Some Studio City residents waiting on mail that should have arrived early last week may be out of luck after fire ripped through a United States Postal Service vehicle, completely destroying it and all the undelivered mail it was carrying.
The fire, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, occurred Aug. 12 at around 5 p.m. in the 3600 block of Sunswept Drive, a neighborhood in the Studio City hills.
Details are limited and it’s unclear exactly how the blaze started, but images of the incident posted to the Citizen App show heavy smoke coming from the vehicle, parked perilously close to a home, as firefighters doused it with water and foam.
When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the USPS vehicle was twisted and scorched metal, a lone surviving headlight, side-view mirror and bumper giving away what the heap used to be.
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L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
L.A. firefighters on the scene of a USPS vehicle that was destroyed by fire in Studio City on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App) -
A letter to Studio City USPS customers who lost mail after a fire destroyed a mail carrier’s vehicle on Aug. 12, 2024. (Citizen App)
At least one Studio City resident learned about the fire after receiving a letter from Vadim Morozov, a customer service manager at the postal service.
“This letter is to inform you that mail to be delivered on August 12th, 2024, has been irretrievably damaged when your Letter Carrier’s postal vehicle caught fire,” the notice stated. “The fire resulted in the total loss of mail and vehicle.”
The letter sent to those whose packages or other mail were destroyed in the blaze was also to serve as “documentation that your package was destroyed.”
“I can’t promise that whoever you ordered your package from will reimburse you, or if they will send you a replacement, but it does give you proof that you didn’t receive it,” the letter noted.
Fortunately, the postal carrier delivering mail out of the vehicle when it was engulfed in flames was uninjured, according to the notice.
Fire officials did not provide any information on what may have started the blaze.
Just how many pieces of mail went up in flames is unknown.
KTLA has reached out to the United States Postal Service about the incident and is awaiting a reply.