Crime & Safety

Brush Fire Burns 5 Acres At Wetlands, Oil Field In Playa Del Rey

Firefighters knocked down a brush fire in Playa del Rey at the Ballona Wetlands and Playa del Rey oil field Tuesday, LAFD officials said.

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A water-dropping helicopter fights the fire at the Ballona Wetland and Playa del Rey oil storage field Tuesday during a brush fire that scorched five acres. (Courtesy of Rick Pine)
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Firefighters were battling a brush fire near the Ballona Wetlands and Playa del Rey oil storage facility Tuesday afternoon. (Courtesy of Rhonda Scott)

PLAYA DEL REY, CA — Firefighters battled a five-acre, heavy brush fire at the Ballona Wetlands and Playa del Rey oil storage facility Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

ALSO: Arson Investigators Examine 5 Acres Scorched In Playa Brush Fire

The fire was contained to the brush area along the Ballona Creek and it took about two hours and 54 firefighters to knock down the flames at 6:33 p.m., according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.

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Ground crews worked with water-dropping helicopters to hit the pockets of fire along the limited access area, Stewart said.

Smoke covered the area near the fire, blocking the view of the Santa Monica Mountains just a few blocks south of Loyola Marymount University. Ashes from the fire were reported falling in nearby Santa Monica.

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Playa del Rey brush fire
A view of the brush fire Tuesday from Marina City Club. (Courtesy of Hanala Sagal)

The fire was reported near the Ballona Wetlands ecological reserve and Playa del Rey oil field storage facility at 5701 Lincoln Blvd. about 3:32 p.m., Stewart said. It was moving at a slow rate of speed under low wind conditions and initially started as a trash fire.

Wind gusts were expected to reach 15 to 25 mph in the area, according to the National Weather Service. Drivers were urged to avoid the area while police blocked traffic at Jefferson Boulevard, near Culver Boulevard. A crowd was reportedly stopping to gather near the fire.

The burn area is owned by the State Lands Commission, Marcia Hanscom of the Sierra Club told Patch. It is also one of the areas where documented nests have been discovered of the endangered songbird Least Bell’s Vireo.

The Playa del Rey oil storage field is operated by Southern California Gas Company. Residents are demanding that Los Angeles leaders shut down the Playa del Rey oil storage facility located at the Ballona Wetlands before a blowout happens — and before it's too late.

The Culver City Council and Los Angeles City Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Paul Koretz this month pressured SoCalGas to close its facility, saying that the area is heavily populated and the site could present danger for residents. It's been compared to Aliso Canyon, also known as Porter Ranch, where one of the largest gas blowout in the history of the U.S. happened.

The Playa del Rey oil storage facility used to be an active oil field with 29 active gas wells, including eight that were originally drilled in the 1930s. The field extends far beyond the borders of SoCalGas' property, beneath the wetlands, and all the way to the marina.

Ethan Senser from Food & Water Watch, a grassroots group pushing for clean energy policies and aiming to end oil drilling in residential neighborhoods, described why the call to close this site is growing.

"So the danger of gas migrating and causing a blowout or seeping up to the surface isn't just located or limited to SoCalGas' facility," Senser said. "It extends much further."

RELATED: Is It Time To Shut Down The Playa Del Rey Oil Storage Facility?

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