http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-fire31mar31,1,4997143.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
Hillside fire threatens landmark, fouls the air
The blaze quickly burns 160 acres in the Hollywood Hills but stops short of signature sign. Two teens admit starting it, mayor says.
By Rong-Gong Lin II and Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writers
March 31, 2007
Photo from LA Times and User-submitted photo by: PhotoMatt
A fast-moving brush fire cut a path through bone-dry terrain in the Hollywood Hills on Friday, churning massive plumes of smoke across the region that slowed traffic, jangled nerves and for a time threatened the Hollywood sign.
The 160-acre blaze, the largest in the heavily populated Hollywood Hills in nearly two decades, consumed brushland above the Warner Bros. Studio and Forest Lawn cemetery.
The fire occurred in what is usually Southern California's rainy season and comes as the region is experiencing its driest year on record. Firefighters warned that they expect the fire danger to remain high through the spring.
Witnesses told authorities they saw two teenagers setting off fireworks about 1 p.m. near the Oakwood apartments, a temporary housing village near several major studios frequented by people in the entertainment business.
Three hours later, two teenagers from Illinois who were visiting the Oakwood turned themselves in to police and admitted starting the blaze, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. The boys, ages 16 and 17, were detained by LAPD officers on suspicion of reckless setting of a fire and then released to their parents' custody, pending possible prosecution.
"They were old enough to know what they were doing," said Villaraigosa, adding that the boys first told their parents about setting the fire before together calling police.