LOS ANGELES _ Firefighters worked overnight to gain control of a brush fire burning through hillside communities in Los Angeles ahead of the strongest Santa Ana winds of the season, which threaten to unleash chaos across the region in the coming days.
The Getty fire, which broke out shortly after 1:30 a.m. Monday along the 405 Freeway near the Getty Center, quickly spread into neighborhoods, charring 658 acres, burning several homes and sending people fleeing in the dark. The fire was 5% contained as of early Tuesday.
Favorable weather conditions _ including elevated humidity and diminished wind speeds _ helped firefighters slow the growth of the blaze overnight despite flare-ups east of Tigertail Road in Brentwood, where homes had burned hours earlier.
"Our focus was taking full advantage of those conditions overnight," said Margaret Stewart, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman.
With about 1,100 firefighters battling the blaze, crews' main objective Tuesday will be to boost containment ahead of extreme Santa Ana winds set to arrive overnight and into early Wednesday. The gusts are expected to be the worst the region has seen this season, said LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas.
Fire officials worry the high winds may blow smoldering embers miles away from the body of the blaze, setting new spot fires in dry brush or igniting homes.
"It only takes one ember to blow downwind to start another fire," Terrazas said. "We're very concerned about tonight's wind event."
For that reason, fire officials say mandatory evacuations for thousands of residents _ east of Temescal Canyon Road, north of Sunset Boulevard, south of Mulholland Drive and west of the 405 Freeway _ will remain in effect.
"People will not be returning to their homes this evening," said Mayor Eric Garcetti, adding that evacuation centers set up Monday are still open.
Residents in the Mountaingate community were allowed to return home Monday night. However, officials warned they should be prepared to evacuate again if the fire flares up.
Santa Ana winds blowing between 50 and 70 mph with isolated gusts up to 80 mph in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains are expected to arrive late Tuesday and last through Thursday evening, forecasters say. The predicted wind speeds prompted the National Weather Service to issue an extreme red flag warning, cautioning the public of high potential for "very rapid fire spread, long range spotting and extreme fire behavior with any new fire ignitions."
The strong Santa Ana winds are the result of a combination of high pressure and frigid, dry air from Canada.
The clockwise circulation around that high-pressure system drives northeasterly winds over mountain peaks and through narrow passes and canyons, which increases the velocity and dries the air out more. The air is colder and heavier because it originated near the Arctic Circle, so it gains more momentum than in a warmer, offshore wind event.
"When you have cold air, it tends to sink, and when you have winds coming down the mountain, it causes it to accelerate," said Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Southern California Edison has already shut off power to more than 300 customers in an effort to reduce the risk of windblown power lines sparking another wildfire. The utility is monitoring an additional 205,000 customers for possible shutoffs in Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties in the coming days.
