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Crews Get Upper Hand On Griffith Park Brush Fire

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Aug 15, 2007 7:00 am US/Pacific

Crews Get Upper Hand On Griffith Park Brush Fire

 SLIDESHOW: Fire Breaks Out Near Griffith Observatory

 FIRE WATCH: Complete Fire Coverage
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― Crews made quick work of a brush fire that broke out in a ravine below the Griffith Park Observatory, which was threatened by a huge blaze three months ago.

The blaze was reported by a Griffith Park ranger about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, said Ron Myers of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Firefighters aggressively attacked the flames -- mainly from the air -- on a day when high temperatures coupled with low humidity caused the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning Tuesday.

Myers told reporters it was too early "to tell the point of origin," but investigators would try to determine what sparked the flames, which blackened about an hour or two.

About 800 acres -- about a third of the huge park -- were consumed in a fire that began May 8 and was apparently sparked by a cigarette.

"It does appear we are getting a fair handle on this, but we can get spot fires burning downwind," Myers said.

The observatory itself has a large swath of fire breaks around it.

Broadcast footage showed people filing out of the observatory and watching the flames in the ravine below.

The Observatory was closed for the remainder of Tuesday evening.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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