ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF GRIFFITH PARK FIRE

Mayor, Councilmember & GM commend

Firefighters & Recovery Workers

Los Angeles - Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Councilmember Tom LaBonge and Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri honored firefighters (from many departments) and recovery workers for their hard work and dedication during and after the Griffith Park Fire.

About 1,200 acres of the park burned in the May 8-9, 2007 fire. It took 800 firefighters with 200 engine companies from all over the state to stop the devastating blaze. Fortunately there were no deaths and only one property in the bordering neighborhood suffered partial damage.

As part of the One Year Anniversary Celebration a bronze plaque was unveiled to commemorate the firefighters for the valor during the May 2007 fire. The plaque was placed on a boulder inside Griffith Park on Vermont Canyon Road. In tribute to the Park’s Recovery Effort a tree was planted near the boulder.

"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," said Councilmember LaBonge. "The Mayor and I want to recognize the great work that firefighters and rangers did one year ago during the fire."

The Mayor, Councilmember, GM Jon Kirk Mukri and Los Angeles Fire Chief Douglas Barry also recognized the many community and non-profit organizations that have helped in the Griffith Park Recovery effort over the past nine months. The recovery effort, which included the use of hydro-mulch to prevent erosion, cost about $4.2 million.

Those who donated funds to the effort include the Los Angeles Dodgers; actress Victoria Principal; the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council; the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council; Sophia Muller and Casey Parsons; New Orleans City Parks; Equestrian Trails, Inc. and Paulette Smokovich.

TreePeople, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Pacific Asian Volunteer Association, NBC/Universal, Sidley Austin LLP and many local community groups worked with Council District 4 to organize thousands of volunteers to plant more than 200 native trees and weed out invasive non-native plants as another part of the recovery effort.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jane Kolb: (213) 928-9294