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About 9 p.m., police and firefighters were knocking on doors along Dundee Drive, crowded with police vehicles and firetrucks, looking for stragglers hesitant to leave their homes. They escorted one elderly couple out of their house and loaded them into a police SUV.
The night sky was filled with embers and ash as flames danced on a nearby ridgetop above the neighborhood. Winds continued to push the blaze down toward the homes.
"Come on, come on, you gotta go," authorities said as they walked up and down the street.
-Paul Pringle
The fire has now consumed more than 300 acres, and fire officials said they have lost ground on containment. Just before 9 p.m., containment was at 20-25%. Two hours earlier, it was at 30%
Officials had expected that with nightfall, moist air from the ocean would flow in, aiding their efforts. But instead, the hot winds continued, blowing in different direction.
-Rong-Gong Lin II
About 8 p.m., fire officials called a mandatory evacuation of heavily populated Commonwealth Avenue, Dundee Drive and Dundee Place, which backs up against the hills. Shooting flames could be seen above the neighborhood, hit by power outages, as water-dropping helicopters swirled in and around banks of smoke.
"It just exploded," said Michael Widman, 46, who lives on Commonwealth Avenue and was packing up pictures and computers as he prepared to evacuate. "I don't see how they're going to knock it down. It's a shame."
Widman, who is originally from New York and moved into the neighborhood five years ago, said he had watched the fire for about an hour and thought it was under control when it flared up again.
"I'm done with LA," he said.
Karl Amlauer, 81, who has lived on nearby Dundee Drive for 46 years said this is the first time he has had to evacuate. He said the fire had been calm and then suddenly started raging.
"It happened so fast," Amlauer said. "I thought it was almost over and all of a sudden here it is."
Amlauer and his wife were loading up their BMW hatchback with pictures, antique clocks and clothes.
"You can't take everything," he said.
Said another resident who heeded the fire warnings and jumped into his Range Rover: "You gotta do what you gotta do."
-Paul Pringle
Dante's View, the popular hiking destination in the Hollywood Hills, was destroyed by flames, according to Councilman Tom LaBonge. "This is probably the largest fire in griffith park since at least 1960," he said.
-Rong-Gong Lin II
Here's some details about Dante's View from etreking.com:
Continue reading "Dante's View destroyed" »
 The homes being evacuated are around Dundee Drive at the southeastern edge of the park. There are clear signs that the fire is worsening at the command center near the Greek Theater, where flames are now visible on a ridge above.
-Rong-Gong Lin II
Some mandatory evacuations have been issued for a neighborhood southeast of Griffith Park as flames moved in that direction. The exact area was not immediately known, but an evacuation shelter has been established at Marshall High School.
-Rong-Gong Lin II
The 20-year-old man who is being questioned about the fire was transferred from Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital to the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks within the last hour, said Sarah Faden, spokeswoman for the Los Angels Police Department. He has not been booked or arrested.
-Richard Winton
A fire near Cal State San Bernardino has burned more than 300 acres by Tuesday evening, and was threatening homes, although no structures had burned, according to San Bernardino City Fire Department officials. A voluntary evacuation order has been issued for residents in the area, sparse rolling hills at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains.
Firefighters from the city, as well as San Bernardino County and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, were called into to fight the blaze. Cal State San Bernardino is not threatened, fire officials said.
--Phil Willon
L.A. Fire Chief Douglas Barry said fire had burned a little over 200 acres and was 30% contained by 7 p.m.
Barry said the terrain is so steep that the bulk of firefighting efforts are coming from the air. Fire officials said they had not yet decided if they would continue the air drops after sunset, which is typically the cut off point for firefighting air operations.
"We're trying to get it knocked down before dark," Barry said. "We don't expect a lot of wind this evening."
-Rong-Gong Lin II
The fire is 20-25% contained, but officials warned that it is now moving southeast roughly toward Los Feliz. No homes are threatened right now, and fixed-wing aircraft are dropping fire retardant on open space near homes in hopes of creating a barrier.
-Rong-Gong Lin II
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