LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A fast-moving brush fire that broke out this
morning near Getty Center in the Sepulveda Pass prompted the closure of the San
Diego (405) Freeway and led to some mandatory evacuations in the area,
authorities said.
The blaze was reported at 4:52 a.m. on the east side of the freeway
near Mulholland Drive, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire
Department.
It was reported at six acres but quickly grew to at least 50 acres as
crews were working against 25 mph winds.
The Getty Center and the nearby Skirball Center are both on the west
side of the freeway, but the fire was threatening homes toward the top of the
hill on the east side, and television news footage appeared to show at least
one house on fire.
Shortly after 6 a.m., mandatory evacuations were ordered for Moraga
Drive, Linda Flora Drive, and Casiano Road, down to Bellagio Road, according to
the LAFD.
The LAFD advised residents to be prepared for possible evacuation in
the area east of the 405 Freeway that is bounded by Mulholland Drive to the
north, Sunset Boulevard to the south, and Roscomare Road on the east.
Stewart said officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were sent
to the neighborhood to handle evacuation orders.
Evacuation centers have been established at Delano Recreation Center,
15100 Erwin St., Van Nuys; Balboa RC, 17015 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys; Sherman
Oaks RC, 14201 Huston St., Sherman Oaks; and Westwood RC, 1350 Sepulveda Blvd.,
Westwood.
More than 225 city firefighters were on scene and the LAFD was being
assisted with an additional water-dropping helicopter from the Los Angeles
County Fire Department, according to Stewart.
She said the fire originally was moving uphill and was “topography
driven” and not wind-driven.
After the fire began, the northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway were
closed at Bel Air Crest Road all the way back to Olympic Boulevard in West Los
Angeles. Firefighting crews set up on the southbound side of the 405 to prevent
the fire from jumping the freeway, and northbound vehicles were being turned
back.
Shortly before 7 a.m., the California Highway Patrol closed the entire
405 Freeway between the Ventura (101) Freeway and the Santa Monica (10)
Freeway, along with on-ramps and off-ramps and freeway transition roads in the
affected area.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District closed all of its
schools for the day.
Getty Center officials also announced that the museum would be closed
for the day.
UCLA officials said they were monitoring the fire, but the school
remained open.
405 Freeway closed in both directions as fire breaks out in Sepulveda Pass
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