Angelenos of the Week: Idiot Teenage Fire Starters

(Pic by Defamer.)

Just under the wire, the two out-of-town teens who started today's blaze in the Hollywood hills earn the title of Franklin Avenue's Angelenos of the Week. (Hey, they're staying here right now -- I assume for pilot season -- so as of this moment they're Angelenos.)

Playing with fireworks? Pretty dumb. Playing with a lighter near the brush of the Hollywood hills? Even dumber. Playing with fireworks near the brush of the Hollywood hills during one of the driest Los Angeles winters in recent memory? Wow, that earns a prize for stupidity.

The teens wound up charring 160 acres of hillside. Thankfully, no one was injured and no property damage was made. These kids dodged a bullet: Had the wind been blowing the other direction, they might be in even deeper s**t than they are now.

The L.A. Times has the story:

The 160-acre blaze, the largest in the heavily populated Hollywood Hills in nearly two decades, consumed brushland above the Warner Bros. Studio and Forest Lawn cemetery.

The fire occurred in what is usually Southern California's rainy season and comes as the region is experiencing its driest year on record. Firefighters warned that they expect the fire danger to remain high through the spring.

Witnesses told authorities they saw two teenagers setting off fireworks about 1 p.m. near the Oakwood apartments, a temporary housing village near several major studios frequented by people in the entertainment business.

Three hours later, two teenagers from Illinois who were visiting Oakwood turned themselves in to police and admitted starting the blaze, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. The boys, ages 16 and 17, were detained by LAPD officers and may be charged with arson.

"They were old enough to know what they were doing," said Villaraigosa, adding that the boys first told their parents about setting the fire before together calling police.

The fire caused no injuries or damage to structures, but the smoke cast a wide shadow over portions of the San Fernando Valley. It also snarled traffic and forced some businesses to shut off their air conditioning.

"It was down to ground level. Employees were coughing," said Israel Aviles, manager of the Smokehouse restaurant, across from Warner Bros. "Everybody's eyes were watering."

Cute, Los Angeles Times, for interviewing someone from The Smokehouse about the smoke.

Until the firestarters won this week's title, other finalists included the wind (which kicked up so much dist and dirt); David and Victoria Beckham (for complaing that housing is too expensive in Los Angeles); or Lily Tomlin and David O. Russell (who are the stars of a video screaming match making its way through the system).