Fire blazes at forest HQ in Arcadia

Twenty-six structures were consumed in a major blaze just after midnight Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at the headquarters of the United States Forest Service (USFS) west of Santa Anita Avenue just south of the 210 freeway.

The former office buildings had been vacated and were being prepared for removal as part of a major renovation at the facility. There were no reported injuries to civilians or firefighters. The fire is currently still under investigation, but preliminary findings indicate the cause of the fire to be accidental in nature. The Arcadia Fire Department responded to a call at 12:40 a.m. regarding a strong odor of smoke in the 600-block of Cornell Drive. A single Engine was dispatched to the reported location for investigation. Upon arrival, fire personnel determined the smoke was originating from the United States Forest Service (USFS) site located in the 700-block of North Santa Anita. A full structure response was initiated with the Incident Commander requesting a 2nd alarm to obtain additional resources.

Units responded from Arcadia, Monrovia, Pasadena, South Pasadena, and Los Angeles County Fire Departments. Fire personnel discovered 26 modular structures placed together fully involved with fire. The structures were primarily used as office spaces, but, per USFS representatives, they were vacant at the time of the incident and in the process of being removed from the property for use elsewhere. Suppression personnel determined the structure was dangerously unstable due to heavy fire activity and were unable to make entry. Fire personnel utilized defensive tactics to extinguish the fire with large diameter fire hose, ground monitors, and an aerial ladder pipe.

The fire was contained to the structure of origin with no damage to the surrounding structures or neighboring properties. The subject structure, which had been previously vacated, was completely destroyed from the fire.

Property loss is still being estimated by Arcadia Fire Department and the United States Forest Service personnel.

— By Scott Hettrick from Arcadia Fire Department media release