— by Tom Freeman & Wendy-Sue Rosen
Courtesy of: The Upper Mandeville Canyon Property Owners’ Association uppermandeville.org

1961 Bel Air – Brentwood Fire (photos via: lafire.com)

The risk of wildfire in Mandeville Canyon is a reality. Fire Officials are particularly concerned given the drought conditions over the past year. We have just completed one of the driest “rainy” seasons on record, with only 3.21 inches of rain — almost a foot below the normal level. As a result, “fire season” has begun early, as indicated by the large brush fires in Griffith Park and Catalina Island, as well as smaller fires in Los Feliz and Beverly Hills. Some firefighters, with many years of experience, have noted with concern that the hills are drier than they have ever seen. We can expect that conditions will worsen with extreme heat, low humidity and dry winds.

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