Brush fire erupts near Encino Reservoir; water drops from LAFD helicopters 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, prompting an aerial response from firefighters who performed water drops to halt the flames' progress.

The fire briefly threatened some nearby homes, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

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 and 100% containment of the burned area is reached.

LAFD initially believed that the forward spread of the fire had been quickly stopped at about a half-acre, but the blaze spotted 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.

The cause of the fire was unknown.

City News Service contributed to this report.