By Katherine Quezada & Habeba Mostafa
A brush fire that broke out in Newhall, called the “Olga Fire,” was declared a second-alarm blaze that damaged structures Saturday afternoon, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.
Fire personnel responded to initial reports of a 1-acre brush fire at Grape Lily Circle and Valle Del Oro that was running uphill in medium fuel.
The blaze quickly grew near structures on Saturday minutes before noon, said Martin Rangel, supervising fire dispatcher with the L.A. County Fire Department, during initial reports.
The fire was knocked down at 12:34 p.m. and burned a total of 1.4 acres, said Melanie Flores, a spokeswoman with the agency.
The cause of the fire is unknown as of the publication of this story, but the blaze quickly grew in size, forcing personnel with the Fire Department to have Valle Del Oro to be shut down.
An apartment on Grape Lily Circle caught fire, with two victims and two animals being extricated. The extent of the injuries was not immediately known, but the rescued victims were not transported to the hospital, confirmed Flores.
An additional truck was requested for an attic fire on Grape Lily Circle, and a total of two apartment units were directly affected due to the blaze.
One neighbor said she went to the second floor to check on her neighbor’s cats. They were frightened inside the closet and wouldn’t come out, according to the report from the scene. The residents from the same unit were able to rescue their two dogs.
The residents of the unit came back to retrieve their two cats and check on their belongings, and said that they were initially trapped in their apartment due to the fire reaching their balcony, and igniting gas canisters. The residents said firefighters kicked down their front door to allow them to escape.
Oscar Sol contributed to this report.
