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California Burning: Photographs from the Los Angeles Examiner

Chatsworth Brush Fires, 1957

Set behind the hazy background of burning brush, four ordinary men are seen battling flames with their shovels. The Chatsworth Brush Fires broke out on July 3, 1957, after sparks from a passing train’s engine flew onto the surrounding dry brush.[1] Flames surged from the railroad tracks up toward the area around Corriganville, thirty miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.[2] By morning, the fire had descended the slopes of the Santa Susana Pass, engulfing nearly 700 acres of land. Around 400 firefighters rushed into response but given the low humidity and the high wind speeds, they were unable to contain the flames. The fire threatened around 20 homes near the Ventura County line along with the Corriganville movie set in Simi Valley. However, because the Ventura County firemen were able to “throw back the flames” with their equipment, the homes and movie sets were left unscathed.[3]

Sadly, the fires continued throughout the night, prompting the evacuation of 400 Chatsworth residents. By morning, the fire had scorched nearly 1100 acres of land in Los Angeles County and 900 acres in Ventura County, destroying 15 homes across three suburban Chatsworth communities: Twin Lakes, Deer Lake, and Browns Canyon. In response, around 160 firemen from Ventura and Los Angeles County hurried into the entrance of the Twin Lakes community and were successful in their attempts to suppress the flames. The fires also caused transportation delays as they halted traffic on Devonshire, a street that ran through most of Chatsworth.2 Ultimately, it was the change in weather conditions that contained the fire. By the third day of firefighting, the temperature had dropped to 65 degrees, the wind speed had died down, and the humidity had risen to 40%.[4] These changes in the weather finally allowed the nearly 500 firefighters to contain the blaze. By the early morning of July 7, 1957, the fire had been extinguished, and the firefighters returned home.[5]

[1] “Three-Day Brush Fire Controlled” Cooler Weather Helps Overcome Chatsworth Blaze,” Los Angeles Times (July 7, 1957), 1. 4

[2] “Crews Fight Off Waning Fire in Canyon,” Los Angeles Times (July 6, 1957), 1. 3

[3] “Brush Fire Advances on Chatsworth Fringes: 700 Acres in Santa Susana Pass Swept by Blaze 400 Firemen Mustered on Front,” Los Angeles Times (July 4, 1957), 1. 2

[4] “15 Homes Burn, 400 Flee Canyon: 2-County Blaze Spreads,” Los Angeles Times (July 5, 1957), 1. 1

[5] “Fire Raging In Movieland,” South China Morning Post (July 4, 1957), 12.

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3. Brush fire (Rio Hondo fire), 1951 Depicted is a brush fire emerging in Rio Hondo, a tributary of Los Angeles County whose name derives from the 'deep river' - Rio Hondo - that runs parallel to the San Gabriel River. Even as an area of land named after a body of water, fires still manage to ravage the land, and the efforts to mitigate this state of emergency caused no shortage of worry and damage. The fire spread rapidly through the brushes upon it's kindling, burning more than 50 acres of land and damaging two houses within a few hours [1]. The dry climate helped propagate the fire and spread embers to rooftops where the smoldering did most of its damage [5]. While the fire fortunately maintained itself within the riverbed [4], it didn't make the lives of the Los Angeles Fire Department easy. They had to storm together a 10 unit battalion that aggregated teams from Whitter and the State Department of Forestry to contain the flame. Shown in the image is the efforts of the fire department mobilizing to eliminate the flame. To that end they were able to shut down the fire in two hours, even deploying tractors with dozer blades in order to eliminate the immediate presence of fuel. While the nature of the fire was calmed quickly, quantifiable amounts of damage were done to the surroundings, and fire fighters were dispatched throughout the night to ensure embers didn't form again [1]. Fires like these continued to strike the area, and in 2005, volunteers and Angeles Chapter Staff came together to form a campaign called the Emerald Necklace which aims to plant trees and brushes that reinstate the park experience that perhaps once existed in the area [6].
4. Chatsworth Brush Fires, 1957
14. Warner Brothers Studio Fire (Burbank), 1952

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