The Bel Air Fire was a disaster that began as a brush fire on November 6, 1961 in the Bel Air community of Los Angeles. The fire was fueled by strong Santa Ana winds.[1][2] At the time, it was the 5th most destructive fire in the United States and the worst in California since the fires following the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.[2] The fire's precise cause was never determined, but it was believed to be accidental.[3]
Fire
The season leading up to the fire had been the driest on record up to that point, and the morning of the fire, relative humidity was measured at less than 3% in the Santa Monica Mountains near where the fire began. At 8am on November 5th, the fire began in the mountains directly north of the UCLA campus. It spread south rapidly along the dry chaparral hills in 50 miles per hour (80km/h) winds. Conditions were so dry that witnesses reported the fire burning silently, without the usual crackle of burning wood caused by water turning to steam. At least 124 LAFD engine companies responded, with aerial support from 16 aircraft.[2]
Before the fire could be contained, it destroyed more than 20% of the expensive Bel Air neighborhood, ultimately burning 484 homes, 6,090 acres (24.6km2) and causing over $25,000,000 in damages.[6][2] At least 200 firemen were injured with mostly eye injuries due to the smoke and flying embers.[7]
As a result of the Bel Air Fire, Los Angeles initiated a series of laws and fire safety policies. These included the banning of wood shingle roofs in new construction and one of the most stringent brush clearance policies in the US.[1][8]
The Los Angeles City Fire Department produced a documentary, "Design For Disaster", about the wildfire, narrated by William Conrad. It called the densely packed homes nestled on hillsides covered in dry brush "a serious problem in fire protection, even under the best of conditions."[9][3]
↑Ditzel, Paul (January 1, 1986). Los Angeles Fire Department: Century of Service the Fascinating Story Hundreds of Spectacular Action Photos of Fires And Apparatus. Los Angeles Firemen's Relief Association. p.168.
↑Ditzel, Paul (January 1, 1986). Los Angeles Fire Department: Century of Service the Fascinating Story Hundreds of Spectacular Action Photos of Fires And Apparatus. Los Angeles Firemen's Relief Association. p.167.
↑Los Angeles City Fire Department (1962). Design For Disaster. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
