1961 file photo of former Vice President Richard Nixon and Mrs. Nixon carrying luggage as fire forces then to leave their rented home on Bundy Drive in Brentwood.

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Topanga Canyon 1961: A destructive, wind-driven fire

Richard and Pat Nixon carry suitcases as they evacuate their L.A. home during a fire

Then-former Vice President (and future president) Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, carry their luggage from their rented home on Bundy Drive with flames approaching in 1961. (Los Angeles Times)

People watch an airplane fight a fire on a hillside

Nov. 7, 1961: Spectators watch an aircraft dropping borate on a hill near a Mandeville Canyon ranch, owned by actor Robert Taylor, second from right. The man in the middle with the white shirt is Los Angeles Times reporter Charles Hillinger. (Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 6, 1961: Firefighters with a truck aren’t enough to save a home on Roscomare Road in Bel-Air. This image appeared in the Nov. 7, 1961, Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles Times)

1961 photo shows flames shooting over a ridge

Nov. 7, 1961: A column of flames shoots over a ridge near Trippet Ranch at the end of Entrada Road in Topanga Canyon. This photo appeared in the Nov. 8, 1961, Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles Times)

Burned-out homes line both sides of a Bel-Air street

November 7, 1961: Burned-out homes along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air. Nearly 500 homes were damaged or destroyed in the fire. (Steve Fontanini / Los Angeles Times)