Major Fire Damages Former Site Of Acapulco Mexican Restaurant

SUN VALLEY, CA — A major fire broke out at the former site of Acapulco Mexican Restaurant Wednesday night, burning for almost four hours before firefighters managed to extinguish it. Firefighters arrived at the Sun Valley restaurant around 8:30 p.m., and escalated the event from a greater alarm to a "major emergency fire."

According to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department, firefighters were in a defensive position for about 50 minutes, "with large hand-held and ladder-elevated high-volume hose streams," but began to shift to an offensive mode about 9:45 p.m.

A full knockdown was not called until 12:24 a.m., with 111 firefighters working to tame the blaze. According to LAFD, the highly compartmentalized building sustained extensive structural damage, with an unstable exterior wall needing to be torn down by an LAFD excavator.

No injuries were reported, and nearby buildings were not damaged. Crews were joined this morning by a Search and Rescue team, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

The former restaurant, located at 8431 Sunland Blvd., has been vacant and boarded-up for over a year since relocating to Glendale.