LA Firefighter Loses Ear During Raging Inferno Near Homeless Encampment

Los Angeles firefighter's ear was successfully reattached after it was severed in an explosion that was set off during a brush fire near a homeless encampment on Monday, officials said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement Tuesday that more than 200 firefighters responded to a brush fire in the Sepulveda Basin, a nature preserve in Encino where there is also a homeless encampment, at around 1:30 p.m. Monday. The fire began as a half-acre grass fire, but responders found the three- to four-foot flames were also burning at the encampment.

"Firefighters attacked the fire hard and fast to keep it in check, while triple-digit temperatures increased the difficulty and danger of successful containment," LAFD said.

During the fire, "an explosion of unknown origin" sent a firefighter "to the ground with head trauma," LAFD said. The firefighter was transported by LAFD air ambulance to a local hospital. According to KABC, the force of the explosion severe the firefighter's ear. It was surgically reattached at the hospital, and the firefighter has since been released.

LAFD said 10 other firefighters were transported by ambulance to the hospital for assessment of minor injuries. All have since been released.

After the explosion, LAFD helicopters were deployed to drop water on the fire to "avoid further life risk to firefighters on the ground."

The fire department said an investigation is underway to determine both the cause of the fire and the source of the explosion. Although the fire was contained Monday afternoon, 13 LAFD companies remained on the scene Tuesday morning gathering drone footage while the Los Angeles Police Department worked to "render several remaining suspicious devices inert."

--with reporting by TMX

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Los Angeles, Firefighters