THE TALK OF THE TOWN

The conflagration that became known that became known as the Bel Air Fire broke out on the morning of November 6, 1961, in a patch of brush north of Mulholland Drive. Fanned by Santa Ana winds, the flames jumped the drive, then spread toward the homes of the rich and famous.

- Elizabeth Kolbert

By the time the Los Angeles Fire Department had succeeded in putting out the blaze, more than six thousand acres had been scorched and nearly five hundred houses had been destroyed, including ones belonging to Zsa Zsa Gabor and Aldous Huxley.

Faulted for its part in the disaster, the L.A.F.D. turned to Hollywood. In 1962, it released a movie, narrated by the actor William Conrad, aimed at answering its critics. Part instructional video, part film noir, the movie opened with the sound of whistling wind and a shot of rustling vegetation. When the Santa Ana winds blow, Conrad intoned, channelling Raymond Chandler, the "atmosphere grows tense, oppressive. People tire easily, argue more. Even the suicide rate rises." According to the film, the L.A.F.D. had known that danger was coming and had positioned crews around the city. As the flames raced through the brush, the chief engineer ordered "everything available into the fire." But "everything was not enough." The streets became clogged with people trying to escape by car and on foot. Then the water ran out.

How had the situation got so out of control, the movie asked. The answer lay in precisely those qualities that made L.A. such an attractive place to live: its climate, its canyonside homes, its wild ridges accessible only by narrow roads.

The whole arrangement was a "design for disaster," which was also the name the L.A.F.D. gave to the film. "These are the odds," Conrad said, in closing.