
Drivers on their way to work in Los Angeles were faced with terrifying scenes along a major freeway after the fifth California wildfire this week left the hillside next to their road ablaze.

The inferno - named the Skirball Fire - has consumed more than 50 acres of land and threatens LA's exclusive Bel Air neighborhood, UCLA and the Getty Center for the arts alongside the I-405 freeway.

The freeway is now shut down as 125 firefighters and several helicopters attempt to get the blaze under control - but early-morning commuters managed to capture this stunning footage.

As they traveled gingerly passed the ferocious fire, their cars passed just feet away from the deadly - and ever-spreading - flames.

Several people captured the surreal moment on video and shared them on social media.

'Not the typical morning commute...' one driver tweeted dryly.

A dramatic 50-acre brush fire erupted Wednesday morning in the Sepulveda Pass area of Los Angeles was captured in this footage. It has prompted mandatory evacuation orders and the complete closure of the 405 Freeway

The Skirball Fire was reported shortly before 5am near Mulholland Drive, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The location is near the Skirball Cultural Center and the Getty Center for the arts

The Skirball Fire was spotted at 4:52am on Wednesday along Interstate 405 in Sepulveda Pass, which carries the heavily traveled highway between LA and the San Fernando Valley.

The early-morning traffic was already flowing through Sepulveda Pass when commuters noticed a glow around the Getty Center.

ARE THE FIRES CONTAINED? The Thomas Fire in Ventura remains uncontained despite efforts by more than 1,100 firefighters The Creek Fire, near Sylmar, is uncontained. The Skirball Fire, which is consuming Bel Air, is not contained. The Little Mountain Fire, near San Bernardino, is around 50 per cent contained. The Rye Fire, near Santa Clarita, has been reduced overnight by firefighters. Advertisement

The fast-moving brush fire had spread rapidly up the hills on the east side of the 405, moving toward homes in Bel Air, the Getty and UCLA.

As the day wore on the road was closed down in both directions and Bel Air evacuated - with several homes in the famous neighborhood catching fire.

Winds were dying down early Wednesday, but are expected to pick up speeds in the evening - perhaps up to 50mph, causing fire to spread further, CNN reported.

The Skirball Fire is just one of five blazes now scouring Southern California, following the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, the Rye Fire near Santa Clarita, the Creek Fire near Sylmar and an as-yet-unnamed fire near San Bernardino.

As the countryside became swathed in choking smoke, on the TV shows Westworld and SWAT was postponed, as producers recalled cast and crew amid fears that they might be put at risk by the largely uncontrollable blazes.

HBO said in a statement that Westworld was filming its second season in an area near two Los Angeles County fires on Tuesday but producers decided to shut down and avoid any danger to actors or crew members.

It said the show will resume filming when conditions there are safe.

Filming on SWAT was also suspended; it's unclear when producers on that series hope to get their cast and crew back to work.

The Thomas Fire, Creek Fire and Rye Fire were joined on Tuesday by the San Bernardino Fire, and on Wednesday morning the Los Angeles brush fire - dubbed the Skirball Fire - was reported to emergency services

There are now five fires blanketing swathes Southern California in smoke. Here, the sun is almost blotted out on the Ventura coastline on Wednesday morning, thanks to one of the longest-running fires

The latest fire - the Skirball Fire, which started near Interstate 405 - has led to mandatory evacuations in LA's nearby posh Bel Air neighborhood. It is also worryingly close to the the UCLA and the Getty Arts Center complex

This photograph, taken at Six Flags Magic Mountain, shows smoke rising from the Rye Fire, one of the three earliest reported fires to occur in this bout of wildfires

A firefighter checks the hillside alongside the 405 freeway to monitor embers and prevent fires from jumping from the east side of the road - where it is contained - to the west, where the Getty Center lies

A truck drives south on the 405 freeway as a fire team hand crew descends a steep slope to manage the fire. The I-405 is now closed as the fire is managed

A home in the Kagel Canyon area of Southern California's San Fernando Valley is gutted by the Creek Fire. Firefighters have struggled to contain the blazes, which have largely run out of control

A farnis consumed by fire in Kagel Canyon. Production on two TV shows in the area - HBO's sci-fi Western Westworld and CBS's cop drama show SWAT - was paused on Wednesday over fears for the safety of their cast and crew

A firefighter stomps out small embers on a San Fernando Valley ranch. The wind whipped up the brush fire to dangerous speeds. In total the fires have destroyed 200 homes and caused the evacuation of more than 200,000 people

The Thomas Fire - one of the first three fires - approaches a church in Casitas Springs. Johnny Cash's pre-fame home is located on the hillsides here, and was surrounded Tuesday night. It's not clear whether it survived

Among the many hundreds of buildings threatened by the Thomas fire is Johnny Cash's former home in Casitas Springs.

THE FIRES IN FIGURES The Thomas Fire - the largest of the five fires - is four times the size of Manhattan. It's growing at an acre per second - meaning it would envelop Manhattan's Central Park in just 15 minutes. Nearly 200,000 people have been told to evacuate their homes. At least 184 structures have been destroyed - 150 by the Thomas Fire. The fires are being stoked by the hot, dry Santa Ana winds - which are averaging 50-70mph, but could have gusts of 80mph. They haven't been this numerous or this fast in 10 years. Around 38,000 people living in Ventura have been moved from their homes - that's more than a third of the city's 100,000 residents. Power has been knocked out to 43,000 homes that use Southern California Edison. Although Edison has 15 million subscribers, their stock was hit hard, dropping from 80.38 on Monday to 68.80 as of 3pm Wednesday. Sources: AP, CNN, Google Finance, USA Today Advertisement

The country musician moved to a hilltop house in the the California community in the 1960s, and as of Tuesday evening it was surrounded by a literal ring of fire. It's not yet known whether the building was damaged.

Late Wednesday morning, Donald Trump retweeted a FEMA announcement that it was providing grants for the first three blazes - the Thomas, Rye and Creek fires.

He added: 'Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of California's wildfires. I encourage everyone to heed the advice and orders of local and state officials.

'THANK YOU to all First Responders for your incredible work!'

It's not known what sparked the San Bernardino fire - the fourth of the five fires so far this month - but two people were found badly burned near its point of origin close to a McDonald's restaurant.

As of the end of Tuesday, fire officials said it had damaged some garages, but no houses had burned and hundreds of homes and businesses had been saved.

That stands in contrast to the four other fires, which have consumed hillsides, homes and streets throughout a swathe of Southern California.

One even devoured 30 miles of land between its origin point and the Ocean in just a day.

The Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, who hold workouts near the largest of Southern California's fires, have also canceled Wednesday's practice.

On Tuesday, 65 miles northwest of LA, the residents of a mobile home park in Casitas Springs were working together to keep it from burning.

They doused homes and fences with water and built mounds of dirt to keep the flames at bay.