LA Crews Battle New Brush Fire Near Bel-Air

Fire crews halted the progress of a new, 40-acre brush fire burning in Los Angeles near Interstate 405, the Getty Museum and Bel-Air early Thursday morning, officials said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department had it issued an evacuation warning after the fire, dubbed the Sepulveda Fire, broke out late Wednesday in Sepulveda Pass. The fire department lifted the warning a few hours later.

“Air support and other aggressive actions have been deployed to combat a new fire just east of the 405,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.

Although firefighters had managed to stop the fire’s growth, it was still zero percent contained and burning through extremely dry brush Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. No structures had been burned, officials said.

On social media, people posted pictures and videos of motorists stopping along the roads to photograph the fire. 405 is the country’s busiest motorway.

The same area saw a devastating blaze in 2017 when the Skirball fire burned 475 acres and destroyed several mansions, including one owned by Rupert Murdoch.

The Sepulveda fire adds more anxiety to a city where the Palisades and Eaton fires are still burning, two weeks after destroying entire neighborhoods and killing at least 27 people.

On Wednesday, amid continued dangerous fire conditions in the region, another fire, the Hughes Fire, broke out and quickly spread to more than 10,000 acres near Santa Clarita, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The fire forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate and several schools and businesses to temporarily close.

The Los Angeles area on Thursday expected more low humidity and dry desert winds that have fueled the fires, with winds peaking around 8 p.m. 9, according to the National Weather Service. Over the weekend, the weather pattern is expected to change and Los Angeles could see some rain, the service said.

Nazaneen Ghaffar contributed with reporting.