SANTA CLARITA: BRIEFLY : VAN DRIVER HELD FOLLOWING CRASH.

CASTAIC - A Long Beach man was in custody Tuesday on suspicion of drunk driving after his van went out of control and crashed, seriously injuring a teen-age passenger, officials said.

Juan Cortez, 38, was driving south on the Golden State Freeway (5) Monday night when a rear tire lost tread, causing the van to go up a dirt hillside and overturn, said California Highway Patrol Officer Wendy Moore.

Passenger George Ayala, 17, of Lindsay, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out of the van, and taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries, she said.

Cortez was arrested after being treated and released from the hospital for minor injuries, Moore said. He was being held in the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station jail.

SOURCE: Daily News

Grass fire damages wood-shake roof

NEWHALL - A grass fire in a wooded neighborhood Wednesday spewed burning embers onto a house briefly igniting the wood-shake roof, Los Angeles County firefighters said.

Firefighters quickly doused spot fires on the roof of the Cedar Town Street home preventing serious damage, said Capt. Darryl Coe. Nobody was injured and damage was estimated at $2,000.

``It just shows how quickly shake roofs can catch fire,'' Coe said. ``The fire was in the grass, but the roof caught fire in two or three different places. Plus we had a big pine three there that went up like a Roman candle.''

Coe said the grass fire on the property behind the home was of suspicious nature. A crew working near where the fire started was questioned, but provided no information, Coe said.

SOURCE: Daily News