A monstrous wildfire is raging through an upscale coastal California neighborhood and forced 20,000 residents to evacuate.
The Pacific Palisades fire grew from 300 acres to more than 1,200 acres within about an hour and a half, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said mid-afternoon local time on Tuesday.
Wind gusts of up to 100mph – the strongest in Southern California in over a decade – are fanning the flames and forecast through around midday Wednesday.
About 24,000 residents live in the neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles, and it includes celebrity mansions.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has issued a mandatory evacuation order from Piedra Morada Drive to the Pacific Coast Highway.
‘Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is lawfully closed to public access,’ stated an evacuation order.
Fleeing residents hit traffic for miles on Sunset Boulevard.
About 30 vehicles abandoned on Sunset Boulevard as well as Palisades Drive were moved by a county bulldozer to clear the path for first responders entering the hills to fight the inferno, said the fire department.
‘Do not stand in the way of this fire,’ said firefighter David Ortiz. ‘This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for a firefight.’
The blaze began on Tuesday morning and has been scorching at a rate of three football fields per minute.
Its cause remains under investigation.
Smoke reached eight miles south to Venice Beach.
Hollywood Burbank Airport was placed on ground stop by the Federal Aviation Administration after powerful winds forced planes to abort landings.
The brush fire caused Southern California Edison to cut power to over 8,000 customers in Los Angeles, Riverside and Ventura counties.
Actor James Woods, 77, shared a video of the fire close to his home.
‘Standing in my driveway ready to evacuate. We’ve got a lot of planes going over dropping water,’ he said.
‘S***.’
CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing flames on a front yard and embers flying.
‘Mass panic in the streets, and the worst of the wind will hit the Palisades Fire tonight,’ he wrote.
The Pacific Palisades fire comes after the Franklin Fire charred parts of Malibu including palm trees at Pepperdine University beginning on December 9.
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