Firefighters warned that circumstances would deteriorate overnight as a fast-moving wildfire tore through a wealthy neighborhood of Los Angeles, burning houses and forcing hundreds to escape.
The Palisades Fire burns homes in Affluent Los Angeles District:
On Tuesday, a brush fire that broke out in the Pacific Palisades enclave caused fear and traffic jams, forcing around 30,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Some parked their cars on the narrow roads that run up the slope. Mandatory evacuation orders have been extended in several areas of northern Santa Monica. The fire was about 3,000 acres, but another fire next to Altadena sprang up and quickly spread to 400 acres. Neither is confined.
According to California Governor Gavin Newsom, the fire has burned “many structures.” “We are by no means out of the woods,” he said on Tuesday, adding that firefighters were expecting more fires to break out across the area, ravaged by strong winds.
According to the US National Weather Service, there are red flag warnings in effect from the coast of central California to the US-Mexico border. The highest serious fire alert level is for Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Malibu, and the heavily populated San Fernando Valley.
The National Weather Service predicts widespread and destructive gales will intensify overnight, with isolated wind gusts in the foothills and mountains reaching up to 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers).
KABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News reported that the fire reached Will Rogers State Beach and crossed the Pacific Coast Highway. The mandatory evacuation zone in the Pacific Palisades was extended by the Los Angeles Fire Department on Tuesday night, stating that the situation is still “extremely dynamic.”
Residents in Santa Monica were cautiously leaving their houses as of 8:30 p.m. to find safer locations elsewhere in the city. Scenes of flames consuming portions of the Palisades Charter High School campus were shown on local television. Through local news, the Los Angeles Fire Department sent out an urgent need for off-duty firemen to report for reinforcement.
The San Valley and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains are predicted to be hit by the heaviest gusts of wind, which are expected to peak Tuesday through early Wednesday afternoon. According to weather forecasts, residents could anticipate extensive power outages and the downing of trees and electrical lines,
The fire broke out as Southern California prepared for a “life-threatening and destructive” Santa Ana wind storm that may rage for days. Grass and bushes are ready to fire since the area hasn’t seen much rain in months.
On Tuesday, residents of Los Angeles were subjected to visuals worthy of a catastrophe movie during the day.
At 11 a.m., Mike Kerns, 62, a longtime resident of Venice, saw a column of smoke rising from the mountain above as he was leaving a doctor’s visit in the Pacific Palisades area. After ten minutes, he turned to face the plume and saw the entire mountain underneath it consumed.
Kerns described it as “like a movie.” “As if the world were ending.”
The Getty Villa, a museum containing a collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, was in danger of burning down. According to Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, “staff and the collection remain safe despite some trees and vegetation on site having burned.”
Earlier Tuesday, evacuation orders were issued for the Pacific Palisades area, including east Malibu, where the typical property, according to Zillow, sells for $3.4 million.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley stated that over 13,000 buildings are in danger. There have been no reports of injuries.
In an attempt to stop wildfires, Edison International’s Southern California utility, the biggest in the area, turned off power to around 34,150 residences and businesses. According to the corporation, if Santa Ana winds are powerful, it could have to turn off electricity to an extra 421,000 consumers.
At 5 p.m. local time, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the city’s electric provider, reported that about 28,000 customers were without power.
The meteorological service predicts that the winds will lessen starting Wednesday afternoon, but they could not stop until Saturday at the latest.
President Joe Biden advised citizens to be alert and pay attention to local leaders in a statement released Tuesday night, saying he was regularly informed about wildfires. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has also approved funding to help fight the Palisades Fire.
During the news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Governor Newsom remarked, “What a great way to start the New Year.” “It’s a fire year, not a fire season,” he continued.
–With help from Sarah McGregor, Derek Wallbank, Mary Hui, Michelle Ma, Skylar Woodhouse, Janine Phakdeetham, and Yasufumi Saito.
