Raging wildfires fanned by strong winds swept through Los Angeles' affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Tuesday, burning homes and prompting the city to issue evacuation orders for about 30,000 people.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said Tuesday that more than 2,900 acres had burned in the hills surrounding Palisades, an affluent coastal community that includes some of the most expensive real estate in the United States. a reason The fire unknown.
Smoke blackened the sky over the area as winds reached 60 mph. Winds are expected to accelerate overnight and could reach 100 mph, the strongest in at least a decade for Southern California.
Fire officials said about 13,000 buildings were at risk in the Palisades area, home to Hollywood stars such as Tom Hanks and James Woods. “Many buildings have already been destroyed,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Newsom declared a state of emergency, as did Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. President Joe Biden, who was in California to dedicate national monuments, promised federal aid to compensate the state for its response to the disaster.
After sunset, Santa Monica issued an evacuation order for the area closest to the Palisades Fire, warning residents of an “immediate threat to life.”
Another large fire spread to Altadena, about 30 miles east of Pacific Palisades. The fire, which burned about 400 acres, also led to evacuations.
Roads winding through the Pacific Palisades valleys were quickly filled with heavy traffic after the fire broke out Tuesday morning, as residents rushed to evacuate. Witnesses said many cars were also abandoned while drivers fled on foot towards the coast.
The fire department sent trucks to transport abandoned cars to facilitate access to the fires.
“We've been evacuated three times (from previous fires) but this is the scariest we've seen,” said Susan Fash, who was evacuated Tuesday afternoon and is staying with her family in Santa Monica.
She has lived in the Mandeville Canyon area of Palisades since 1998. “Every time this happens we say we have to act, but we never do.”
The fire threatened the Getty Villa, and some trees and plants on the hilltop were burned. The museum's president said the art collection and museum staff remained safe.
Helicopters and Super Scooper planes dropped water on the flames, although strong winds posed a problem for the planes. Utility companies cut power to more than 8,000 homes to prevent live electrical wires from increasing fire risks.
The fire in the Pacific Palisades area is believed to have started around 10:30 a.m. Evacuees said the disease spread quickly, forcing parents to rush to schools to pick up their children. Some of those who fled said they could not be sure if the homes they left were still standing.
Fire officials said it could take days before firefighters are able to get the blaze under control, and even longer before residents are allowed to return to their homes.
The National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening wind gusts,” accelerating the spread of fires across barren lands that have received little rain in months.
Fire officials warned that the winds would get worse overnight. “Know that we are not out of the woods,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
