Getty Fire: All Evacuations Lifted As Containment Grows To 66% – Update

Click here to read the full article.

3RD UPDATE, 10:30 AM: Mandatory evacuations have been fully lifted for residents in the path of the Getty Fire, which erupted in the early morning hours Monday and burned more than 700 acres in the Sepulveda Pass area of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said all residents with ID will be allowed back into all homes in the last of the evac zones: Tigertail Rd at Deerbrook Ln to Chickory Ln; Stonehill Ln; Lindenwood Ln; Sky Ln; Canna Rd; Chickory Ln; Bluestone Tr to Bluegrass Wy; Bluestone Tr; Bluegrass Ln; and Bluegrass Wy.

More from Deadline

• Kincade Fire Grows To 75,000 Acres As PG&E Blackouts Begin; More Than 150,000 Evacuated From Northern California Wine Country - Update

• Easy Fire: Most Evacuation Orders Lifted; 10% Containment As Control Lines Hold Overnight - Update

• MSNBC's Brian Williams: Networks Have "Geographic Dysmorphia" In Lack Of Urgency Paid To California Fire Coverage

The news comes as the fire remained 745 acres and is now 66% contained, the LAFD said. A total of 195 total personnel are fighting the fire. A total of 12 homes were confirmed lost in the fire, while five others damaged.

2ND UPDATE, October 30, 5:50 PM: Most of the mandatory evacuations tied to the Getty Fire in Los Angeles were lifted late this afternoon as the wild Santa Ana wind event ebbs. Here are the areas where evacs remain in place:

West border: Kenter Avenue
South border: Sunset Boulevard
North border: Area just south of Mountain Gate Avenue
East border: Area adjacent to the 405 Freeway & Sepulveda Boulevard

The fire, which broke out in the early morning hours Monday, has burned 745 acres but is 27% contained, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the LAFD both tweeted updates awhile ago:

UPDATED with preliminary cause, 4:05 PM: The Los Angeles Fire Department has announced its preliminary finding about the cause of the Getty Fire. Watch dashcam video of the fire’s origination above.

“Using burn patterns, witness statements and physical evidence, investigators have determined the preliminary cause was an accidental start at in the 1800 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard,” the LAFD said today. “The fire was likely caused by a tree branch that broke off during the high wind conditions and subsequently landed on nearby powerlines, which resulted in sparking and arcing that ignited nearby brush. The powerlines remain intact on the pole.”

LAFD added: “There is no evidence of arson or an intentionally set fire and there is no evidence of a homeless encampment in the fire’s area of origin. Investigators are working to determine the ownership of the land occupied by the tree.”

During a news conference Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti updated a number of details about the Getty Fire today. He said 12 homes are confirmed lost and five others damaged. The acreage has grown to 650, and there now are 1,165 personnel assigned to battling the fire.

No injuries or fatalities to civilians or firefighters have been reported.

Westwood and Palisades Rec Center remain open as 24-hour evacuation centers for all residents.

Here is the latest information on street closures, per LAFD:

• Westbound Sunset Blvd is closed from the 405 Fwy to Temescal Canyon (Eastbound traffic remains open).

• Northbound Sepulveda Blvd closed from Moraga Drive to Skirball Center Drive.

• Southbound Sepulveda Blvd closed form Skirball to Sunset Blvd.

PREVIOUSLY, 8:31 AM: The Getty Fire that erupted early Monday morning grew slightly to 658 acres overnight, Los Angeles officials said Tuesday morning, as firefighters worked to knock down bigger flareups in the area.

Mandatory evacuations remain in place with a high wind advisory calling for strong winds returning to the region tonight. Evacuation centers established yesterday also remain available. L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin said the decision to keep residents from returning to their home come from lessons learned in the deadly 1961 Bel-Air and 1978 Mandeville Canyon fires.

The mandatory evacuation area still: Temescal Canyon Road as the west border, Sunset Boulevard as the south border, Mulholland as the north border and the 405 as the east border.

Containment remains at 5%, but the southbound 405 Freeway that had been closed much of Monday was able to reopen last night in the middle of rush hour.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said more than 1,100 firefighters remain on the front lines, and worked last night to fight back flareups including on N. Tigertail Drive where several homes were destroyed early Monday.

Red flag parking restrictions return to effect in Los Angeles at 8 PM tonight as the Santa Anas and low humidity are forecast to return. Garcetti said during the news conference that 70 mph gusts are possible.

Today’s “primary objective is to increase containment” ahead of the worsening conditions, Los Angeles Fire chief Ralph Terrazas said Tuesday.

Last night, the fire in Los Angeles’ Sepulveda Pass has stabilized at 618 acres Monday as lighter winds cooperated. One community under mandatory evacuation — Mountain Gate, south of Mulholland Drive — was reclassified as a voluntary evacuation zone and allowed to repopulate.

At least five homes have burned and mandatory evacuations have been in effect for more than 10,000 homes in the Brentwood and Westwood areas of Los Angeles due to the Getty Fire, which erupted at 1:34 AM Monday.

On Monday, fire officials said at least eight homes have been destroyed and five damaged. Garcetti said “there is an active arson investigation” but noted that just determines the cause of the fire and “doesn’t necessarily mean somebody has set it.”

Among the evacuees in the tony neighborhood were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter.

“Apparently everything around me is burning the f*uck down,” Sutter tweeted from Brentwood.

Schwarzenegger also tweeted about being evacuated early Monday morning after the fire first broke out.

Earlier, Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Assistant Fire Chief Jaime Moore said that if the Santa Ana winds-driven fire jumps the fire retardant line established by fixed-wing aircraft, “the area between Temescal Canyon and Topanga Canyon — we’ve asked [people] to be ready [to evacuate].”‘

He noted that firefighters are taking advantage of advantageous weather conditions, as winds died down and temperatures are much cooler.

Moore also noted that if the winds had shifted as forecast, the fire could threaten Mandeville Canyon, a heavily populated area that hasn’t burned since 1978. Back then, a 38,000-acre blaze destroyed more than 225 homes, killed three people and injured more than 50.

No fire-related deaths or injuries had been reported from the Getty Fire, whose cause is unknown but started at Getty Center Drive and the southbound 405 Freeway.

According to local news reports, homes were burning in the 1100 Block of N. Tigertail Road, and by 2:40 AM evacuations were ordered for the Mountaingate and Mandeville Canyon communities. The evacuation zone later extended to the west to Temescal Canyon Road.

Here are the evacuation centers, with Westwood and Van Nuys turning into shelters Monday night:

* Palisades Recreation Center (851 Alma Real Drive)
* Westwood Recreation Center (1350 South Sepulveda Boulevard)
* Van Nuys / Sherman Oaks Recreation Center (14201 Huston Street)
* Stoner Recreation Center (1835 Stoner Avenue)
* Cheviot Hills Recreation Center (2551 Motor Avenue)

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.