Boston’s On Fire, and so is El Sereno

Or at least some of its hills.  Fire seems to be under control now or that’s as much as I can tell by the white smoke and the fact that the helis are gone. Only question I have, why did the helicopters that practice water drops from the DWP property in Montecito Heights every weekend not actually show up when a fire broke out in the neighborhood?
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About notoriouslig

I’m a former junior high school teacher and former newspaper reporter who’s currently masquerading as a superhero (ok, maybe not) attorney. I’m fascinated by the world around me and the great (or at least amusing) thoughts it inspires.

9 thoughts on “Boston’s On Fire, and so is El Sereno

  1. Ok, helicopter’s back now, as well as the water dropping helicopter. They’re still not using Montecito Heights as a staging areas for the fire, even though the fire department likes to practice up on this hill. Can’t quite tell where the water dropper is getting its water. (Boston still up–now by 10).

  2. Correction: LAFD Twitter feed identifies area of the fire as Lincoln Park Ave. and Pomona St. More like Lincoln Heights than El Sereno, guess it just looked like El Sereno from my vantage point.

  3. While I will not return to duty until tomorrow morning for an ‘official’ answer, most fires in that area (and they are not uncommon) are readily handled by a handful of Los Angeles Fire Department ground personnel. Should the situation dictate, the LAFD Incident Commander can summon specialized staff and resources, including water-dropping helicopters. It appears as though they were not (initially?) needed to tackle this highly visual though relatively small blaze. The best news of all is that no structures were damaged and no injuries were reported.

  4. Nice first hand reporting Notorious!
    Oh, and Brian Humphreys reads this site? Awesome! Thanks for the clarification!

  5. You guys have gotten a little rain down there, haven’t you? That should have helped. I’m actually heading to LA today, and it’s funny because I was hoping it’d be sunny down there. Now, I’m hoping it rains for a couple of more days, because of the fires. Dry and windy is the last thing we need.

  6. Yes, I read this blog – time permitting (and as you may note, both on and off-duty), and admire the tone, focus and civility of the posts and comments.

    Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

    Brian Humphrey
    Firefighter/Specialist
    Public Service Officer
    Los Angeles Fire Department

  7. I’ve been told by LAFD people that when a fire is very close to the helicopter water station, they won’t use it because the smoke creates visibility problems for the pilots. This fire was just down the road from that hilltop in Montecito Heights. There’s another water pick-up stop for LAFD helicopters in the Elysian Park area. For instance, if there were a fire in Debs Park, Elysian might be the water source rather than Montecito Heights so that pilots have the best visibility for their maneuvers.

  8. Brian Humphrey is the MAN! Always on it around here.

    I was out around there walking but didn’t have my camera. It is that scary time of the year when everything is so so dry.

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