A fast-moving wildfire broke out in the Southern California coastal town of Pacific Palisades, about 20 miles west of Los Angeles, destroying homes as Santa Ana winds swept through the area on January 7.
The Palisades Fire burned an unknown number of homes in the city and thousands of residents were forced to flee.
As of 3 p.m., the fire had grown to approximately 2 square miles (1,300 acres) and continued to spread through the residential area.
Many homes were seen burning in the fire area, and police and fire crews rescued people from burning buildings, but no injuries were reported as of the afternoon.
Traffic came to a near standstill on the Pacific Coast Highway as residents tried to evacuate the scene. Some chose to get out of their cars and start walking to leave the area.
Shortly before 2 p.m., Los Angeles County authorities closed the westbound lanes of the Santa Monica 10 Freeway at Lincoln Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in the area.
The Northbound Pacific Coast Highway was also closed to help authorities evacuate residents from the growing fire.
The flames also destroyed Los Angeles Fire Station 23, located at Sunset Boulevard and Los Liones Drive. Crews responded to numerous reports of structures on fire throughout the fire area.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of part of Topanga State Park up to the Pacific Coast Highway, which covers most of Pacific Palisades, where about 20,000 residents live.
Parts of the neighboring city of Malibu were under evacuation alerts Tuesday.
The Westwood Recreation Center, located at 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd., was open to evacuees and allowed small animals, allowing people to stay overnight on site.
Los Angeles County firefighters first responded to a brush fire in Pacific Palisades around 10:30 a.m., southeast of Palisades Drive, that was threatening nearby homes.
Homes were on fire in Pacific Palisades around 11:30 a.m., according to local reports.
Actor James Woods posted a video to X saying he was standing in his driveway and preparing to evacuate around 11:45 a.m. The video showed his neighbor’s house engulfed in flames. Later posts show the flames approaching Woods’ home.
“We were fortunate that the Los Angeles Fire Department and Police Department did their job so well,” Ms. Woods posted on X. “We are safe and sheltered. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was a huge effort by the community to evacuate children safely.
Fire crews responded to several small brush fires throughout the day in the area. Air tankers and helicopters dropped water on the blaze as firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department rushed to respond.
The Angeles National Forest also sent aircraft and personnel to help fight the fire.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a destructive and life-threatening wind storm warning that will last through Wednesday morning, as well as red flag warnings for high fire danger. Fire warnings are expected to remain in place until Thursday evening.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents to follow evacuation orders, calling the situation “dangerous.”
“In anticipation of high winds, the LAFD has pre-deployed response teams in and near wildfire-prone areas,” the mayor wrote on social media. “Firefighters are now responding actively and aggressively to the [feu des Palissades] with the support of regional partners. »
Los Angeles and Ventura counties are expected to experience north and northeast wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour on Tuesday, with isolated gusts reaching up to 100 miles per hour in the mountains and foothills.
This could be the largest event since November 30/December 2011,” the Los Angeles Weather Service office reported on Monday. “Pasadena was particularly hard hit back then, and we’re seeing a similar weather pattern as back then. However, instead of Pasadena, the impacts could occur anywhere.”
The city of Los Angeles also issued a red flag parking restrictions starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, limiting the parking of illegally parked vehicles in particularly fire-prone areas.
Fire commanders have identified several areas where parked vehicles could delay citizens attempting to evacuate and fire companies accessing brush fire-affected areas.
“This is the strongest wind event of the season and we ask that you prepare,” the Los Angeles Fire Department wrote in a social media post Monday afternoon.
All schools were closed in the coastal city of Malibu on Tuesday due to the extreme wind storm.
The southern California coast is expected to be hit by winds of 30 knots and gusts of 50 knots from the northeast during the day Tuesday.
Los Angeles County rescuers advised sailors to change their plans and stay in port to avoid dangerous conditions.
Thousands of residents were left without power Tuesday morning, either following an intentional power outage or because of strong winds.
Southern California Edison (SCE), which serves 5 million customers in Southern California, reported that nearly 9,000 customers were without power as of 3:30 p.m. Most customers without power were in the northern part of Malibu, along the coast.
Of those, 5,000 were in Los Angeles County and nearly 3,000 were in Ventura County.
The power company was forecasting more than 413,000 power outages as of Tuesday afternoon. California utilities are allowed to shut off power during dangerous weather conditions to avoid the risk of wildfires.
San Diego Gas and Electric Company also said it may have to cut power to nearly 118,000 customers to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by downed power lines.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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