Fire officials issued evacuation warnings Wednesday afternoon for two neighborhoods near the Getty Center as a brush fire broke out along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass.
The Los Angeles Fire Department issued the warnings — a lower-level alert urging residents to prepare to leave, but not a mandatory evacuation order — for Genasys zones LFD-0895 and LFD-0967 shortly after the fire ignited. The warning area was bounded by Promontory Road to the north, Sunset Boulevard to the south, the 405 Freeway to the east, and Bundy Drive to the west, covering parts of Brentwood and Bel-Air. No structures were reported threatened, and LAFD said residents should stay alert to changing conditions and follow instructions from responders in the field.
The blaze, named the Getty Fire for its location next to the Getty Center museum, was first reported around 4:15-4:20 p.m. on a brush-covered hillside near Getty Center Drive. LAFD's official estimate placed the fire at approximately five acres of "well-involved brush" as of 4:50 p.m., a figure most outlets echoed through the evening. Some outlets cited lower figures around three acres, while one unofficial estimate from the Watch Duty app put the size at 20 acres — notably higher than LAFD's own count. No containment percentage had been released by LAFD or CAL FIRE by Wednesday evening.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Officials emphasized the blaze was not wind-driven, distinguishing it from the destructive, Santa Ana-fueled Getty Fire of 2019. Southern California was in the midst of an extreme heat warning, with temperatures forecast between 92 and 108 degrees and record humidity contributing to difficult conditions.
The Getty Center evacuated its visitors and staff as a precaution and closed for the remainder of the day. A spokesperson for the museum said its art and collections were safe and that it was coordinating with the fire department to monitor the situation.
Crews mounted a rapid air-and-ground response. Additional engines, water tenders and hand crews were requested soon after the fire broke out, and a Chinook helicopter began drawing water from the Stone Canyon Reservoir to drop on the flames. Some reports said as many as 10 additional engines were called in. No total personnel count had been released.
As of Wednesday evening, no road closures had been announced on the 405, though heavy smoke drifted across the freeway toward Bel-Air; traffic was reported to be moving despite the smoke. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
Air quality officials had already warned of elevated ozone levels across parts of Los Angeles County this week because of the heat wave, though no smoke-specific air quality advisory had been issued in connection with the Getty Fire itself, which remained small and localized to the Sepulveda Pass area.