It wasn't firefighters but three CHP officers on a nearby traffic stop who first spotted smoke from a fully-engulfed house fire on Magnolia Avenue around 6 p.m.
Officers were on-scene in moments, talking to the victim's son, who rolled up on a bicycle, panic stricken about his mom.
"He said that his mother was inside," said CHP Officer Kevin Mendel. "We broke out a window, we called out for her multiple times, we didn't hear anything from in there. Then we heard other people yelling, 'She's over here,' we heard some screams.'"
"There's so much black some we couldn't really see too much inside, but we saw it was so hot that all we were focused on was getting her away from the house and getting her to safety," Officer Mendel added.
Officer Robert Jefferson said the woman couldn't move.
"She was completely immobile, kind of sandwiched between some rocks. There was a lot of debris on the front lawn," he said.
Neighbors said "pack rat" conditions put the woman in real danger.
News
Top news of the day
The unlikely rescuers were grateful they reached the victim when they did.
"At one point I grabbed her elbows to kind of pull her hands," said acting Sgt. Edward Diffner. "Her skin... essentially came off.... pulled up to her wrists. It was very slippery and very awkward."
Back at headquarters, the CHP assessed their involvement, showing how their boots melted in the intense heat.
Firefighters quickly took over, calling the house a total burnout and praising the CHP for the mutual aid.
In addition to the woman a man suffered moderate burn and smoke inhalation injuries the fire that heavily damaged the cluttered home in Encino.
The fire at the one-story home ain the 1600 block of Magnolia Boulevard, just south of the Ventura (101) Freeway, was reported at 5:52 p.m., said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
It took 55 firefighters nearly 2 1/2 hours to knock down the flames, he said.
The injured victims were in fair condition when taken to a hospital, Humphrey said.
Firefighters reported "excessive storage" in the home, Humphrey said.
A column of smoke was visible from the freeway and firefighters were forced to battle the flames from outside the structure.
