Bel Air Fire

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]

This article is about the 1961 fire. For the 2017 fire in Bel Air, see Skirball Fire.
Bel Air Fire
LocationBel Air, Los Angeles, California
Statistics
Date(s)November 5–8, 1961 (PDT)
Burned area16,900 acres (68 km2) to
Causebrush fire
Land useResidential, wildlands
Buildings destroyed484 homes
Deaths0
Non-fatal injuries112 (est.)[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]

The fire's precise cause was not determined, but it was believed to be accidental. [3]

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. 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."[3]


References
  1. 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.
  3. Lloyd, Jonathan. "From the Archives: The November 1961 Bel Air Fire Disaster". NBC Los Angeles. NBC Universal Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2019.


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