles Fire Dept. spokesman David Ortiz.

Staffers moved out small primates and birds who normally live in open air environment to a spot where they could breathe easier.

The smell of smoke outside the Zoo was noticeable.

The Zoo is part of the large Griffith Park, which remained open Friday. The city’s number one tourist attraction, according to DiscoverLA, the Observatory, is in Griffith Park.

In a statement, the zoo said it has also switched on its sprinkler system and started hosing down the hillside by hand.

“It does not appear that the smoke is causing any issues for the animals but on-site staff is monitoring the conditions,” the statement said. “Given the limited access to the park, the Zoo will be closed to the public today.”  

Fire expected contained by 8 p.m. Friday

Los Angeles Fire Department Cpt. Scott Larue said the fire in Griffith Park has no active flames, but that there are remaining hot spots that may become flames. The fire is 10 percent contained, meaning firefighters have a hose surrounding 10 percent of the 30-acre area.

Larue said they expect the fire to be fully contained by 8 p.m. tonight. The zoo will remain closed for the day, but has not been damaged. Although some roads around the park are closed, Larue said the park itself is open.

He said crews will be on site for the next few days, keeping an eye on the area to make sure it doesn’t flame back up.

The Los Angeles Fire Department also tweeted updates on the brush fire in Griffith Park. As of 11:15 am, one LAFD firefighter has been transported to the hospital with a non-life threatening injury.

The department previously reported that over 127 LAFD firefighters were on the scene and that firefighters had encountered “difficult terrain” as they reached the fire.

More: Camp Fire: No stranger to fires, Paradise, California, had cheated death twice before

More: Fires across California have forced 157,000 people from their homes; number of deaths not known

SIGN UP FOR FACEBOOK NEWS ALERTS: Message us here to get started

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Interested in article like this? Subscribe to DesertSun.com

Visitors disappointed

Julia Sharma, 36, was sitting in the zoo parking lot around 12:30 p.m. with her sister and two-year-old son. Sharma, of Fresno, said her son “will be so disappointed because he wanted to feed the baby giraffe.” Instead, the group will probably spend the day at the observatory and Travel Town, the railway museum.

Another visitor, Angie Westika, 43, of New Mexico, had planned to spend the day at the zoo before attending an event nearby. She hoped she could return to the zoo this weekend if it reopens while she’s still in town.

Woolsey Fire

The Woolsey Fire, which started on Thursday afternoon south of Simi Valley, jumped Highway 101, and has spread to 10,000 acres.

More: Wind-driven wildfires close major Southern California highways and roadways

Evacuations

The city of Malibu is under mandatory evacuation, as are all areas south of the 101 freeway and the Ventura County line to Las Virgenes / Malibu Canyon, and southward to the ocean. Malibu city officials advised residents to evacuate using the Pacific Coast Highway, avoiding canyons.

Mandatory evacuations are in effect in the following areas as of 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning, according to Ventura County authorities:

• Bell Canyon – Saddlebow Road between Maverick Lane and Morgan Road
• Oak Park
• Thousand Oaks – T.O. Blvd north to Sunset Hills, from Oak Park west to Highway 23
• West of Highway 23 – south of E. Olsen Road, north of Pederson Road
• South of Bard Lake, east of Highway 23
• South of Highway 101, east of Reino Road, north of Potrero Road, east to the Los Angeles/Ventura County line

In a tweet, the Los Angeles County Fire Department warned that Malibu lakes residents “must leave area immediately.”

More: ‘It’s scary:’ Malibu under evacuation as Woolsey fire spreads

Susan Cain Tellem, who lives in the city, wrote on her Facebook page: “Time to leave,” with a photo of a plume of smoke looming over Malibu.

‘I’m staying put’

Craig Foster, Malibu’s only representative on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, said he was staying put in his home in East Malibu in Carbon Canyon near Fire Station 70, just outside the evacuation zone.

“We got evacuated in the 2008 fire. This one is somehow scarier. It’s really thrashed the communities north of us,” Foster said.

He said, for the kids in the community, the fire seems to be headed toward the densest part of Malibu.

“I’m staying put. You’re in it or not in it. It’s all about wind direction. If you can smell the smoke, the fire is headed your way,” Foster said. “We don’t smell any smoke. We see it heading southwest.”

Gridlock traffic

Elizabeth Anthony said she was glad she evacuated when she did, at 7:20 a.m., from her home on Point Dume in Malibu. She was still driving, 2 ½ hours later on Pacific Coast Highway, inching along in gridlock traffic with her two dogs and a car full of keepsakes.

“I feel good that I’m away from this huge plume of smoke,” she said. “It’s scary.”

A few neighbors told her they were staying. She evacuated on her own, with her family out of town.

“When the firefighters say go, I go,” she said.

The wind was blowing fiercely overnight but seemed calmer as she was driving on Pacific Coast Highway.

“I’m hoping for the best,” Anthony said. “I’m certainly worried. I’m hoping the fire wouldn’t cross PCH on Point Dume where we live. It’s not to say it wouldn’t.”

Her husband, Pete Anthony, said it was hard to be away from home.

“She’s stressed out as hell. But she has the dogs,” Anthony said of his wife, adding that he has fire insurance. “We’re covered.”

Famed movie set burned

Western Town, a Paramount Ranch film set in Agoura, has burned, according to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The set has been used to film movies and television shows starring Bob Hope, Sandra Bullock and more. 

Smoke advisory

The Department of Public Health in Los Angeles County issued an air quality advisory due to smoke from the Woolsey Fire. 

 

Read or Share this story: https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2018/11/09/griffith-park-fire-la-zoo-prepares-animal-evacuations/1942880002/