Man found dead in Hollywood Hills home engulfed in flames

On By Littum

Fire broke out in a two-story home Wednesday in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood Hills West, where firefighters later discovered an elderly man deceased, officials confirmed to KTLA.

Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to reports of the fire at 8551 W. Lookout Mountain Avenue around 8 p.m. 16:45 this afternoon.

Neighbor Jim Moore spotted smoke coming from the home and called 911 before rushing in with his own water hose.

“When I got to the top of the stairs, the windows blew out,” he told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo. “That whole part of the structure was engulfed.”

The narrow streets and hillside location of the home made access for firefighters a challenge.

  • Fatal Hollywood Hills fire
    A house fire on Lookout Mountain Ave. in Hollywood Hills West seen on AlertCalifornia camera on November 27, 2024.
  • Fatal Hollywood Hills fire
    LA firefighters at the scene of a house fire in Hollywood Hills West on November 27, 2024. (KTLA)
  • Fatal Hollywood Hills fire
    LA firefighters at the scene of a house fire in Hollywood Hills West on November 27, 2024. (KTLA)
  • Fatal Hollywood Hills fire
    LA firefighters at the scene of a house fire in Hollywood Hills West on November 27, 2024. (KTLA)

“A lot of the difficulty stemmed from where the home is located on the hillside,” LAFD Battalion Chief Adam Knabe told KTLA. “It is set back from the street, steep stairs behind the homes, so it was difficult to get a hose in place.”

Aerial footage of the firefight captured by Sky5 showed a heavy presence of firefighters on the narrow, hilly street as a crowd of neighbors and onlookers stood nearby.

The homeowner, described only as an elderly man, was discovered inside his residence after crews extinguished the fire, but it is unclear whether the man died as a result of the fire or beforehand.

Neighbors told KTLA the homeowner, who lived alone, was in his 80s and in failing health. No one had seen him for at least a few days.

“It’s really sad,” Moore said. “He was a good man, a good neighbor. We haven’t really seen much of him lately because he’s so old and I was a little worried.”

While the cause of the fire remains unknown at this time, arson investigators were on the scene, a required protocol when there is a fatality.