Bel-Air wildfire latest to threaten Los Angeles
Gusts as high as 130 km/h fan flames as 200,000 people ordered to evacuate in SoCal
VENTURA, CALIF.— A wildfire erupted in Los Angeles’ exclusive Bel-Air section Wednesday as yet another part of Southern California found itself under siege from an outbreak of wind-whipped blazes that have consumed multimillion-dollar houses and tract homes alike.
Hundreds of homes across the L.A. metropolitan area and beyond were feared destroyed since Monday, but firefighters were only slowly managing to make their way into some of the hard-hit areas. As many as five fires have closed highways, schools and museums, shut down production of TV series and cast a hazardous haze over the region. About 200,000 people were under evacuation orders. No deaths and only a few injuries were reported.
From the beachside city of Ventura, where rows of homes were levelled, to the rugged foothills north of Los Angeles, where stable owners had to evacuate horses in trailers, to Bel-Air, where the rich and famous have sweeping views of L.A., fierce Santa Ana winds sweeping in from the desert fanned the flames and fears.
“God willing, this will slow down so the firefighters can do their job,” said Maurice Kaboud, who ignored evacuation orders and stood in his backyard with a garden hose at the ready.
Air tankers that were grounded most of Tuesday because of high winds went up on Wednesday, dropping flame retardant. Firefighters rushed to attack the fires before the winds picked up again. They were expected to gust as high as 130 km/h at night. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection uses acolour-coded wind index in its forecasts. Thursday’s forecast is purple, the most extreme conditions, which has never been used before, director Ken Pimlott said.
“Conditions are going to change again tonight,” Pimlott said. “They’re going to be extreme tomorrow.”
Before dawn Wednesday, flames exploded on the steep slopes of Se- pulveda Pass, closing a section of heavily travelled Interstate 405 and destroying four homes in Bel-Air, where houses range from $2 million (U.S.) to more than $30 million.
Firefighters hosed down a burning Tudor-style house as helicopters dropped water on hillsides to protect homes from the 60-hectare blaze.
Bel-Air was the site of a catastrophic fire in 1961 that burned nearly 500 homes.
Across the wide freeway from the fire, the Getty Center art complex was closed to protect its collection from smoke damage. Many schools across Los Angeles cancelled classes because of poor air quality. UCLA, at the edge of the Bel-Air evacuation zone, cancelled afternoon classes and its evening basketball game. By late afternoon, firefighters said they had controlled the fire’s advance.
Production of HBO’s Westworld and the CBS show S.W.A.T. was suspended because of the danger to cast and crew from two nearby fires.
In Ventura County northwest of L.A., the biggest and most destructive of the wildfires grew to 262 square kilometres and had near- ly reached the Pacific on Tuesday night after starting about 45 kilometres inland a day earlier.
The fire destroyed at least150 structures, but incident commander Todd Derum said he suspects hundreds of homes have been lost.
While winds were calmer Wednesday, the fire remained active around Ventura, spreading along the coast to the west and up into the mountains around the community of Ojai and into the agricultural area of Santa Paula.