Brush

Thanks for publishing the poem "Aerial Photos of the Plains" by James Krusoe (Nov. 3). The poem did not contain a comma, not even a period, but it pushed other modern poets into the background. I've often tried to understand "modern poetry," but Krusoe, the artist with no brush, has made a believer out of me. Poetry can be understood and enjoyed!!! A.M. FOSTER, NORTH HOLLYWOOD

With a click of the camera pressed against her forehead, the photojournalist broke ground in a way her male colleagues never could. Two weeks later in 1953, Life magazine printed the picture she took moments after giving birth at a Los Angeles hospital. The headline read: "Mother Photographs Her Minute-Old Baby. " Helen Brush Jenkins was already well-versed in getting the shot when she decided to record her first glimpse of her first born. As a female news photographer, she had been a pioneering presence at the old Los Angeles Daily News since the early 1940s when she was hired because so many cameramen were away at war. PHOTOS: Helen Brush Jenkins | 1919 - 2013 "Her career was unique.

A lack of rain this season has produced incredible dry conditions that have firefighters on alert for brush fires. Current forecasts call for two weeks of warming temperatures and gusty offshore winds.  L.A. fire Capt. Jamie Moore said an aerial inspection of the city last week provided a sobering picture of just how dry the landscape has become. "It is alarming how much the brush has grown since last season," he said. "We have a lot of dry underbrush. We have 20- or 30-foot-tall trees with brush and undergrowth.

  45 minutes. 6 to 8 servings 3 salted anchovies (6 fillets) 6 cloves garlic 1 cup olive oil, plus more if necessary 2 large (1½ to 1¾ pounds) round eggplants 2 long branches fresh rosemary Salt 1. Rinse the anchovies under running water to remove excess salt and then soak in water to cover in small bowl until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the fillets, discard the skeletons and soak another 5 minutes until flexible. Cut into approximately half-inch crosswise pieces.

Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis published Thursday in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The report noted that a separate study estimated that the number of early humans may have fallen as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again.

A structure fire ignited brush in La Cañada on Thursday evening and appeared to be spreading before flames were knocked down by firefighters. The blaze in the 300 block of Starlight Crest Drive ignited a deck in a backyard and spread to an adjacent brush area. But the blaze was brought under control shortly before 6 p.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.  ALSO: California wildfires: 6,500 acres burned, PCH shut down After meth arrest, O.C. authorities may bill hikers for rescue Photos of Jackson's messy, clothes-strewn bedroom shown to jurors twitter.com/LAJourno robert.lopez@latimes.com

Re "High Court Limits Who Is Disabled," Jan. 9: It is difficult to believe that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has any understanding of the word "hardship." For that matter, it's difficult to believe that any of the nine justices understand anything about hardship. Most of us ordinary people easily see how someone could have the ability to brush his or her teeth for a few minutes with one hand and yet not have the strength to stand on an assembly line for eight hours holding a five-pound wrench, tightening bolts all day with that same hand.

Reporting from Dehesa, Calif. For three decades, former Marine-turned-Rastafarian Joseph Diliberti has lived on his three acres of paradise deep in rural eastern San Diego County: building clay dwellings, playing his flute, reading Thoreau ("I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately") and radiating peace and harmony. But six years ago when the local fire district sent him a bill for $27,552 for cutting down what firefighters characterized as fire-prone weeds on his property, he declined to pay, just as Thoreau refused to pay his delinquent poll taxes.

Firefighters on Wednesday battled a small brush fire in the Angeles National Forest near Santa Clarita. The blaze had consumed about 15 acres. About 100 firefighters and three helicopters had it 80% contained, said Forest Service spokeswoman Dee Dechert. The fire started about 3:15 p.m. when a transformer burst into flames and ignited the brush beneath it, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Sammy Padilla. Also Wednesday, about 50 firefighters put out a 1-acre blaze near the 210 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers.

