Fire near Getty Center almost contained

LOS ANGELES, July 9 (UPI) -- A slow-moving Los Angeles brush fire that burned 80 acres and forced evacuations of the Getty Center art museum was all but contained Thursday, officials said.

Firefighters were still putting out several spot fires, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott told United Press International.

No structures were threatened, he said.

The Los Angeles Police Department ended its voluntary evacuation of the area and roadways that had been closed -- including Sepulveda Boulevard near Sunset Boulevard and two off-ramps from Interstate 405 -- were reopened, Los Angeles officer Tenesha Dobine told UPI.

The fire, sparked accidentally during a midday weed-abatement program, broke out next to the busy 405 freeway Wednesday afternoon, with flames climbing up canyon walls and into the hillsides, the fire department said.

At one point about 350 city and county firefighters as well as helicopters were attacking the fire by ground and air, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Getty museum's ventilation systems were shut down to prevent smoke from damaging the priceless artwork, Getty Center spokesman Ron Hartwig told the Times.

The museum's collection ranges from European paintings, sculptures and illuminated manuscripts to 19th and 20th century American and European photographs.

Mount St. Mary's College, which is nearby but was not in session, evacuated about 300 "non-essential personnel," its Web site said.

The only injury was to a firefighter, who "suffered a minor injury to his foot," Scott told UPI.