LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The flames of an urban brush fire lit up the nighttime sky as it roared through portions of Los Angeles' landmark Griffith Park.
The spreading flames prompted mandatory evacuations Tuesday in the Los Feliz neighborhood on the south side of the park, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
A shelter was set up at nearby Marshall High School
The fire "laid down" overnight, and firefighters hoped to be able to extinguish it on Wednesday, Fire Chief Douglas Barry told reporters. No homes were in immediate danger from the flames.
Arson investigators were questioning a person of interest in connection with the blaze, Barry said. The man was being treated for burns.
Officials were probing whether the blaze started after a person discarded a cigarette at a golf course in the park, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The fire broke out about 1:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET). Barry said early Wednesday that the blaze had burned about 600 acres of the 4,200-acre park.
Barry said hot, dry conditions and the steep terrain of the park were hampering firefighters' efforts to control it. Swirling winds were also presenting a problem, he said.
"This fire has danced around like nothing I've ever seen," Los Angeles City Council Member Tom LaBonge told reporters, adding that the fire had destroyed a terraced garden known as Dante's View.
The fire was 20 percent contained at 10 p.m. (1 a.m. ET Wednesday).
"We will be working well into the night to make sure we get this fire controlled and get a containment line around it," Deputy Fire Chief Mario Ruda told reporters. An estimated 200 firefighters were battling the flames, and eight helicopters were used at the height of the blaze.
The park is in the Hollywood Hills, about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. It includes golf courses, tennis courts, the city's zoo and botanical gardens and the copper-domed Griffith Park Observatory.
The bright orange glow of the fire provided a striking backdrop for the white facade of the observatory into the evening hours.
Visitors and nonessential workers were ordered to leave the zoo when the fire broke out, but none of the facility's animals were being evacuated, spokesman Jason Jacobs told CNN.
The picturesque park has been used as a location for numerous television shows and films, including 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause" and 1985's "Back to the Future."
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LOS ANGELES — A wildfire roared across brush-covered hills in the city's sprawling Griffith Park on Tuesday, triggering evacuations of homes and some of the city's most famous landmarks.
A wall of flames raced across ridges and jumped fire lines late in the evening as the fire drew closer to homes and the Griffith Observatory, one of the locations for the 1955 film "Rebel Without a Cause."
Hundreds of firefighters and five water-dropping helicopters rushed to the landmark park — a mix of wilderness, cultural venues, horse and hiking trails and recreational facilities set on more than 4,000 acres on the hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.
Late Tuesday, authorities called for a mandatory evacuation of homes that sit along the park's southern edge as the fire burned out of control. Helicopters flew dangerous water-dropping missions after dark and no homes were lost by late evening.
Police officers drove through the parkside Los Feliz district ordering people out. "You need to evacuate, you need to evacuate your houses immediately," one said. "The fire is coming toward the neighborhood."
Residents helped direct traffic through tight neighborhood streets.
"I was just able to get a few things," said Ed Stephan, 83, who helped his wife into their car as ashes fell from the sky. "We're not too worried but want to get out of here and observe the law."
More than 200 residents were expected at an evacuation center, said fire Capt. Antoine McNight.
The fire destroyed Dante's View, a trailside terraced garden on Mount Hollywood, said City Councilman Tom LaBonge. "This is a very sad night for Los Angeles," he said.
Rangers evacuated the park's Vermont Canyon area, which includes the Los Angeles Zoo, two golf facilities, a merry-go-round and school, said Jane Kolb, a city Department of Recreation and Parks spokeswoman.
Fire Capt. Rex Vilaubi said the evacuations were voluntary and the areas were not in imminent danger of being overrun.
Nearly 1,300 utility customers lost power in Los Feliz when flames downed power lines, said Department of Water and Power spokesman Joe Ramallo.
Authorities were investigating whether the fire broke out after a person discarded a cigarette at one of the park's golf courses, a law enforcement official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
The person tried to put out the fire but was badly burned and was taken to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the official said.
The blaze erupted on the second day of a heat spell. The National Weather Service said downtown hit 97 degrees, 23 degrees above normal, tying the record for the date.
In 1933 the area was the site of one of nation's worst wildland firefighting tragedies, a blaze that killed 25 firefighters.