L.A. Wildfire Near Getty Center Grows; Bel-Air Evacuations Ordered, Some Of 405 Reopens
UPDATED with new info:Los Angeles officials have expanded their evacuation order for the Skirball Fi..
UPDATED with new info:Los Angeles officials have expanded their evacuation order for the Skirball Fire, which has tripled in size since breaking out early this morning in the Sepulveda Pass. The southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway have reopened from the 101 Freeway to the 10 Freeway, with several multimillion-dollar homes burned so far in the high-end residential neighborhoods above the Sepulveda Pass.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a morning press conference that the fire, which started just before 5 AM, is now at 150 acres with no containment. About 350 firefighters are on the scene.
The L.A. Fire Department said mandatory evacuations are now in effect for the area east of the 405, Mulholland Drive to the north, Sunset Boulevard to the south, and Roscomare Road to the east. Fire officials at the presser just now referenced the 1961 Bel-Air fire as having a similar “footprint”; that two-day brush fire destroyed nearly 500 homes in the Bel-Air-Brentwood area, though there were no fatalities.
Four off-ramps on the southbound lanes of the clogged 405 remain closed in the affected area. The northbound lanes of 101 remain closed from the 10 to Mulholland Drive.
The neighborhood is home to plenty of members of the Hollywood community. Chelsea Handler, for one, said she is among the evacuees.
Just evacuated my house. It’s like Donald Trump is setting the world on fire. Literally and figuratively. Stay safe everyone. Dark times.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) December 6, 2017
Officials said the Getty Center and Skirball Centers are safe.
PREVIOUS, 7:42 AM: The city of Los Angeles awoke to a new brush fire today after a wild Monday that saw at least three major fires rage in the region. This one started overnight in the key 405 Freeway corridor that serves as a main artery between West L.A. and the San Fernando Valley, closing lanes, prompting evacuations in the tony Bel Air and Holmby Hills neighborhoods, and threatening the Getty Center complex that towers above the freeway in the Sepulveda Pass.
Two of the city’s cultural centers — the Getty Center and the Skirball Center just to the north of it — have shuttered for the day due to the fire, as are portions of the 405 both directions from the 101 Freeway in the Valley to the 10 Freeway including all on- and off-ramps and transition roads. It will make one of the nastiest commutes in the city even more challenging.
The fire is at about 50 acres as of the LA Fire Department’s latest estimates about 45 minutes ago, but is growing, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and tinder-dry conditions in the region for a second consecutive day. There are 220 firefighters on the scene so far this morning.
The LA Fire Department has ordered mandatory evacuations for Moraga Drive, Linda Flora Drive and Casiano Road down to Bellagio Road, and is asking residents to be prepared to evacuate the area east of the 405, Mulholland Drive to the north, Sunset Boulevard to the south, and Roscomare Road to the east.
Yesterday, the fires shuttered production on CBS’ S.W.A.T. and HBO’s Westworld owing to a quickly growing brush fire in Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles.
