Firefighters worked overnight to spray homes in the Brentwood area and other neighborhoods to stamp out any existing embers. Many homes in Brentwood were seen red-tagged, charred and unrecognizable.
Fire officials said it’s critical to get ahead of the coming Santa Ana wind event, which is expected to arrive in the Southland Tuesday night. Forecasters say this round of wind may be the strongest of the season so far.
At a Tuesday morning press conference, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the fire had increased slightly in size to 656 acres and remained at 5% containment.
LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas, who also spoke at the press conference, said crews are on alert ahead of the wind event.
“Our goal today will be to increase containment as much as possible. That is our primary objective,” he said. “Embers are known to travel for miles…We are very concerned about tonight’s wind event.”
MORE: Time-lapse video shows Getty Fire flames spreading over hills for hours
The Getty Fire erupted at 1:30 a.m. Monday along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass, prompting the mandatory evacuation of thousands of residential and commercial structures. The blaze destroyed at least eight homes – North Tigertail Road – and damaged multiple structures.
MORE: See full list and map of evacuation area, road closures due to the Getty Fire
“We know we’re going to have a major wind event tonight at about 11 o’clock that’s going to last until Thursday. We’re doing everything we can to wrap our arms around this fire to be able to prevent a potential of those strong gusty Santa Ana winds, pushing this fire, rekindling a lot of the fire and blowing embers a mile to two miles down range,” said Assistant Chief Jaime Moore with Los Angeles Fire.
PHOTOS: Getty Fire burns in West Los Angeles
Garcetti announced he was signing an emergency declaration to bring more resources to help battle the blaze. During a press conference, Garcetti said the fire was not caused by an encampment or by someone without housing.
The mayor said investigators were making “good progress” in determining the cause. They were looking at multiple possibilities.
Monday, LAFD arson investigators along with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews were inspecting a power pole along Sepulveda Boulevard in the general area where the blaze started. Terrazas confirmed that crews have identified the fire’s point of origin just off the 405 Freeway near Sepulveda Boulevard.
Investigators were also looking at a broken tree branch with a charred end that was on the ground along Sepulveda just south of the Skirball on the west side. The branch was set aside on the ground surrounded by cones.
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