Big Fire at Hollywood & Vine

I've been watching a nightclub at the corner of Hollywood & Vine going up in smoke. It's been quite a battle for the LAFD - big flames, major smoke, and a tough fire to knock down. The helicopter shots of the firefighters working on the roof were pretty spectacular.

A large commercial building is in flames at the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

Los Angeles City Fire spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies says the blaze broke out around 5:30 a.m.

A half hour later, 40-foot flames could be seen shooting through the roof the building, which houses the Basque nightclub and other businesses.

Crews using ladders poured water onto the fire from above and had knocked it down considerably about 45 minutes later. Smoke poured into the early morning sky and could be seen fire miles.

When we made our trip up to Hollywood in February I remember standing on the corner in front of the now burned nightclub being bothered by some local who was trying to sell tours. I moved up Vine about half a block to take this picture of the Capital Records building:

It's a very historic part of Hollywood, right near the Pantages theater and in the middle of the heavy tourist areas. This will be a mess for awhile.