A brushfire broke out at midday Sunday in Mandeville Canyon, just northwest of the Getty Museum, and quickly developed into a “major emergency” as it charred at least 20 acres, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire began about 12:45 p.m. and was first reported as burning about 3 to 4 acres of brush near a house at 2969 Mandeville Canyon Road, fire department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.
An hour later, it spread to 8 acres, burning up hillsides towards the Mountaingate Country Club, Stewart said. By 2:30 p.m., helicopter video showed it to be much larger.
A volcano-like smoke plume was visible across the Westside and San Fernando Valley, as the fire consumed moderate to thick brush. It was just off Mandeville Canyon Road, a dead end road that snakes up a deep canyon, lined by expensive view houses.
Some 115 firefighters were on the scene within 70 minutes. Supervisors were making plans to feed 400 firefighters sandwiches for dinner.
As of 2:30 p.m. the city fire department had dispatched two water- dropping helicopters. L.A. County Fire Department added another water-dropping helicopter and five camp crews to help the ground attack against the flames, Stewart said.
The fire department set up a command post to coordinate the various firefighting agencies at Mountaingate Drive, Stewart added.
Fire trucks were staged for assignment at Sunset Boulevard, about 2-1/2 miles downhill from the fire. Another command post was set up at the Mountaingate country club, north of the fire and just west of the San Diego (405) Freeway.
Firefighters asked for Los Angeles police to be ready in case houses need to be evacuated. Traffic was snarled at the bottom of the canyon, and only emergency vehicles were allowed north of there.
One family told firefighters they had evacuated from their home so quickly that they had left food cooking on a stove. Crews were sent there to turn it off.
Logistical equipment that had been assigned to an earlier fire in Lake View Terrace — which was burning into the Angeles National Forest — was redirected to a fire station in Van Nuys after the Brentwood fire broke out.
The nearby Getty Center museum did not close, but stopped allowing additional patrons to enter as a precaution, a spokesman said.
