Calabasas fire investigated

The city of Calabasas is offering a $500 reward for information on how a brush fire began on a hill near Eddingham Avenue Monday afternoon.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the threeacre fire appeared to be caused by fireworks.

"People in the area reported a popping sound," said Dep. Robert DeSantis of the Lost Hills Sheriff's Department. "It could've been fireworks, but brush fires also cause a popping noise."

DeSantis said the fire is still under investigation.

Eddingham Avenue resident John Leekley said he first spotted the blaze behind a neighbor's house when he was coming home Monday afternoon. He and other neighbors immediately tried to protect their properties by using hoses to water down the nearby brush.

"(Leekley) found out that nobody was home (at the house near the fire) and he went into their backyard and hosed that brush fire to the best of his ability to protect that home until the fire department got there," said

Mary Sue Maurer, Calabasas City Council member. Maurer lives in the neighborhood.

"People all came together and were very supportive," Leekley said. "One family was out there passing out water. It really showed how a neighborhood came together."

According to Jeff Barry from Station No. 68 in Calabasas, firefighters responded to the blaze at 12 p.m. and had the fire out by 2:45 p.m. Almost 30 fire units responded, including two Los Angeles County helicopters dropping water on the blaze and two female inmate crews clearing the brush. No structures were damaged, Barry said.

"We all know how serious fires can be in this area," said Deborah Stellar, Calabasas Media Operations Director. "The city council and the city want people to know that we're taking this (fire) very seriously."

For any information you might have about how the fire started, call the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station detective bureau at (818) 878-1808.

-Michael Picarella