Fueled by extreme fire conditions and damaging wind gusts, the Palisades Fire tore quickly over hundreds of acres on Tuesday.
The brush fire has forced evacuations in the Los Angeles, California, community of Pacific Palisades, with orders established from the hills down to the Pacific Coast Highway.
“Evacuate now from the area of Palisades Area. Those not in the evacuation area should shelter in place,” an emergency alert from the city said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said firefighters were working to aggressively respond to the fire, and that strike teams had been “pre-deployed” in areas prone to wildfire.
The fast-moving wildfire sent a plume of thick, grey smoke into the air, and residents shared videos of bright orange and yellow flames lining the tree-covered hills.
Actor James Woods shared on social media that he was in the process of leaving the area, as the smoke filled the skies of the houses around him.
While there were no major reports of damage yet, Fox 11 Los Angeles’ Matthew Seerdorff said that “homes are burning” as the wind strengthens.
Some other small fires were also reported and more dangerous weather is forecast to last through Wednesday, bringing the potential for power outages. More than 16,000 customers had no power by the early afternoon, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.
Evacuation orders are in place for the residential Los Angeles community of Pacific Palisades
Julia Musto7 January 2025 21:20
