Skirball Fire

{{Short description|2017 wildfire in Southern California}}

{{use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox wildfire

| title = Skirball Fire

| partof = the December 2017 Southern California wildfires

| image = Skirballfire12062017.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = A shot of the Skirball Fire from West Hollywood, shortly after its ignition

| location = Bel Air, Los Angeles County, California

| coordinates =

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| cost =

| area = {{convert|422|acres|ha}}

| date = {{Unbulleted list|{{Start date|2017|12|06}} – |{{End date|2017|12|15}}}}

| time =

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| cause = Illegal cooking fire

| landuse =

| buildings = 6

| injuries = 3 firefighters

| fatalities = None reported

| perps =

| motive =

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}}

File:Bel Air California, Stone Canyon Reservoir, and UCLA.jpg neighborhood, immediately north of University of California, Los Angeles along I-405, where the Skirball Fire is burning in early December 2017. The lake is Stone Canyon Reservoir.]]

File:Map of Thomas Fire.png{{About|the 2017 fire|the 1961 fire in Bel Air|Bel Air Fire}}{{OSM Location map

| coord = {{coord|34.0|-118.5}}

| zoom = 7

| float = right

| width = 280

| height = 200

|caption = Location of the Skirball Fire

| title =

| scalemark = 0

| minimap =

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| shape1 = image

| mark1 = FireIcon.svg

| mark-size1 = 20

| mark-coord1 = {{coord|34.0951758|-118.4821694}}

| label1 = Skirball Fire

| label-pos1 = top

| label-size1 = 12

|label-color1 = black

| mark-title1 = Skirball Fire

| notes = Part of the December 2017 Southern California wildfires

}}

The Skirball Fire was a wildfire that burned in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, and one of multiple wildfires that broke out across Southern California in December 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-brentwood-fire-20171206-story.html|title=Homes burning in Bel-Air as 150-acre fire closes the 405 Freeway and forces evacuations|date=2017-12-06|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-12-06|last1=Etehad|first1=Melissa|last2=Nelson|first2=Laura J.|last3=Kohli|first3=Sonali|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} The fire burned 422 acres (171 ha){{cite web|url=http://www.lafd.org/news/skirball-fire-update|title=Skirball Fire Update|author=Margaret Stewart|publisher=Los Angeles Fire Department|date=December 15, 2017|access-date=December 15, 2017}} of land on the slopes of the Sepulveda Pass on its east or Bel Air side, causing the closure of Interstate 405 (as well as the parallel Sepulveda Boulevard), a major traffic artery in the city. The Skirball Cultural Center, Bel-Air Country Club, Getty Center, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, and various private schools were closed as a result of the fire. Classes were cancelled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Santa Monica College, while Mount Saint Mary's University evacuated from its Brentwood campus to its downtown Los Angeles location.{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/fire-los-angeles-bel-air-residents-evacuate-from-wildfire-near-skirball-center-1202632008/ |title=Homes Burning in Bel-Air; 405 Freeway Closed Near Skirball Center |last=Saperstein |first=Pat|date=2017-12-06|work=Variety|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en-US}}{{Cite news |url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/12/06/brush-fire-sepulveda-pass/ |title=Skirball Fire Forces Mandatory Evacuations, Shuts Down 405 Freeway| date=2017-12-06|publisher=CBS Los Angeles|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.sgvtribune.com/2017/12/06/the-skirball-fire-shutting-down-bel-air-but-ucla-still-has-finals-week-for-now/|title=UCLA cancelled classes due to the traffic from the Skirball fire. Students remain concerned about safety, finals|last=Bush|first=Samantha|date=2017-12-06|work=San Gabriel Valley Tribune|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en-US}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.scpr.org/news/2017/12/06/78585/brush-fire-near-405-freeway-threatens-la-s-getty-c/ |title=Skirball Fire grows to 475 acres, 5 percent containment| date=2017-12-06|publisher=Southern California Public Radio|access-date=2017-12-08}} The fire destroyed six structures and damaged 12.{{cite web|url=http://www.lafd.org/news/skirball-fire-update|title=Skirball Fire Update|author=Margaret Stewart|publisher=Los Angeles Fire Department|date=December 10, 2017|access-date=December 10, 2017}} On December 10, at about 1 p.m. PST, all evacuation orders and road closures for the Skirball Fire were lifted, as containment of the wildfire increased to 85%.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.com/2017/12/10/skirball-fire-holds-at-75-percent-containment-in-bel-air-area/|title=All Skirball fire evacuations lifted in Bel-Air as wildfire holds at 75 percent containment|author=Alejandra Molina|work=Los Angeles Daily News|date=December 11, 2017|access-date=December 11, 2017}} Late on December 15, it was reported that the Skirball Fire had been 100% contained, at {{convert|422|acres|ha}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.com/2017/12/15/skirball-fire-in-la-100-percent-contained/|title=Skirball fire in LA 100 percent contained|work=Los Angeles Daily News|date=December 15, 2017|access-date=December 16, 2017}}

On December 12, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported that the fire had been sparked by an illegal cooking fire at a homeless encampment within the pass.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailynews.com/2017/12/12/cause-of-skirball-fire-was-illegal-cooking-in-homeless-camp-officials-say/|title=Skirball Fire caused by illegal cooking fire at encampment, LAFD says|publisher=ABC7|date=December 12, 2017|access-date=December 13, 2017}}

During the Skirball Fire, firefighters in the LAFD employed drones to help them combat wildfires for the first time.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lafd-drone-skirball-fire-20171214-story.html|title=L.A. Fire Department used drones for the first time during Skirball fire|author=Hailey Branson-Pott|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 14, 2017|access-date=December 15, 2017}}