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May 8, 2008 6:33 am US/Pacific

Griffith Park Fire Remembered 1 Year Later

LOS ANGELES Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Councilman Tom LaBonge Thursday honored firefighters who saved Griffith Park from a wildfire that broke out a year ago.

"The only reason that we're standing here today in celebration of this very important anniversary is because of the heroics, the bravery and the precision and the professionalism of the men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department," Villaraigosa said.

Villaraigosa and La Bonge unveiled a bronze plaque commemorating the three-day fire that broke out about 1:30 p.m. a year ago.

About 820 acres of the 4,200-acre park burned in the fire, but no homes were destroyed. About $30,000 damage was done to the roof of one home.

The fire started east of the Hollywood sign and quickly made its way through Griffith Park, prompting evacuations from the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Observatory, the Autry National Center and municipal golf course.

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"It's a tribute to the training, knowledge and skill of the Los Angeles Fire Department and the many other agencies that participated in fighting this devastating blaze that no one was hurt or killed and only one home was damaged," LaBonge said.

: A wildfire broke out in Griffith Park on May 8, 2007. (File)
AP
: CBS
: A wildfire threatens a home near Griffith Park north of downtown Los Angeles, May 9, 2007.
AP
: A firefighting helicopter drops water near Griffith Observatory to create a fireline on the western flank of a wildfire in Griffith Park, the nation's largest urban park, on May 9, 2007, in Los Angeles.
David McNew/Getty Images
: A plume of smoke from a fire in Griffith Park, can be seen from Glendale, Calif. May 9, 2007.
David McNew/Getty Images
: Viewers sent in photos of a brush fire that swept through L.A. Griffith Park, scorching more than 800 acres.
: Viewers sent in photos of a brush fire that swept through L.A. Griffith Park, scorching more than 800 acres.