Firefighters quickly halted a brush fire off Sierra Highway in Canyon Country Monday afternoon.
The fire was first reported at 12:52 p.m., northeast of the intersection of Sierra Highway and Skyline Ranch Road, according to Franklin Lopez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The blaze broke out in light grass and was initially reported at 12:55 p.m. to be 1 acre in size and creeping uphill.
The fire was dubbed the #SkylineIC and no structures were immediately threatened, Lopez said.
By 1:15 p.m., forward progress was reportedly stopped at 1 1/2 acres, added Fire Department representative Charisma Murillo.
Canyon Country residents Danny Ventura and Jennifer Lydick saw the blaze as they were driving past and stopped to call 911.
“There were huge flames,” Lydick said, adding that at one point, she witnessed a firefighter’s hose line catch fire.
Meanwhile, residents of a nearby apartment complex got out their hoses as flames quickly approached the buildings.
“It was like 12 feet away from us,” Kirsten Dishington said. “It was so close.”
Other residents had three hoses going and even brought out a fire extinguisher.
While this was the closest some of the newer residents had ever gotten to a wildfire, Shirley Aiachi, who’s lived in the complex for around 20 years, said she’s seen the flames get even closer still.
“That’s why I didn’t panic,” Aiachi added. “I was scared for the people here, not myself. I worry about my neighbors more than anything else.”
Moreover, it was the firefighters’ quick response in halting the blaze that impressed residents of the complex.
“They are the best,” Aiachi said. “I don’t know how to thank them. They said, ‘This is our job.’”
Signal Staff Writer Emily Alvarenga contributed to this report.
