(NEXSTAR) – Residents are being told to “evacuate now” due to a rapidly spreading wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, according to Nexstar's KTLA.
The Palisades Fire was first reported around 10:30 a.m. PDT Tuesday in the 1100 block of North Piedra Morada Drive. By 3:30 p.m., the fire had exploded to more than 1,200 acres and was expected to keep growing amid strong Santa Ana winds.
There was no containment, according to CalFire.
Evacuations were ordered for the entire community down to the Pacific Ocean, according to CalFire. Evacuees were urged to travel south toward Pacific Coast Highway utilizing Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard.
The evacuation order also included areas of Malibu east of Las Flores.
The blaze ignited on a day when fire officials were bracing for gusts of up to 100 miles an hour, a speed the National Weather Service described as "life-threatening," "extreme" and "destructive."
More than 100 firefighters and pre-positioned strike teams were battling the blaze, David Ortiz of the LAFD said.
“This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for a firefight,” said Ortiz.
There was no initial estimate for the number of structures damaged or destroyed. However, news footage showed several homes ablaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Ortiz described the fire as a blowtorch and urged residents to follow orders if asked to leave. “Do not stand in the way of this fire,” Ortiz said.
Video from Alert California showed a large plume of smoke rising over the Santa Monica Mountains.
KTLA spoke with actor Steve Guttenberg who said he was helping to move cars along Palisades Drive so fire trucks could get through and evacuees could leave.
"There are families up there, there are pets up there, there are people who really need help," Guttenberg said. "It's really important for people to help each other ... don't worry about your personal property, just get out. I have friends up there that can't get out right now and they've been given evacuation orders."
Fire crews have even resorted to using a bulldozer to move parked cars out of the way.
The fierce Santa Ana winds driving the blaze arrived Tuesday along with morning snow in mountainous communities and inland rainfall, making for "a rather bizarre forecast," KTLA meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said.
Pacific Palisades is located about 10 miles from Malibu, where the Franklin Fire burned more than 4,000 acres and burned several homes after erupting during similar windy conditions in December.
