Hell is how some commuters would describe their trek into the office every morning if they lean a little heavily on hyperbole, but drivers on their morning commute in Los Angeles this week could have gotten into the office and not been lying to their bosses. They should also thank their lucky stars that they got to work safely given the video we see here. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 5th, the City of Angels awoke to the smell of smoke if they were lucky or their houses burning to the ground if not.
The Ventura County fires started the night before and were egged on by the strong seasonal Santa Ana winds. Come Wednesday, the destruction hit closer to home for Angelenos as a resurgent Santa Ana helped start the Skirball fire that ravaged Bel Air.
By Thursday morning, it had gotten incredibly close to the 405 Freeway, prompting multiple agencies to cooperate and shut the road down. That’s a huge deal for LA given that the arterial freeway connects much of the car-centric city to jobs on the outskirts. Prior to the freeway shutdown, commuters experienced what could be described as hell on Earth as they passed by the raging inferno close to the Getty Center. Videos such as the one above were posted all over social media, with one poster claiming it was “the scariest commute of my life.” Yet another cautioned motorists, telling them to stay away from the 405 because their own windows were getting hot as they passed by the flames.
