A brush and grass fire swept through a canyon in the Kensington Park area in the afternoon of September 14, 1956. Firefighters responded to a call from the 3500 block of War Road and the first engine reported a rapidly moving fire racing up the canyon walls and threatening homes along the canyon. It took 6 hours and 27 minutes to smother the flames. Twenty-five homes were damaged and 19 firefighters were treated for injuries.