Firefighters quickly subdued a 1.5-acre brush fire off of Piuma Road in the mountains above Malibu Saturday afternoon, achieving knockdown at approximately 6:15 p.m. with no structure damage or injuries reported. A fire official said the blaze began when someone placed a pile of ashes from a wood-burning stove outside, thinking the ashes were cold, and the ashes ignited the grass in the area.Â
The fire occurred at the end of Donmar Road, near the top of Piuma Road, said Capt. Fins of Los Angeles County Fire Station 67.Â
“It was about an acre and a half,” Fins said. “Not a big deal, [it burned] some light grass, got into the brush a little bit. The owner had good clearance on all three sides.”
Firefighters responded to the fire at around 5:15, Fins said, and achieved knock-down within an hour using only the first alarm response. The first alarm response consisted of seven fire engines, three helicopters, four camp crews–inmate crews with chainsaws and shovels–as well as bulldozers. Knockdown was achieved by 6:15.Â