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ENCINO, LOS ANGELES () — As crews battled a brush fire near the Encino Reservoir on Tuesday afternoon, prompting evacuation warnings for residents, a drone reportedly hit a police helicopter, forcing an emergency landing.
The eight-acre brush fire came dangerously close to homes near the reservoir and Sepulveda Basin. It was first 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.
LAFD Chief Jaime Moore said the cause of the fire is believed to be down power lines in the area.
“What they found was about a 50×50 spot fire that was believed to have been caused by some power line that came down. Our firefighters immediately did an aggressive attack. We have our crews, hand crews, here as well, and they were mopping up that fire when, just up the hillside, another spot fire broke out because of the energized power line that hit the ground there,” Moore said. “They immediately left that 50×50 spot and went up to that other fire, which was associated with this fire only because it was the same power line.”
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.
A brush fire scorched a few acres of terrain near the Encino Reservoir and Sepulveda Basin on Tuesday, prompting an aerial response from LAFD helicopters.
Though the fire remained small and was knocked down fairly quickly by fire crews, their efforts were impacted by an incident involving a drone in the area.
Water-dropping choppers were brought in to help keep the fire from spreading. The Los Angeles Police Department said a drone smacked into one of its helicopters, which was dispatched to the scene of the fire. Police said the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing.
“We were just informed shortly, about five minutes ago, that our airship was hit by a drone and had to make an emergency landing over at Van Nuys Airport. Everybody is OK, as far as we know. They are just going to do checks for damage and the safety of the crew,” said Capt. Brian Wendling with LAPD. “I know people are curious, but curiosity can cause danger.”
The mayor had a no-holds-barred message for the drone operator.
“I will say that it is completely unacceptable and illegal to fly drones like this, and we had that incident in previous fires as well. If you remember, in the Palisades, it hit one of the helicopters, and so the message is — this is unacceptable,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “If we find out who you are, you will be arrested, and you will be prosecuted. So any lookie-loos out there, this is very dangerous to everyone.”
No injuries were reported in the fire. In total, 153 firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
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