Fires

News agency Reuters has fired deputy social media editor Matthew Keys after he was indicted on federal charges of conspiring with the hacking group Anonymous to breach a Tribune Co. website, changing a Los Angeles Times online story. Matthew Keys, 26, said on his Twitter account Monday morning that he “Just got off the phone. Reuters has fired me, effective today. Our union will be filing a grievance. More soon.” Reuters spokesman David Girardin confirmed the firing. Keys was charged last month with three hacking-related counts in the December 2010 incident.

Matthew Keys, the former deputy social media editor for the Reuters news agency who is accused of conspiring with the hacking group Anonymous, says he was fired because of the federal case against him, not his social media activities as the agency contends. In what appears to be a written warning from Reuters to Keys that he published on his Twitter account Monday, the company addressed a parody Twitter account Keys created last year that he used to mock the chief executive of Google.

The Boston Marathon bombing and the resulting heroics of police, firefighters and other emergency workers might seem like a natural jumping-off point for an episode or story on "Chicago Fire," NBC's drama about emergency workers at a fictional Chicago firehouse. But executive producer Dick Wolf said "Chicago Fire" will not tackle the real-life Boston situation, largely because the bombing was a terrorist attack. "The last thing we want to do is exploit a tragedy," Wolf told reporters in Pasadena who had gathered for a media day centered on NBC Universal shows.

Matthew Keys, a controversy-plagued deputy social media editor at Thomson Reuters, tweeted today that he was fired by the news organization. His name has not been associated of late with best journalistic practices. Keys, 26, a one-time web producer for a Tribune Co. Sacramento TV station, was charged last month with helping folks associated with the computer group Anonymous hack into the L.A. Times and change a headline in 2010.  Last week, he was mentioned in a number of stories about social media missteps in the wake of the Boston Marathon explosions.

A brush fire forced the evacuation of about 200 homes in Monrovia on Saturday as firefighters worked to keep flames from spreading into the San Gabriel Mountains. The wildfire had charred 170 acres of brush and grass on the edge of residential areas in northwest Monrovia, sending up clouds of smoke visible across a wide area of the Southland. By Saturday night its growth had slowed, although fire officials were on the watch for downwinds that can develop in the area. The blaze was 10% contained.

A Monrovia brush fire that at one point threatened 400 homes is now 85% contained, and all evacuation orders have been lifted, officials said. No structures were damaged, and only one firefighter suffered a minor heat-related injury, said Jennifer McLain, a city spokeswoman. Firefighters and handcrews will continue to work the fire through the evening, she said. Water-dropping helicopters remain on stand-by. "The challenge is working in such steep terrain," she said. The fire started about 11 a.m. Saturday and was sparked by a gardening tool being used for brush clearance at a residence in the foothills, she said.

A brush fire in Monrovia has grown to 10 acres and fire personnel are encouraging voluntary evacuations in some neighborhoods, officials said. The fire started shortly after 11 a.m. in the backyard of a home near Crescent Drive and Madison Avenue, said Jennifer McLain, a city spokeswoman. The fire spread to the hillside behind the residence, she said. An evacuation center has been set up at 119 Palm Avenue, she said. In addition to Monvrovia firefighters, personnel from Pasadena, Montebello, Arcadia, Los Angeles County and the U.S. Forest Service have been dispatched to the scene, she said.

Evacuation orders were lifted for about 100 homes Saturday night as firefighters made considerable progress in taming a 175-acre blaze in the Monrovia hills. The wildfire was 50% contained and fire crews were optimistic that they would finish the job Sunday. The number of fire engines on the scene had dropped from 65 to 20.          The blaze started in late morning in a residential backyard in northwest Monrovia and spread to rugged terrain in bordering wildlands. At one point flames came within 80 yards of homes.

Monrovia firefighters are battling a small brush fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.   Firefighters were dispatched to the scene near Crescent Drive and Madison Avenue shortly after 11 a.m., said Jennifer McLain, a city spokeswoman. The fire is about 1 1/2 acres, she said, but cautioned that “conditions today are windy.” The fire was started by a gardener, in the backyard of a residence, she said. No other details were available. No homes are threatened at the moment and no evacuations have been ordered, McLain said.