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Getty fire reaches 39% containment as most evacuation orders are lifted

Firefighters are battling a brush fire near the Getty Center, west of the 405 Freeway. (Jintak Han/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By David Gray and Martín Bilbao

Oct. 28, 2019 4:36 a.m.

This post was updated Oct. 31 at 2:17 p.m.

UCLA continues to operate normally as firefighters work to contain the Getty fire west of the 405 Freeway.

Around 619 firefighter personnel are still responding to a fire that sparked about 2 miles from campus early Monday morning. The Getty fire has spread to 745 acres and is 39% contained as of Thursday morning, according to the latest alerts by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The blaze destroyed at least 12 structures and five have been partially damaged, according to the latest LAFD press briefing. There are also 7,091 structures within the evacuation zone west of the 405 Freeway, down from over 10,000 structures Monday, according to the LAFD alerts.

A Santa Ana wind event began late Tuesday evening, prompting an extreme red flag warning, according to the latest LAFD press briefing.

The winds will range between 30 and 50 miles per hour and may peak as high as 70 miles per hour throughout Thursday afternoon, potentially fanning the flames and sending embers flying, said LAFD fire chief Ralph Terrazas at the briefing.

A BruinAlert notified students that classes would continue as planned and that the blaze continues to pose no immediate danger to campus Wednesday.

Classes were canceled Monday because of road closures and nearby evacuation orders that may have impacted some students and faculty, said UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez in an emailed statement, which is also posted on Bruins Safe Online.

The fire has largely moved westward with the Santa Ana winds and away from campus. UCLA Office of Emergency Management is working with LAFD, and UCLA is outside the evacuation area, according to a BruinAlert.

Air quality 

The air quality index around campus is 57, which is moderate, as of 2 p.m. on Thursday, according to AirNow.

The index had previously dropped to 60 Monday evening from a high of 75 in the afternoon, a better rating than earlier in the day but still in the moderate range.

Although air quality was listed as moderate since at least 11 a.m. Monday according to AirNow, UCLA only acknowledged the impacted air quality at 1:30 p.m. in its sixth BruinAlert on Monday.

A BruinAlert Monday afternoon said shifting winds sent some smoke east toward UCLA.

The UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center distributed free air masks to help protect students from the smoke. Air masks were also distributed at residence hall front desks for students with lung conditions.

All residents in the surrounding area should also be prepared to evacuate, a LAFD spokesperson said. Plumes of red smoke could be seen from the North Village and the Hill early Monday morning.

Evacuations and closures 

10.28.gettyfire edit 3-01

Most of the remaining evacuation orders and warnings were lifted Thursday morning, except for homes on the following streets: Tigertail Road at Deerbrook Lane to Chickory Lane, Stonehill Lane, Lindenwood Lane, Sky Lane, Canna Road, Chickory Lane, Bluestone Trail to Bluegrass Way, Bluestone Trail, Bluegrass Lane and Bluegrass Way.

Residents west of the 405 Freeway were forced to flee the flames early Monday morning. LAFD initially ordered mandatory evacuations in the area north of Sunset Boulevard and south of Mandeville Canyon Road to evacuate early Monday morning.

The southbound 405 Freeway reopened Monday evening from the 101 Freeway to Sunset Boulevard after being closed all morning and afternoon, according to Caltrans. All onramps and offramps reopened by Thursday morning, except for the southbound Skirball Center Drive offramp.

All southbound traffic was redirected to the 101 Freeway during the closures. Off-ramps at Sepulveda Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Moraga Drive, Getty Center Drive, Skirball Center Drive and Mulholland Drive were also closed for those traveling northbound on the 405.

UCLA Health closed the UCLA Breast Center, a Mattel Children’s Hospital practice, the 15th Street Family Medicine clinic and Wilshire Immediate Care – all in Santa Monica. Additionally, UCLA Health closed its Brentwood and Pacific Palisades clinics Monday, according to a UCLA Health press release.

All UCLA Health facilities resumed their regular operation schedules Tuesday, according to an updated press release.

The UCLA Lab School, Geffen Academy at UCLA, and UCLA Early Care and Education Centers reopened Tuesday after being closed Monday. These schools were initially closed to follow the lead of other K-12 institutions in the area, according to the statement from Vazquez.

The Los Angeles Unified School District also closed its schools for Monday but they will remain closed Tuesday, said LAUSD District 4 representative Nick Melvoin.

Evacuation centers are located at the Westwood Recreation Center and Palisades Recreation Center on Tuesday. The Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Recreation Center, Stoner Recreation Center and Cheviot Hills Recreation Center previously served as evacuation centers but closed Monday evening.

Power outages

Southern California Edison cut power to 953 customers in Los Angeles County on Wednesday.Areas without power included parts of Santa Clarita and Palmdale, as well as the unincorporated regions of Agua Dulce, Acton, Lincoln Crest, Canyon County and parts of Leona Valley.

Power outages were also reported in Brentwood on Monday afternoon, affecting 545 customers, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.  The area south of Sky Lane, north of Greenock Lane, west of North Bundy Drive and east of North Tigertail Road was reported to be without power, according to an LADWP spokesperson.

The area south of Mulholland Drive, north of Ovada Place, west of Casiano Road, and east of Sepulveda Boulevard was also without power, the LADWP spokesperson added.

Contributing reports from Jintak Han, Daily Bruin senior staff. 

UPDATES:

Oct. 31

2:17 p.m.: This article was updated with information on the containment percentage of the Getty fire and lifted evacuation orders.

Oct. 30

6:17 p.m.: This article was updated with information on lifted evacuation orders.

9:05 a.m.: This article was updated with information on the size of the fire and containment percentage.

4:50 a.m.: This article was updated with information on power outages around Los Angeles County.

Oct. 29

3:09 p.m.: This article was updated with information on containment percentages and a wind advisory.

9:03 p.m.: This article was updated with information on the size of the fire.

Oct. 28

7:35 p.m.: This article was updated with information on classes resuming Tuesday.

7:08 p.m.: This article was updated with information on the 405 Freeway reopening.

6:00 p.m.: This article was updated with information from a 5 p.m. press briefing.

2:34 p.m.: This article was updated with information on additional UCLA Health facilities closures.

2:11 p.m.: This article was updated with information on impacted air quality and power outages.

12:36 p.m.: This article was updated with information on the size of the fire and the number of homes lost.

11:30 a.m.: This article was updated with information on UCLA Health facilities closures.

11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with information on class closures at UCLA.

9:04 a.m.: This article was updated with information on the closure of the 405 Freeway.

This article was originally published Oct. 28 at 4:36 a.m.

 

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David Gray | News Editor
Gray is the 2019-2020 News editor of the Daily Bruin. He was previously an assistant News editor and a reporter for the city and crime beat. He is also a third-year political science student at UCLA.
Gray is the 2019-2020 News editor of the Daily Bruin. He was previously an assistant News editor and a reporter for the city and crime beat. He is also a third-year political science student at UCLA.
Martín Bilbao | Alumnus
Bilbao was the Assistant News editor for City and Crime from 2019-2020. He graduated with a degree in political science student and previously worked as a News contributor for Features and Student Life.
Bilbao was the Assistant News editor for City and Crime from 2019-2020. He graduated with a degree in political science student and previously worked as a News contributor for Features and Student Life.
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