A fast-moving brush fire fanned by strong winds erupted in the hills above the 405 Freeway early Monday, burning homes and forcing evacuations in neighborhoods on Los Angeles’ Westside.
The fire, fueled by dry brush in an area that hasn’t seen rain since May, quickly expanded to 500 acres and cast an eerie orange glow over the 405 Freeway after it started around 1:30 a.m. A cause was not immediately determined.
Exit ramps on the busy freeway connecting the west San Fernando Valley with West Los Angeles were shut down through the Sepulveda Pass.
The fire is burning in densely populated hillside areas with narrow roads, threating about 10,000 residential and business structures. Embers were scattered by wind gusts, which were not expected to decrease until later Monday morning.
Aerial video showed at least six homes on fire with water-dropping helicopters attacking flames. The homes appeared to be along Tigertail Road.
About 2,600 customers were without power early Monday in Bel Air, Brentwood, Westwood and other West Los Angeles communities. That figure was reduced to about 900 later Monday.
Residents as far west as Malibu were warned to be prepared for evacuations. Mandatory evacuation zones were extending from the 405 Freeway to the west early Monday. Click here for evacuations, school and road closures and shelter information.
“Be calm, but get out,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Mandatory Evacuations
- Sullivan Fire Road is the western border
- Chautauqua Boulevard down to PCH
- Mulholland remains the northern border
- 405 Freeway remains the eastern border
Evacuation Warning
- Mulholland to the north
- Topanga Canyon to the west
- Sunset Boulevard to the south and Sullivan Fire Road to the east
Due to the red flag warning in effect and the dynamic nature of the fire, residents south of Sunset Boulevard were warned to be prepared to evacuate. Winds in the Brentwood area included gusts up to 20 mph with stronger winds to the west.
“There’s a lot of fuel out there, and it has been bone dry the last few months,” said NBC4 forecaster Anthony Yanez.
The dry hills of the Sepulveda Pass have not had rain since May 26.
The fire comes ahead of what’s expected to be the strongest Santa Ana winds of the season, starting Tuesday around 11 p.m. and lasting through Thursday afternoon. Santa Ana winds are produced by surface high pressure over the Great Basin squeezing air down through canyons and passes in Southern California’s mountain ranges.
In December 2017, an illegal cooking fire at an encampment in a brush area started the Skirball Fire. The fire spread from the encampment near Sepulveda Boulevard and the 405 Freeway and burned hundreds of acres.
One of the worst fires in Los Angeles’ history was fanned by Santa Ana winds when it burned in the Westside area in November 1961. About 480 homes were destroyed in the Bel Air Fire.
More than 4,870 wildfires have burned nearly 47,000 acres through mid-October in California. Last year, more than 5,100 fires burned a historic 631,900 acres during that same period. California’s five-year average through Oct. 13 is 5,109 fires and 372,344 acres burned.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Photo Credit: Chase Arrington
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Source: NBC Los Angeles
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