LOS ANGELES (CN) — A wildfire in Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, driven by extreme winds, rapidly grew to more than 3,000 acres on Tuesday, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate the affluent enclave overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
As of 8 p.m. the fire was 0% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Most of the neighborhood with its winding streets and trails into the Santa Monica Mountains was ordered evacuated, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, with homes under immediate threat.
Local television news showed dramatic footage of burning million-dollar homes and luxury vehicles—abandoned by residents who got stuck in gridlock trying to flee the fire—bulldozed to the side of the road to make room for firetrucks heading into the area.
Comedian Eugene Levy, the co-creator of the “Schitt’s Creek” sitcom and the honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades, told the L.A. Times that the smoke looked dark and intense over Temescal Canyon, which runs through to the area, as he was stuck in traffic trying to evacuate.
“The fire is being fueled by a combination of strong winds and surrounding topography, which is making it extremely challenging for our personnel assigned to this incident,” LAFD Fire Chief Kristy Crowley said at an afternoon press conference. “We feel very blessed that at this point no injuries have been reported.”
More than 250 LAFD firefighters are battling the flames, assisted by personnel as well as helicopters and “super scoopers” from L.A. County to drop retardant on the fire. The worst of the winds are still expected to arrive after 10 p.m.
Evacuation orders are in place for about 30,000 residents and about 13,000 structures are threatened.
The National Weather Service on Monday afternoon issued a red flag warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, saying that it anticipated the most destructive windstorm, with gusts as strong as 80 miles per hour, since 2011 to hit the area.
“A very strong, widespread, and destructive north to northeast windstorm will bring extremely critical fire weather conditions to many areas of Los Angeles and eastern Ventura counties Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday afternoon,” the service said. “The strong winds will likely result in widespread downed trees/power lines, as well as widespread power outages.”
The secluded and mostly residential Pacific Palisades is bordered by Santa Monica on the southeast and by Malibu on the northwest.
Air support for the fire was unavailable in the evening due to increased winds.
In 2021, the Palisades Fire charred about 1,200 acres in the Pacific Palisades and caused thousands of residents to flee their homes.
At about 6:30 p.m. a fire was reported in the Eaton Canyon area of Altadena, north of Pasadena. Evacuations were also ordered in the area.
Television reports have shown fires at numerous homes, condos and businesses in the Pacific Palasades area. It is unknown how many structures have been destroyed.
Evacuations were expected to continue throughout the evening and night and could reach as far north as Calabasas.
Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department have reported that 24 people are dead after fires in Los Angeles County have burned more than 40,000 acres. It is estimated that more than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. There currently are three active fires in L.A. County.…
Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department have reported that containment efforts continue for all three activie fires still burning in Southern California.
Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department have reported that fires in Los Angeles County have burned more than 33,000 acres and more than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
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