The early a.m. fire in Temescal Canyon Park was rapidly put out.
A fire broke out in Temescal Gateway Park, just north of the historic dining hall in a heavily wooded area, near a trash receptacle, around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
According to Station 69 firefighters first on the scene, two people in the area disappeared into the night. Most likely the fire was a homeless warming fire.
Firefighters said they were lucky that the embers were going straight up, and the wind wasn’t blowing. This is a reminder to residents that if there’s a wind, the embers can easily travel a mile or further. The fire could have easily spread to the Marquez area, firemen told Circling the News.
“There was no wind last night,” said Station 69 Captain Robert Bates. “Thank goodness we didn’t have the wind we had on Monday.”
It took firefighters about two hours to extinguish the blaze, which was contained on about a half-acre of land inside the park.
Firefighters remind people that the brush is incredibly dry right now and that anyone sees someone camping or doing something illegal, please call 311.
This was the second homeless fire in less than two days. Station 69 was called to a small brush fire on the bluffs below Corona del Mar on Friday at 10:51 a.m. They were able to contain the cooking fire that had gotten out of control in a brushy area about 30 ft. by 30 ft. Once again there was no wind, and firefighters were able to quell the flames rapidly.