A brush fire burning in the hills near the Getty Center grew to approximately 25 acres before forward progress stopped shortly after 6 p.m., according to FOX 11 Los Angeles. The fire broke out in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, prompting evacuation warnings for nearby residents and a university campus perched on the hillside.
The fire ignited around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday near 1200 Getty Center Drive off the southbound 405 Freeway, according to the Los Angeles Times, which reported that Los Angeles Fire Department crews launched an immediate ground and air assault, using water-dropping helicopters to knock down flames burning through dense hillside vegetation. By Wednesday evening, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported crews had made progress containing the blaze, which had grown to approximately 25 acres before forward progress stopped shortly after 6 p.m.
Fire officials issued evacuation warnings shortly after ignition for zones LFD-0895 and LFD-0967, an area bounded by Promontory Road to the north, Sunset Boulevard to the south, the 405 Freeway to the east, and Bundy Drive to the west, per the same Times report. That warning zone encompassed Mount Saint Mary's University's Chalon Campus, which is near the Getty Center, the Times noted — the same campus that was evacuated during the 2019 Getty Fire.
Heat Wave Fueled Volatile Conditions
The fire broke out amid a Southern California heat wave, with midday temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity making conditions feel 5 to 10 degrees warmer, the Los Angeles Times reported. The blaze burned through dry fuel on a slope west of the freeway.
Weeks earlier, Hoodline reported an overnight crash near Bel Air Crest Road sent a vehicle off an embankment on the 405 Freeway and sparked a separate, localized brush fire between Skirball Center Drive and Getty Center Drive — underscoring how freeway crash near Bel Air and roadside brush have repeatedly collided in this corridor. Caltrans traffic data cited by Hoodline shows the Sepulveda Pass stretch of the 405 carries between 278,000 and nearly 400,000 vehicles per day, making it one of the busiest highway corridors in the country and raising the stakes any time fire threatens the route.
Why the Getty Center Itself Rarely Evacuates Art
Despite sitting directly adjacent to the fire zone, the Getty Center uses travertine and concrete construction. These materials are part of the hilltop complex's construction.
The museum also maintains a 1-million-gallon underground water storage tank for irrigation and uses air-handling systems that rely on air pressure and filtration to keep smoke out. The available reporting does not detail annual joint training between museum staff and LAFD command staff or identify the complex as a staging area for emergency responders.
A Corridor With a History of Fast-Moving Fires
Wednesday's fire is the latest in a string of blazes to threaten the Sepulveda Pass. In October 2019, the Getty Fire ignited along Interstate 405, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The available reporting does not specify its acreage, cause, damage or evacuation totals, and does not establish the Getty Center's condition during that fire.
Two years earlier, in December 2017, the Skirball Fire occurred in Bel-Air near the Getty Center, the LAFD reported. The available reporting does not specify the fire's acreage, cause, home damage or closure figures. The official cause of Wednesday's fire had not been determined as of the latest reporting.