A small brush fire broke out Wednesday afternoon near the junction of the 91 and 241 freeways. Orange County fire officials said the two- to three-acre blaze was not threatening any homes, and helicopters were on the scene dropping water, but that the fire was in a heavy brush area difficult for firefighters on the ground to reach. The Orange County Fire Authority dispatched 18 engines and 75 personnel to fight the fire, spokeswoman Tasha Schilling said. -- Christian Berthelsen

A brush fire in the Angeles National Forest north of Castaic burned out of control Thursday night, destroying one structure and forcing authorities to evacuate residents as flames burned near homes and threatened high-voltage power lines. The Powerhouse fire spread quickly amid high winds throughout the afternoon and had charred at least 1,000 acres of dry brush and chaparral along San Francisquito Canyon, fire officials said. As night descended, a helicopter was searching for hikers who may be missing in the area, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

Firefighters on Monday were able to knock down a one-acre brush fire that at one point was estimated at 20 acres above DeBell Golf Club. Fire officials said that because of the steep canyon hillside, the blaze appeared to be much larger than it actually turned out to be.. The more than 100 firefighting personnel from multiple agencies who were assigned to the blaze -- which was reported shortly after noon - were able to knock it down by about...

A brush fire near Castaic Lake was 60% contained after burning nearly 600 acres Friday, officials said. The blaze reached the northern shore of the lake, which acted as a "natural fire break," said Inspector Keith Mora of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The lake was also enabling firefighters to use boats to "lob water" on the flames, he said. On Friday, Northlake Hills Elementary School and several homes were threatened by the flames, leading officials to temporarily lock down the school and evacuate 19 homes.

A brush fire raging out of control in Los Padres National Forest had grown to at least 3,000 acres and crossed into Los Angeles County on Wednesday evening, officials said. The Grand fire, which started in Kern County near the Grapevine,  forced the evacuations of a state park and a campground, fire officials said. The blaze crossed into Los Angeles County on Wednesday evening, Lt. Dana Albro of the Kern County Sheriff's Department told The Times. About 800 firefighters were battling the blaze, but no structures were being threatened, the Kern County Fire Department said.

Hundreds of firefighters Wednesday night continued to battle a brush fire that had burned more than 3,000 acres and was raging out of control after starting in Kern County near the Grapevine. The most active front of the Grand fire Wednesday night was in Ventura County, where flames had spread and were burning through brush and grass in the Los Padres National Forest, fire officials said. Fire officials earlier had believed that the blaze had crossed into Los Angeles County. But late Wednesday, the L.A. County Fire Department said the fire was burning close to the county border but had not crossed it. The fire broke out around 1:20 p.m . near Frazier Mountain Park Road and Grand Terrace Drive, not far from Frazier Park, an unincorporated mountain village in Kern County.

One lane of the northbound 5 Freeway in the Castaic area will remain closed until about 3 p.m. Tuesday as fire officials work on a brush fire that burned about 50 acres, authorities said. The fire was more than 80% contained Tuesday morning, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire had threatened a mobile home park, but no evacuations were ordered, said officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The fire started Monday in the Angeles National Forest, and flames backed down a hillside about a quarter of a mile from the Paradise Ranch Mobile Home Park, Fire Department officials said.

More than a year after the devastating Normal Heights fire, the San Diego Fire Department is focusing on property owners of canyon rim homes and structures as part of an eight-year, $234,000 brush management program. Property owners not complying with fire ordinances on the height of brush will receive notices from the Fire Department asking them to reduce to two inches or less any brush and weeds within 30 feet of a structure.

Two brush fires broke out Friday in the Woodland Hills and Eagle Rock areas, threatening homes briefly but causing no damage or injuries. A three-acre blaze that sprang up shortly after 3 p.m. at 5018 N. Cerrillos Drive in a hilly area of Woodland Hills threatened to spread to three nearby homes but was extinguished about 30 minutes later, said Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells. Six engine companies and two helicopters were sent to fight the blaze. The second fire erupted at 2:46 p.m. at 1750 W. Yosemite Drive in the Eagle Rock area, Wells said.

Interstate 15 was closed in both directions in the Lytle Creek area of San Bernardino County because of a brush fire. The fire was reported before 2 p.m. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the blaze was 15 acres and growing. It was visible from the freeway. Caltrans did not say how long the 15 would be closed. The closure is at the Sierra Avenue exit. The fire broke out on a day of triple-digit temperatures in parts of Southern California. ALSO: Teacher's aide accused of groping disabled teen Bike Week L.A.: Countywide activities for cyclists get underway Jackson pulled it together in final rehearsals, choreographer says