Walnut Fire Burns 20 Acres in Burbank, Triggers Evacuations Near DeBell Golf Course

A fast-moving brush fire tore through Burbank's Wildwood Canyon area Saturday afternoon, forcing evacuation orders and shutting down hiking trails as firefighters scrambled to keep it away from homes.

The blaze, named the Walnut Fire, was first reported shortly before 3:10 p.m. in the 1500 block of East Walnut Avenue near Harvard Road, according to Cal Fire. By 4 p.m., the fire had burned about 20 acres of brush, per figures reported by both the NY Post and CBS News.

Watch Duty, cited by TimesNow, said the fire was spreading at a moderate pace through medium to heavy brush and could grow to as much as 50 acres within the hour. A helicopter crew at the scene reported the fire moving downhill toward structures.

Burbank officials didn't wait around. The city issued evacuation orders for the DeBell Restaurant and Golf Course and the Stough Canyon Nature Center, and shut down hiking trails in the area until further notice. The Burbank Police Department also confirmed a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents, though it didn't specify exact boundaries, according to TimesNow's report citing Eyewitness News.

"Burbank Fire is aware of a vegetation fire in Wildwood Canyon and is actively responding with assistance from regional partners," the city said in a post on X.

The response pulled in resources beyond the city's own department. Firefighters from the Angeles National Forest joined the Burbank Fire Department, and Verdugo Fire Academy crews set up their command post in the Castaway Restaurant parking lot, according to city officials cited by CBS News and the NY Post. Additional helicopters were called in to dump water on the hillside, with aerial footage showing repeated water drops as crews tried to slow the fire's downhill push.

The fire's timing didn't just cost hikers a Saturday walk. The city canceled the Starlight Bowl concert that had been scheduled for the evening, a detail confirmed across CBS News, ColoradoBoulevard.net, and TimesNow.

What caused it is still unknown

The NY Post mentioned "some unconfirmed reports" that the fire was started when a vehicle hit a tree, but didn't elaborate further. ColoradoBoulevard.net and TimesNow both reported a more specific detail: a traffic crash was reported near the 1200 block of East Harvard Road roughly three minutes before the fire was first reported.

Whether that crash caused the fire, or whether the two events are simply close in time and geography, remains unconfirmed. Both ColoradoBoulevard.net and TimesNow were explicit that officials have not determined the cause. A three-minute gap and a nearby location is suggestive, not proof. Cal Fire has not released a cause determination, and no source in this story claims one has been made.

Wildfires in Southern California brush country don't need much of a spark. Downed power lines, discarded cigarettes, and mechanical failures from vehicles are all common ignition sources in canyon terrain like Wildwood Canyon. Absent an official finding, jumping to a conclusion about the crash would be getting ahead of the evidence, and none of the sources did that.

No injuries were reported in any of the coverage reviewed. No structures were confirmed destroyed as of the 4 p.m. update cited by CBS News and the NY Post.

The fire remains active. CBS News flagged it explicitly as a developing story as of its 4:11 p.m. PDT update. Open questions include how many acres it will ultimately consume, whether evacuation orders will expand beyond DeBell Golf Course and Stough Canyon Nature Center, and whether Cal Fire or Burbank Fire will release an official cause determination tying the fire to the reported Harvard Road crash. None of that has been answered yet.