An explosion at a Valencia industrial park sparked a brush fire and sent at least three people to the hospital Tuesday afternoon with critical burns and other injuries.
Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel first responded to initial reports of a possible explosion on the 25100 block of Rye Canyon Loop just before 4:45 p.m., according to Supervisor Leslie Lua. Meanwhile, SCV Sheriff’s Station officials advised residents to stay clear of the area as fire crews and Hazmat units worked to conduct their investigation.
Units arriving on the scene reported a quarter-acre brush fire running uphill just before 5 p.m., Lua said.
“Three burn victims are all being transported to a local trauma center with additional injuries,” added Supervisor Ed Pickett. “We don’t know what caused it, and we are doing an investigation right now.”
Forward progress on the blaze, dubbed the #RyeFire, was halted around 5:20 p.m. at 1 acre, according to Supervising Fire Dispatcher Martin Rangel, adding that “Initial reports are that it was an explosion at a movie set.”
Later that evening, Fire Department spokesman Jonathan Matheny said he could confirm the explosion occurred “at a business within the industrial park” and not a movie set.
The location of the incident matches that of the Southern California Innovation Park, a popular movie lot filming location, according to the Santa Clarita Film Office website.
City of Santa Clarita confirmed, however, there was no permit pulled for filming Tuesday at the location given by fire officials, according to Evan Thomason, an economic development associate who leads the city’s Film Office.
SCV Sheriff’s Station spokeswoman Natalie Arriaga said she would not release the name of the business, adding the incident remained under investigation.
“At this time, the public should not be concerned,” she added, regarding any possible additional explosions.
Amy Mader, a nearby resident of the industrial park, heard the explosion and said it felt almost like an earthquake.
“I was just working from home … and there was this loud boom, and I thought it felt (as) if something were to have hit your house, like a crane or something weird,” Mader said. “I felt it through the walls.”
Mader checked to see if an earthquake had been reported in the area, only to find out shortly after from her neighbor that there were flames coming up over the hill toward her neighborhood.
“There were helicopters everywhere, just low flying … and dropping water,” she added. “I think they got the fire put out pretty fast.”
Signal Staff Writers Caleb Lunetta and Tammy Murga contributed to this report.
