Zoo L.A. is closed and animals evacuated as flares in Griffith Park

Officials at the Los Angeles Zoo closed the facility on Friday and were preparing to evacuate animals when a fire burned in Griffith Park.

The zoo's lemurs were among the first animals released, park staff said. Staff also evacuated the exposed animals as well as some smaller species.

Officials said the first indications were that the smoke from the fire did not pose health problems for the animals, but that staff continued to monitor the conditions.

In addition to preparing the animals for evacuation, workers watered the areas most exposed to flames. Staff members said that they could see the fire from their offices, but they were not evacuated.

The fire, which projected smoke plumes in the air as thick brush, was spotted shortly before 8 am, near fire routes, hiking trails and discharge in an isolated part of Griffith Park. said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Peter Sanders.

The authorities said that firefighters could not go into the area and that the teams would then go to the park to establish combat lines and determine how to bring water to the fire. Others were posted on the zoo parking lot, waiting to be deployed.

But with little wind to complicate their efforts, firefighters spent the morning turning off the burning hot spots outside the zoo with pipes and shovels. The landscape was black and charred gray and low-flying helicopters were buzzing overhead.

An hour after the start of the fire, several helicopters dropping water from cities, counties and private contracts gravitated around the park to try to bring down the flames.

At about 9:30 am, the fire had reached about 30 acres, Sanders said. "There is no wind here, unlike Ventura [County]Said Sanders, referring to the conditions in which crews face a very fast fire threatening thousands of homes in the west.

"Our current priority is to protect the property of the zoo," he said.

Although the fire produced a thick smoke plume visible over a large area, it did not threaten any structures by mid-morning, Sanders said.

The fire services, Captain Alfred Leon and his crew took a break after digging lines of containment when the scrub behind their trucks began to crackle and smoke.

"Hey Cap, there is something that works here!" a firefighter screamed.

Leon and his team then toured the dusty ridge and climbed onto it, where they began throwing water into the bush.

"We are surrounded by a big metropolis, scrub, wild animals and a difficult terrain – it's a real challenge."

UPDATES:

10h30: This article has been updated with scenes of the fight and additional details provided by zoo officials.

10:10: This article has been updated with pictures of the fire.

9:35: This article has been updated with the new area numbers.

8:40: This article has been updated with additional information on fire reaction and area burned.

9am: This article has been updated with information about some animals evacuated to the zoo.

9:10: This article has been updated with the details of the scene.

This article was published at 7:50 am