Thanks to a quick response by firefighters, multi-million-dollar homes along Corona del Mar were saved from a threatening hillside blaze Saturday afternoon. The fire started just above Pacific Coast Highway, west of Chautauqua Boulevard, and worked its way up steep, brush-covered terrain below the Huntington Palisades pocket park overlooking Santa Monica Bay. The most probable cause of the fire was a homeless encampment cooking fire that got out of control, according to Captain Graham Everett, Battalion Nine Chief. The fire is still under investigation by the arson squad. Nora Lerer, who lives on Corona del Mar, was having lunch with friends on her patio when she saw smoke on the hillside below. She called 911 and then ran to get a hose. Within minutes, she heard an explosion. ‘The fire took off quickly after that; it shot up the hillside,’ Lerer said. ‘I’m guessing the explosion was a propane tank or a Coleman cooking stove that belonged to one of the homeless who live on the hillside.’ A firefighter from Station 69 came to Lerer’s backyard and the two of them hosed down her backyard. Other residents gathered at the overlook and watched the firefighters’ progress. Carol Smolinisky, who lives on Corona del Mar across the street from where the fire burned, was inside her house when the smoke alarm went off. When she opened her front door, she saw flames. ‘There was no time to do anything. It was frightening,’ she said. ‘It seemed like my husband I might have to grab the dog we were babysitting and run.’ Firefighters from Fire Stations 23, 69, and 19 and a Santa Monica engine company waged a campaign on the steep and hilly terrain, fighting from the highway, atop the bluff and in the air. Four camp crews also were on the scene, along with three helicopters. According to Station 69 firefighter Mark Koenig, the fire was contained to four acres. ‘Everyone was there quickly and there was an aggressive attack on the blaze,’ he said. Everett said the crews were able to keep the fire out of a grove of eucalyptus trees, which was important. ‘The trees have a lot of oil content and burn real well once they get going,’ he said. The trees will ‘explode,’ sending embers and leaves flying. The camp crews also played an important role. ‘On a burn line, they cut a line, and clear a fresh dirt line, so that we know the fire is out,’ Everett explained. ‘They’re used exclusively in the brush setting; they take the fire fuel out, by using chainsaws and other tools.’ In addition to the two water-dropping helicopters (which refueled at a hydrant at Will Rogers State Historic Park), a third helicopter functioned as a command ship. Typically in fires, a helicopter acts as a control tower and conducts the air operations, as well as communicating to the command center. ‘We did a lot of water drops,’ Everett said. Although there was an offshore flow, wind was not a factor in this fire. Another plus for firefighters was the location, close to the ocean. ‘That area gets a lot of moisture every night, just from being off the water,’ Everett said. ‘There was heavy smoke, but it was because it was burning ‘green’ material, not like the dry underbrush at Porter Ranch fire, where once it started burning, it was ‘off to the races.” The 1:52 p.m. fire caused Pacific Coast Highway to be shut down for several hours, with the eastbound lanes being reopened at 4:45 p.m; and the westbound lanes 45 minutes later. When asked about brush clearance in the fire area, Everett said that clearance has been done around and below the homes on Corona del Mar. He wasn’t sure who owned the land below these homes, but said it was not in code violation.
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