Mandeville Canyon home burns as firefighters race to protect neighborhood; residents face gridlock
MANDEVILLE CANYON, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- At least one home was engulfed in flames Saturday morning in Mandeville Canyon, marking the apparent first residence to burn in that neighborhood as the Palisades Fire spread to the area west of the 405 Freeway.
Video from AIR7 showed the house burning in the 3300 block of Mandeville Canyon Road, an artery that runs parallel to the freeway near the MountainGate Country Club.
Firefighters were seen making multiple water drops in an effort to save residences in the area.
The tense development came as new evacuations were underway Saturday after the 22,660-acre Palisades Fire made a dramatic shift overnight, moving northeast to threaten the Brentwood area and the western San Fernando Valley.
The massive mandatory evacuation zone stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the west, the 405 Freeway to the east, San Vicente Boulevard to the south and the Encino Reservoir to the north.
On Saturday morning, drivers on Sunset Boulevard south of Mandeville Canyon faced gridlock as residents attempted to flee to safety.
One woman said she had been stuck in unmoving traffic for nearly two hours while heading toward a fire station to drop off donated goods for firefighters.
"There was a visibility when I first got here, a little bit of blue sky, and it has unfolded to absolutely ugliness," she said as a massive column of smoke rose above the canyon. The woman, who did not give her name, said she offered a place to stay to a woman in a vehicle in front of her, who was forced to evacuate from her home.
"It's very unfortunate that it takes something like this to bring everybody together," the good Samaritan said. "Hopefully this will continue, even after this."
Evacuation warnings were issued for the following two areas: Sunset Boulevard to the south, Mullholland Drive to the north, Bellagio Road/Roscomare Road to the east and the 405 Freeway to the west; and Mulholland/Sepulveda Boulevard to the south, the 405 Freeway to the east, Ventura Boulevard to the north and Louise Avenue to the west.
Authorities closed several off-ramps to the 405 Freeway to limit traffic in the West Los Angeles area Saturday morning, including Getty Center Drive, Skirball Center Drive, Sunset, Wilshire, Santa Monica and Olympic boulevards.
The fire was 11% contained. At least 5,316 structures have been destroyed, a number that includes automobiles, and at least 426 homes have been destroyed. Authorities said approximately 105,000 people are currently evacuated.
Five deaths have been confirmed in connection with the Palisades Fire.
