All evacuation warnings around Brentwood were lifted as crews gained the upper hand on a brush fire that ignited Wednesday afternoon along the 405 Freeway, threatening homes, a university campus and the Getty Center.
The blaze, dubbed the Getty fire, grew to around 25 acres before forward progress was stopped shortly after 6 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire was reported around 4:30 p.m. and appeared to have ignited near the Getty Center parking lot at 1200 Getty Center Drive, the Fire Department said. By about 5:30 p.m., it had grown to 20 acres.
The fire prompted the closure of the Getty Center, which will remain closed on Thursday to give firefighters easier access to the area, the center said in a post on X. The Getty Villa, located about 10 miles from the Getty Center in the Pacific Palisades, was not affected by the fire and will be open normal hours.
Aerial footage showed flames burning along a hillside. Firefighters were fighting the blaze on the ground and by air. Around 6:30 p.m., the Fire Department reported that ground crews had made progress, working amid heavy smoke and steep brush on the west side of the 405 Freeway while aircraft continued to make water drops. No injuries were reported and no homes damaged, authorities said.
The Fire Department issued evacuation warnings for two zones near the Getty Center, said spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz.
The evacuation area was roughly bounded by Promontory Road to the north, Sunset Boulevard to the south, the 405 Freeway to the east and Bundy Drive to the west. The warning encompassed the Getty Center as well as Mount Saint Mary’s University.
Around 8:40 p.m., authorities announced they had lifted the two warnings, though crews were set to remain on scene until the fire was fully contained.
The fire came as temperatures across large swaths of Southern California climbed over 100 degrees, with temperatures feeling 5 to 10 degrees hotter due to high humidity, according to the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on X earlier in the day that she had been in touch with fire personnel and that the Los Angeles Police Department was ready to assist firefighters with evacuations if they were needed.
Debbie Ream, a spokesperson for Mount Saint Mary’s University, said the school’s Chalon campus for undergraduate students canceled in-person classes around 5:30 p.m. The campus is near the Getty Museum and was within an evacuation warning zone.
The school had encouraged visitors and commuters to leave and told the roughly 400 students who live on campus to prepare to shelter in place, Ream said.
The fire along the Sepulveda Pass did not appear to affect traffic on the 405 Freeway.
In January 2025, a fire erupted in the same area amid red flag warnings. The fire burned 40 acres and prompted authorities to briefly shut down the freeway.
Times staff writer Sandra McDonald contributed to this report.
