Evacuation warning lifted for brush fire near Encino Reservoir; water drops halt flames' progress

ENCINO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A brush fire scorched a few acres of terrain near the Encino Reservoir and Sepulveda Basin on Tuesday afternoon, briefly prompting evacuation warnings for some residents and an aerial response from firefighters who performed water drops to halt the flames' progress.

The fire was reported shortly before 12:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of North Encino Avenue, south of Ventura Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

In a later update, LAFD said forward progress was declared stopped at 2:16 p.m. The fire held at five acres. Crews will remain at the scene for several hours for mop-up until 100% containment of the burned area is reached.

No injuries were reported.

An evacuation warning was briefly in place for residents surrounding the Encino Reservoir. Residents were being asked to prepare to evacuate before the warning was lifted about an hour and a half later.

LAFD initially believed that the forward spread of the fire had been quickly stopped at about a half-acre, but the blaze jumped ahead and advanced toward homes on nearby Coronet Drive. Multiple water-dropping helicopters were summoned to the scene to help douse the flames -- aided by the proximity of the reservoir.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews were called out for downed wires in the area.

The cause of the fire was unknown.

City News Service contributed to this report.