45 years ago today, much of Bel Air was on fire. Bel Air is a loosely-defined area of Los Angeles nestled to the east of and below the Santa Monica Mountains. I don't know if this is still the case but years ago, a realtor told me there were no official boundaries for "Bel Air." You could advertise a trailer park home in the worst part of South Central L.A. as choice Bel Air property and not technically be guilty of false advertising. Nonetheless, everyone pretty much knows what area you're talking about when you mention Bel Air. It's a large community of twisting, hard-to-drive streets lined with fancy, expensive homes, surrounded by lush foliage.
In 1961, they had a terrible fire there that was made worse by all that foliage. I was nine at the time and it was the first time I was aware of a genuine disaster — one that involved people I knew. My family lived some distance from Bel Air but we were close enough to see flames on the hills and clouds of dense, red-black smoke that filled the Northern sky. There were kids in my class who lost their homes and others who told of agonizing days when they couldn't get into the area to find out if their houses were still there. A lot of famous people suffered as a result of the calamity, including Burt Lancaster, whose kids went to my school…and everyone wanted to help. My mother and I helped out for two days at a little command center to which people donated blankets and clothes and other necessities to aid all the victims. As a kid, you tend to think of property as something to be kept and owned and possessed and not given away…but here were cars pulling up, dropping off tons of useful items, some of which were purchased specifically to be donated. I thought it was a wonderful outpouring of compassion and selflessness.
As I recall, it was a one-two punch for the people of Bel Air. The fire was as bad as it was because we were under several years of drought conditions and the hills were covered with dry brush. Then — wouldn't you know it? — a few days after the fire, we had torrential rains. It arrived too late to help the fire fighters and of course, since the mountains above Bel Air were now devoid of plants, all that water rushed straight down the hillsides. Some of the houses that had escaped the fire didn't escape the floods.
The other memory I have of that week was the news coverage. All the stations went to non-stop news but it was a local outfit, KTLA Channel 5, that had everyone's attention. That was because they were the only TV station in town — maybe even in the country — with a helicopter equipped to transmit live video. It was stunning to see those images on television…and then I could go to the window, look out in the distance and see the fire, plus I could see the KTLA TeleCopter hovering over it, sending back the pictures.
Here's an article from the L.A. Fire Department telling of the Bel Air Fire. I suppose it's a tacky subject for nostalgia but I do recall it as the first time I was ever aware of how people need to band together in times of tragedy…and will. It was also the first time I think I was aware of the power of live television, particularly in terms of immediacy and the conveyance of useful, necessary information.