A fire in the hills west of the Getty Museum destroyed a Brentwood home Monday and damaged another about two hundred feet away.
The home's owners, a 95-year-old man identified as UCLA Professor Emeritus Byron Wright and a 90-year-old woman were hospitalized with minor injuries but were listed in good condition, according to Los Angeles Fire Department assistant chief Andy Fox.
The pair were reportedly pulled from the burning home by two neighbors. Neighbor Jesse Muro ran to the house to help Wright and the woman escape, and the two of them initially wouldn't leave because they couldn't locate their dog.
Eventually Muro pursuaded them to leave and when they did, their dog "Boomer" also came out of the house.
One neighbor said Muro's quick action saved the pair.
"Another couple of minutes and there was a very good chance of them not making it," he said.
Firefighters arrived at the scene Monday to find the home at 1225 Chickory Lane engulfed in flames.
"The building's a total loss," Assistant Chief Fox said, noting it was too unsafe for firefighters to enter. He said the blaze burned through the floor into the attic.
A nearby home at 12256 Canna Road did not catch fire but was damaged from the smoke, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Shawn Lenske. Firefighters worked to protect it from sustaining more damage.
The fire was reported at 11:41 a.m., Lenske said. Two water-dropping helicopters were used to extinguish the fires, as well as 13 fire companies, three ambulances, 95 firefighters and two battalion chiefs, Fox said. The house fire was extinguished in about an hour and the second brush fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes. At 1 p.m., firefighters were still putting out hot spots.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Resident Martin Gelber said he knows Wright and had been trying to get him to trim his brush overgrowth for almost 10 years. Gelber, who's lived in the Brentwood neighborhood for nearly 40 years, said he was in line at a salad bar Monday when he got a call that his home on Canna Road might be in fire danger.
"Thank God they're safe," Gelber said. "It's scary."
A red flag warning was in effect Monday morning, with Santa Ana winds from 20-50 miles per hour expected in the Santa Monica Mountains until Tuesday night.
Twitter user Jordan Winter (@MrJordanWinter) submitted a photo of smoke seen in the area.
This article was compiled with information from City News Service. Patch editor Sara Fay contributed to this report.
Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.
