By Peter Prengaman
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters were working to contain a fast-moving brush fire Friday that sent smoke seeping into the Warner Bros. studios and towering high in the sky behind the famous Hollywood sign.
The 24-acre blaze started near a corporate housing complex east of Universal City, south of the Warner Bros. studios complex in Burbank.
“The studio is fairly filled with smoke at the moment,” said Scott Rowe, vice president of corporate communications for Warner Bros. Entertainment. “It’s at our back door. I think a couple of our entrances have been closed at this point and we’re operating normally but that could change any minute.”
Some 150 firefighters with five helicopters battled the flames, which covered less than a square mile, Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. There were no reports of structural damage, he said.
The region had an extremely dry winter with little rainfall, leaving much of the area parched.
“I don’t know the exact last date we’ve seen a fire in this particular area but the hills are prone to fires throughout the year,” Myers said. “This is just a little bit earlier than what we normally see.”
The Hollywood Hills bisect Los Angeles, forming the southern side of the San Fernando Valley.
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Associated Press writers Noaki Schwartz and Solvej Schou contributed to this report.