Two multi-alarm brush fires — one near Calabasas and another in the Topanga area — broke out Thursday within minutes and about nine miles from one another, but neither threatened structures.
One blaze — dubbed the Stokes Fire — was reported at 2:54 p.m. near Mulholland Highway and Las Virgenes Road and went to three alarms, with more than 220 firefighters deployed at one point, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
About 40 acres were scorched, but the fire’s forward progress was stopped and the blaze was 30 percent contained, the fire department reported about 5:30 p.m.
One firefighter suffered a minor heat-related injury and was airlifted to a hospital, a dispatcher said.
The other brush fire was reported at 3:09 p.m. near Topanga Canyon Boulevard, north of Pacific Coast Highway, in the unincorporated Topanga area, and quickly went to two alarms.
The Topanga Canyon Fire scorched about 20 acres in steep terrain and was 10 percent contained as of 8 p.m., according to the county fire department.
The fire sparked a 5-acre brush spot fire that was extinguished, a department inspector said.
The fire forced the closure of Topanga Canyon Boulevard about one-half mile from PCH, authorities said.
There were also temporary closures of Pacific Coast Highway around Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
The Los Angeles Fire Department, which was in unified command with county firefighters on the Topanga-area blaze, sent ground and air crews and firefighters were also dispatched to Coastline Drive to protect homes.
