PACIFIC PALISADES—The Los Angeles Fire Department has contained the Palisades fire. The total burned area was determined to be across 1,202 acres.
Firefighters have been working on containing the fire for the past two weeks. It started on May 14 as a small brush fire was spotted and LAFD officials were called onto the scene. Around 60 crew members arrived to put the fire out which was in an area where the humidity was high and there wasn’t wind. The fire initially had burned 10 acres of land, but it was slowly progressing even with efforts to put it out.
The process to extinguish the fire was extensive because of the remote location. There were no roads or fire hydrants near. New fire engines and crew members rotated in the mornings because of how big the fire was and how hard the terrain was to navigate through. The LAFD fire helicopters were called on the second day to do water drops on to help crew members on the scene.
The size of the fire determined that more fire crews were needed. The LAFD, Cal-FIRE, LA County Fire, and the Ventura Co Fire Department were either on the site or doing water drops from the helicopters above. LAFD Arson Investigators were also taking measures to determine the cause of the fire. Mandatory evacuations were set into place by the LAFD on May 15 and remained in effect until the afternoon of May 18.
LAFD Arson Investigators questioned and then arrested Ramon Santos Rodriguez on Sunday, May 16, after being seen starting other fires. He was charged with one felony count for arson of a structure or forest, and arson during a state of emergency. He was being held on a $75,000 bond.
By Wednesday, May 26, firefighters were able to contain the fire 100 percent. They remained on scene patrolling the area and making sure each hotspot was completely extinguished. Due to the continuous efforts of firefighters, there were no homes damaged, and no civilians were harmed.
