Lawn Mowers

A fire that burned 100 acres of brush Thursday apparently started when a road construction worker struck a rock with a lawn mower, sending sparks onto dry grass, authorities said. The fire was controlled more than two hours later by a brigade of 150 firefighters, five helicopters and three water-dropping planes, said Capt. Scott Brown, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority. No injuries were reported and no homes were affected.

Following the lead of local municipalities, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to study how best to reduce noise created by gasoline-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers. Unanimously--and without comment--the board asked the county counsel's office to report back in four weeks on what measures can be taken to decrease the irritating sound of loud yard tools, short of an outright prohibition.

With snow blanketing the usual cold spots and even touching down in the South this winter, the prospect of clearing sidewalks and driveways has a lot of people filled with loathing. Ken Melrose, however, loves the snow. He sees prosperity and growth in those piles and drifts. Melrose, chairman and chief executive of Toro Co., got a warm feeling as strong snow blower sales boosted his company's most recent fiscal-year earnings by 65% and pushed overall revenue to a company record $932.9 million.

The smooth black container in Ann Roche's hand resembles a carrying case, until she plugs it into the top of a silver lawn mower. She is demonstrating the latest thing in mower technology, a rechargeable, removable battery pack. The invention would be the pride of any power equipment manufacturer, except here it was unveiled by one of the world's largest makers of gasoline engines, Briggs & Stratton Corp.

The roar of lawn mowers could be replaced with the hum of fume-free, electric replacements under a novel smog-fighting program approved Friday by the Southland's air quality board. Under the new rule, companies can buy and scrap homeowners' gasoline-powered lawn mowers and other garden equipment in the four-county Los Angeles region in exchange for credits toward meeting smog regulations. Consumers own more than 1.

About 167,000 lawn mowers made by American Honda Motor Corp. were recalled because the cutting blades could rotate when the control lever is released. The recall involves lawn mowers with model numbers HRB217HXA, HRX217HXA and HRX217HMA, which were sold by Honda lawn and garden dealers and at Home Depot stores from January 2003 to November 2007. For more details, call (800) 426-7701 or go to www.hondapowerequipment .com or www.cpsc.gov. About 160,000 First Years 3-in-1 Flush and Sounds Potty Seats, distributed by RC2 Corp.

EVERY city has its soundtrack. Venice has the slapping of water against stone, New York has car horns, Madrid has the vroom of mopeds. Here in our green, green city, one sound dominates life. No matter where you are, Bel-Air or Bellflower, you hear it intermittently from 7 a.m. to nightfall. It's there on Christmas, on the Fourth of July, on Halloween and Thanksgiving, and every day in between. It's the lawn mower. If you want to buy one, read on.

The owner of a remote lodge in Talkeetna died of exposure after his lawnmower overturned and trapped him, authorities said. A neighbor found the body of Andrew Piekarski, 61. Investigators determined that Piekarski drove off a small hill, and the lawnmower landed on his legs. "He couldn't get out from under it and he died from exposure," Alaska State Troopers spokesman Greg Wilkinson said.

California rules to reduce small-engine pollution could take effect as planned under a deal Thursday between Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (R-Mo). Bond had proposed bill language that California officials feared would indefinitely delay plans to cut pollution produced by such small-engine machines as leaf blowers and lawnmowers.

They came to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine as early as 1 a.m. Saturday, prepared to wait for hours in a line more than 1,000 cars long. Not for Prince, U2 or Beyonce. Under a program sponsored by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, they came to exchange their noisy, fume-spewing, gasoline-powered lawnmowers for quiet, environmentally sensitive, cordless electric models worth $400.