A grass fire briefly threatened to disrupt the flow of traffic near the 170 Freeway in North Hollywood on Thursday afternoon, officials said. The fire, reported just before 3:45 p.m. adjacent to the freeway near Chandler Boulevard and the North Hollywood Recreation Center, was swiftly extinguished by the Los Angeles Fire Department. According to a KTLA report, the blaze took firefighters approximately 23 minutes to put out.
Due to the incident, drivers experienced some slow-down in the area as crews remained on-site for mop-up operations. "There are no structures threatened however drivers should take caution due to smoke in the area while crews work towards extinguishment and mop up remaining hot spots," the Los Angeles Fire Department advised in an alert, a statement obtained by KTLA. Traffic was particularly affected on WB Chandler at the 170 FY, but no injuries were reported.
The Fire Department's alert, as posted on the LAFD's website, detailed the response with Fire Station 60 and Battalion 14 leading the Valley Bureau's effort in Council District 2. Teams worked swiftly to isolate and contain the fire. In an update, the fire department's Margaret Stewart said, "Firefighters isolated, contained and extinguished the fire in 23 minutes with no injuries reported."
After the fire was knocked down, clean-up continued. According to the LAFD, firefighters were expected to remain on scene for around 90 minutes following extinguishment. Drivers were asked to "proceed slowly and follow traffic officer directives," as stated in a LAFD alert. While the incident was a minor disruption to the daily commute, the effective response of LAFD crews prevented any significant damage or lasting impact on North Hollywood's traffic flow.
