The latest California blaze that erupted on Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills was threatening Los Angeles landmarks indelibly associated with the city’s glamour and the history of the American film industry.
The Sunset fire, which quickly grew to 50 acres, was burning out of control near Runyon Canyon, close to hiking trails and secluded mansions. Encroaching on a densely populated part of metropolitan Los Angeles, the blaze has created a new level of fear in residents used to thinking about wildfires as a concern only for those who live in hilly communities.
It was less than a mile west of the Hollywood Bowl, which is one of the city’s biggest entertainment venues and is inside the mandatory evacuation zone set up after the Sunset fire broke out. The Dolby Theater, where the Academy Awards are held, the TCL Chinese Theater and the Capital Records building are also in the zone.
The authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations for a wealthy area bordered by Mulholland Drive and Hollywood Boulevard, names that evoke the grandeur and romance of the movies. Evacuation warnings stretched west into parts of Beverly Hills, home to many Hollywood stars.
The Hollywood sign is near the evacuation area, as is the Griffith Observatory. The Hollywood Hills can be tricky to navigate, full of the same kind of narrow, twisting roads that complicated evacuations in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday.
All staff at the Hollywood Bowl left safely after the venue received evacuation orders, a spokeswoman said. The TCL Chinese Theater said in a statement that it had closed for the night and sent employees home.
