submitted by a reader
Sepulveda Pass brush fire closed 405 Freeway for several hours
400 firefighters and nine water-dropping helicopters took 8 hrs to extinguish 100-acre Sepulveda Pass brush fire
Sepulveda Pass brush fire was the mother of all brush fires of late. It must have been. It took 32 firefighter-hours to extinguish each acre [one acre is about 4,047 m².] In other words, it took each firefighter an average of one hour to extinguish an area measuring about 11.25 x 11.25 meters (12.3 x 12.3 yards, or 1,361 ft²), about 7.7 full-size car spaces (20′ x 8′ parallel parking, one-way aisle – Off-Street Parking Design Standards, San Jose, California).
And of course nine water-dropping helicopters from the city and Los Angeles County helped douse the flames with their massive loads.
How long will a tumbleweed take to burn out?
A helicopter drops water as drivers make their way over the Sepulveda Pass on the 405 Freeway. An early-morning brush fire temporarily closed the interstate. Photo: Gus Ruelas/Associated Press. Image may be subject to copyright. See Fair Use Notice.
Sepulveda Pass brush fire was also a very intelligent fire! It started at about 12.50 am trying to catch the brave firefighters off guard. The fire started west of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles and crept toward the Getty Museum, a college, a cultural center as well as some of the most expensive homes in SoCal.
This was a fire to capture the attention of the well-heeled, grabbing their private parts so that their hearts and minds would follow, softening the attitude of anyone [without a wild imagination ] who might have doubted the seriousness and prevalence of California fires. This was a fire with a message for the wealthy elite [who didn’t strike it rich through the fire industry] and lawmakers alike: No amount of money, not even a zillion dollars, is too much to pay to fight the flames.
Can you imagine, god forbid, the Getty Museum going up in smoke because there wasn’t enough money to fight the flames?
Call it Sepulveda Pass brush fire, if you must, but this brush fire was no ordinary fire. It had blood from the severed head of Khartoum splashed all over it!
An excerpt from Brush Fire Burns 100 Acres near The Getty Center
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 12:51 AM,
- 69 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters,
- 7 LAFD Rescue Ambulances,
- 1 Heavy Rescue, 4 Arson Units,
- 3 Rehab Units,
- 8 Helicopters,
- 7 EMS Battalion Captains,
- 16 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams,
- 2 Division Chief Officer Command Teams,
- LAFD Dozers, [unspecified numbers]
- Water Tenders, [unspecified numbers]
- Mobile Command Post,
- 2 CERT Team Coordinators,
and companies from
- Los Angeles County,
- Orange County and
- State Office of Emergency Services Fire Departments
all under the direction of Assistant Chief Craig Fry responded to a Major Emergency Brush Fire at the South Bound 405 Freeway near Getty Center Dr. in Bel Air.
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