Sepulveda Pass Fire Backs Up 405 Commute

A brush fire that began about 5 p.m. Monday consumed about 10 acres in Sepulveda Pass, causing long traffic delays for evening commuters on the San Diego Freeway from Mulholland Drive all the way back to Culver City.

Those who decided to use Sepulveda Boulevard also were tied up in traffic.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said no structures were damaged in the blaze, which was on the east side of the freeway. It took about 150 firefighters, 50 shovelers and three helicopter crews to extinguish the fire. It was the second brush fire in the pass since Saturday, Humphrey said. The cause was under investigation Monday evening.

Humphrey said the two recent fires and others in the pass in recent weeks “offer mixed blessings.” Although the charred areas are protected from burning again any time soon, they also make the pass more susceptible to flash flooding and erosion when the rainy season comes, he said.

“This is the final warning for citizens in the area who have not prepared their homes for fires,” Humphrey said. “There will be no more small fires as the season progresses.”