Bel Air Fire

Bel Air Fire
Location Bel Air, Los Angeles, California
Statistics
Date(s) November 5–8, 1961 (PDT)
Burned area 16,900 acres (68 km2) to
Cause brush fire
Land use Residential, wildlands
Buildings
destroyed		 484 homes
Fatalities 0
Non-fatal injuries 112 (est.)[1]

The Bel Air Fire was a disaster that began as a brush fire on November 5, 1961 in the Bel Air community of Los Angeles. 484 homes were destroyed and 16,900 acres (68 km2) were burned. The fire was fueled by strong Santa Ana winds.[1]

There were multiple celebrities affected by the fire. Actors Burt Lancaster, Joan Fontaine, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, comedian Joe E. Brown, Nobel laureate chemist Willard Libby and composer Lukas Foss lost homes in the fire. Others that fought flames before they evacuated were former Vice President Richard Nixon, actor Robert Taylor, film producer Keith Daniels and singer Billy Vaughn.[2]

Aftermath

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]

The Los Angeles City Fire Department produced a documentary, "Design For Disaster", about the wildfire, narrated by William Conrad.

References

  1. 1 2 3 staff (2014). "Bel Air Fire". Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2011-12-30.
  2. ↑ Harrison, Scott (November 7, 2010). "Bel Air Fire - Framework". Los Angeles Times.


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