A race to fight the raging Getty blaze threatening pricey enclaves

Firefighters continued their battle against a stubborn mountainside blaze in Los Angeles on Tuesday, with their eyes on the clock because of a forecast for high winds that could make their task far more difficult.

The Getty fire had consumed 656 acres by Tuesday afternoon, and containment was reported to have risento 15 percent. The Los Angeles City Fire Department said it was confident it was making headway.

“That’s a good sign, actually, that it didn’t grow by more,” Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters Tuesday morning.

But their job will be more difficult later Tuesday, with Santa Ana winds that will likely gust up to 70 mph in some locations through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

“Those extreme wind events we’re going to see … those can pick up and transfer the fire miles away,” Garcetti said.

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More than 1,100 firefighters from across the region were battling burning tinder-dry brush that hasn’t seen rain for months.It’s been 125 days — about four months — since the last rain fell downtown and 95 days since it rained at Los Angeles International Airport.

“Our goal today will be to increase containment as much as possible. That is our primary objective,” city Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said. “It only takes one ember to blow downwind and start another fire.”

City officials maintained an evacuation zone Tuesday in West Los Angeles and urged residents just outside that area to keep bags packed. Terrazas told residents to gather medicine, key documents and any other irreplaceable items.

“Today, you need to be set. We have a known threat tonight with this high wind event,” Terrazas said. “You must be ready and now set. ‘Set’ means get the things you want to take with you and get them prepared in case you have to leave quickly.”

Thanks to fire crews’ progress on Tuesday, the mandatory evacuation zone had been shrunk to cover about 7,000 structures, including homes and businesses, officials said. At least 12 homes had been destroyed and five others had been damaged, fire officials said Tuesday afternoon.

The evacuation zone included homes belonging to some of Southern California’s richest and most famous residents, such as former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

While wealthy homeowners have made their way out, some have failed to tell their maids and gardeners to steer clear, said Mike Bonin, who represents the region on the City Council.

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“I want to encourage people to make sure that they are reaching out to anybody who may be showing up at their homes and urging them to stay away … whether it’s your mother-in-law or your son’s girlfriend or boyfriend or your gardener or your housekeeper,” Bonin said.

The blaze broke out at about 1:34 a.m. Monday in the Sepulveda Pass, not far from the famed Getty Center art museum.

While curators said their priceless artifacts were safe from nearby flames, the museum was closed to visitors both Monday and Tuesday.

Alex Johnson and Kathryn Prociv contributed.

source: nbcnews.com