15 sobering photos of the Skirball Fire

It has burned at least 475 acres in Bel Air

By Bianca Barragan Dec 6, 2017, 7:35pm PST

Southern California Wildfires Forces Thousands to Evacuate — The Skirball Fire at one point closed portions of the 405 Freeway. The freeway has since reopened.

The blaze in Bel Air dubbed the Skirball Fire broke out early this morning, chewing through 475 acres and forcing mandatory evacuations for 46,000 residents. At last count, 15 structures were damaged or destroyed.

The fire is blazing east of the 405 Freeway, portions of which were closed earlier today as the inferno raced alongside it. It was closed from the 10 to the 101, creating a creepy visual during what would normally be rush hour on the famously packed freeway.

Classes at UCLA’s Westwood campus were first declared optional, then ultimately cancelled, but students who were on campus were seen sporting face masks because of the smoke from the Skirball Fire.

The fire is still burning and is only 5 percent contained. Winds were relatively calm today but are expected to ramp up tonight, which fire officials say will likely fuel existing fires.

Below, we’ve collected 15 photos of the fire as it grew.

#skirballfire on our street right now. via @latimes #belair @natalie_shirinian

A post shared by Elizabeth Margaret Baudouin (@elizabethbaudouin) on Dec 6, 2017 at 3:28pm PST

Time lapse of the Skirball Fire with a water drop today at work!

A post shared by Benny Fillo (@bennyfillo) on Dec 6, 2017 at 5:18pm PST

Eerie orange glow over bel air #fire #la web seen at least seven multimillion dollar homes destroyed

A post shared by Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanabc) on Dec 6, 2017 at 4:51pm PST

A post shared by ABC7 Southern California (@abc7la) on Dec 6, 2017 at 9:18am PST

Fire fly

A post shared by Milo Mitchell (@milosees) on Dec 6, 2017 at 2:27pm PST

Something you NEVER see in LA. The 405 freeway deserted. It's like a scene from @WalkingDead_AMC #SkirballFire (photo courtesy of @CBSLA) pic.twitter.com/aWnh1pWdRE
— Amy K Rogers (@Amy_KRogers) December 6, 2017

#SkirballFire #Gettycenter #405 this is happening while going south on 405 to #LAX NB 405 closed #TrafficAlert prayers for all the families up in these hills. pic.twitter.com/ab977BAca4
— Joe Mendez (@jamraiders95) December 6, 2017

A post shared by Sanaz Khoubnazar DMD (@drsanazik) on Dec 6, 2017 at 7:29am PST

Hoooly that’s so close to us RT @70sspacepunk: Today was scariest morning commute of my life: #gettycenter #skirballfire pic.twitter.com/3PpIXV8hs6
— Lesina Gaea (@xoLesina) December 6, 2017

Picture of #skirballfire taken by colleague from the office in Mid-City today; looking westward. (I stayed put and worked remotely from home.) Thank you to our local heroes fighting this fire and others burning concurrently across Southern California.

A post shared by Aric Bayer (@aricbayer) on Dec 6, 2017 at 5:01pm PST

Absolute terrifying commute this morning. #SkirballFire pic.twitter.com/RYvnImj4Ft
— Matt Smith (@mlsutah) December 6, 2017

Not the typical morning commute... pic.twitter.com/kJIOQeqsIK
— A. Mutzabaugh CMT (@WLV_investor) December 6, 2017

A post shared by LA County Fire Air Operations (@lacofireairops) on Dec 6, 2017 at 2:14pm PST

Here’s the view I woke up to today. This was taken around 7am. Fortunately, my very kind friends helped me to evacuate from the school. I’m now safe in OC. But I hope the #SkirballFire doesn’t hit my school! #abc7eyewitness

A post shared by Brytanya ✨ (@britie_le_kirby) on Dec 6, 2017 at 10:33am PST

#SkirballFire from the Expo Line pic.twitter.com/ORHrAtaGqi
— Laura E. Davis (@lauraelizdavis) December 6, 2017

15 sobering photos of the Skirball Fire

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