Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 9

Burbank Crews Contain 40-Acre Walnut Fire 70% as Crash Probe Focuses on Burned Car

Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 9

Burbank Crews Contain 40-Acre Walnut Fire 70% as Crash Probe Focuses on Burned Car

Q: What crucial evidence links a mysterious hillside car crash to the sudden 40-acre inferno threatening Burbank?

The key evidence is the timing and the burned vehicle at the fire’s point of origin. Officials said a single-vehicle crash was reported near 1200 E. Harvard Road about three minutes before the Walnut Fire was first called in on the Verdugo hillside. At the scene, witnesses and news crews saw a burned-out car, and police detained the driver. That close sequence of events, combined with the vehicle fire, is the main factual link investigators are examining. Additional reporting goes further: Burbank police told CBS Los Angeles that when officers arrived at the crash, the car’s occupants were already out, but the vehicle itself had caught fire, and the flames quickly spread from the car to the adjacent hillside. Video from the scene showed the charred car lodged off Harvard Road behind a tree, reinforcing that the crash and ignition happened in the same area where the brush fire started. So while the cause remains officially under investigation, the strongest evidence tying the crash to the 40-acre fire is that the car was burning immediately before the wildfire erupted, in virtually the same location and within minutes of the first fire report.

3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 9

Forward progress on the 40-acre Walnut Fire was stopped by 7:10 p.m., with crews reporting 70% containment after the blaze threatened hillsides above Burbank homes.
A single-vehicle crash reported on E. Harvard Road about three minutes before the first fire call is being investigated as a possible cause; the driver was detained and a burned car was seen at the scene.
Steep terrain and limited access complicated firefighting, and one firefighter was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Evacuation orders for DeBell Restaurant and Golf Course and Stough Canyon Nature Center, along with a warning for nearby streets, were later lifted.
Hiking trails remain closed, Saturday's Starlight Bowl concert was canceled, and crews are expected to stay through Sunday for containment and mop-up.