A small brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon off the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass near the Skirball Cultural Center, forcing the temporary closure of the southbound lanes and backing up drivers during the rush.
Firefighters responded at 2:30 p.m. to the area near Mulholland Drive, where the flames were burning uphill. At the height of the incident, about 60 firefighters were on scene working to stop the spread and establish hose lines around the fire while light winds moved through the area.
The fire burned just over three acre, but crews stopped forward progress within 35 minutes. No structures were damaged, and some southbound lanes reopened around 4 p.m. The California Highway Patrol said just before 7 p.m. that all lanes were open again.
The small size of the blaze did not match the disruption it caused. A fire that covered just over three acre was enough to shut all southbound lanes of a major freeway in the middle of the afternoon, and that made the immediate concern less about damage than about how quickly crews could contain it before the traffic mess spread farther.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. What is already clear is that the Brentwood Fire, though brief and limited, hit one of Los Angeles' most heavily used roadways at exactly the wrong time and left drivers waiting until the lane closures were lifted for good.
