"The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige, the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigg, the Germanic goddess of beauty." Read the rest of the Wikipedia entry here.

Via Glendale Fire Department --

Brush Fire -- Verdugo Mountain Range / Beaudry North Motorway On Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 2:07 PM, a phone call was received at Glendale Fire Station #29 from a concerned citizen identifying a brush fire located near the top of the Verdugo Mountain range in the City of Glendale. Firefighters from Glendale Fire Station #29 immediately self dispatched and notified the Verdugo Communications Dispatch Center with a request of additional resources. A total of 6 Engine Companies of Glendale Firefighters, 1 Glendale Rescue Ambulance, 2 Water Dropping Helicopters, 4 Los Angeles County Camp Crews, 1 Los Angeles County Fire Camp Crew Superintendent, 1 Los Angeles County Engine Company, 1 Engine Company of Burbank Firefighters, 1 Glendale Arson Investigator and 1 Glendale Fire Patrol unit all under the direction of Acting Battalion Chief Thomas Marchant responded and mounted an aggressive attack on the fire.

While enroute, fire units reported a visible fire near the top of the Verdugo mountain range in the area of the Beaudry North Motorway. First arriving firefighters on scene discovered a half-acre brush fire burning in steep terrain with heavy brush. With no wind but high temperatures to aid the fire, firefighters immediately mounted an aggressive attack on the fire by utilizing a progressive hose lay operation along the flanks. With the aid of water dropping helicopters and the work of hand crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department it took firefighters only 30 minutes to call a knockdown. The fire had advanced, however, no structures were threatened and no evacuations were necessary in the area.

The fire was contained to the area of origin and the cause has been listed as undetermined by the Arson investigator on scene. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians at the time of this report. Incident duration was 8 hours and 46 minutes.

As a reminder, with high fire danger conditions and the combination of record low fuel moisture levels and historic low rainfall amounts, the Glendale Fire Department is reminding residents to assist with brush fire weed abatement measures. Brush clearance from structures is required to be 100’ providing a defensible space for protection of structures during a wildfire. If you have further questions regarding brush weed abatement or would like to schedule a neighborhood visit by the Glendale Fire Department, please call 818/548-6402 or visit us at www.glendalefire.org.

GFD PIO Tom Propst told me this morning they suspect it may have been caused by vehicle exhaust -- a couple of cars were in the area, but nothing conclusive.