www.palisadesnews.com
October 28 - November 24, 2022 Volume 39, Issue 65
LAPD Says Encampment Found Near Origin of Recent Palisades Brush Fire LAPD Says Encampment Found Near Origin of Recent Palisades Brush Fire By Sam Catanzaro The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) says officers found a homeless encampment near where a Pacific Palisades brush fire broke out recently, though the cause of the blaze remains unknown. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the incident was reported on Sunday around 8:45 p.m. at 15045 Corona del Mar in Pacific Palisades. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find flames burning uphill in medium-to-heavy brush between Pacific Coast Highway and Corona del Mar. It took 65 LAFD personnel, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews and firefighters from neighboring agencies around an hour to put out the blaze. No structures were damaged
in the fire, which was con contained to around two acres. Officials did not implement any formal evacuation orders. The LAFD has not yet determined the cause of the fire. According to the LAPD, however, police officers on Monday found an encampment near where the fire started. The announcement was made by LAPD Senior Lead Officer Brain Espin in a community brief email. “At this time, it is unknown how the fire was started. Our Beach Detail Officers frequently check the hillsides on a regular basis. As of Friday, of last week the area behind the wall was clear. Today, the Beach Detail Officers located an encampment behind the wall South from where the fire had started. The PPTFH volunteers responded and cleared the area. It is unknown if the encampment and the fire are somehow related. LA City Fire Department is the investigating agency when it comes to fires. If and when more information is released, I will update everyone at that time,” Espin wrote. When reached for comment, LAFD Captain II Erik Scott said “We reviewed the LAFD
Photos: Citizen App Footage from a Sunday evening brush fire in Pacific Palisades.
report, which states that after investigation the
we have no further information on the fire
cause of the fire was undetermined. Therefore,
cause.”
Madame Wu, Famed Restaurateur and Longtime Palisades Resident, Passes Away at 106 Restaurateur behind Madame Wu’s Garden passes away September 19 By Dolores Quintana Sylvia Wu, born Sylvia Cheng, was much better known as restauranteur Madame Wu to her customers at her restaurant Madame Wu’s Garden, located in Santa Monica on Wilshire Boulevard. A longtime Pacific Palisades resident, she died at the age of 106 on September 19, as reported by The Associated Press. Wu opened her famed Hollywood hotspot Madame Wu’s Garden in 1959 which was an industry favorite for four decades. The restaurant’s decor was that of a pagoda with a koi fountain, jade statues and a waterfall and Wu would wear a long silk gown as she took to-go orders on the phone and greeted her
famous guests according to AP. The reason that Wu became a restaurant owner was that she was appalled by the prevalence of restaurants that served fake Asian cuisine. Indeed, the popularity of restaurants that served chop suey really upset her. Wu said to USA Today, as quoted by AP, “Chop suey everywhere. All you see are chop suey houses.” At Madam Wu’s Garden, more traditional Asian dishes were served. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mae West’s favorite was the cold melon soup, Paul Newman and Gregory Peck liked the crab puffs and shrimp toast and Princess Grace was a fan of the restaurant’s Peking Duck. Wu was born on Oct. 24, 1915, her family lived in Jiujiang, near Shangai and Wu learned to cook by observing the maids who cooked for her family according to AP. She took an ocean liner during World War II to the United States. She said, as quoted by “I don’t know how I had the courage. I had no family in America. The trip took 40 days, and because of the war there was a blackout all the way.”
Photo: Los Angeles Public Library (Facebook) Madame Wu, Jack Benny and his wife, Mary Livingstone (right) are pictured at Madame Wu’s Garden in 1974.
She met and married chemist King Yan Wu and were married for 67 years. King Yan Wu died in 2011. They are survived by two sons and many grandchildren. Wu worked for charitable causes and focused on working to help the City of Hope cancer center after their
daughter Loretta died of cancer. Talk show host and media mogul Merv Griffin said of Sylvia Wu, as quoted by AP, “Everybody in this town knows Madame Wu. One of the dearest, sweetest, most elegant women I’ve ever known.”