Palisades Fire Burns Homes in Wealthy Los Angeles District
Palisades Fire Burns Homes in Wealthy Los Angeles District · Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) -- A fast-moving wildfire ripped through an affluent area of Los Angeles, destroying homes and forcing thousands of people to evacuate as firefighters warned that conditions would worsen overnight.

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About 30,000 people were ordered to leave their homes on Tuesday after a brush fire erupted in the Pacific Palisades community, causing panic and traffic gridlock, with some abandoning their cars on narrow hillside roads. Mandatory evacuation orders have been expanded in parts of northern Santa Monica.

The blaze was at almost 3,000 acres, while a separate fire near Altadena has flared and rapidly expanded to 400 acres. Both are uncontained.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said “many structures” had been destroyed by the flames. “By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” he said on Tuesday, adding that firefighters were anticipating other blazes to erupt throughout the region that was being raked by severe winds.

The US National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings that extend from central California’s coast to the US-Mexico border. Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Malibu and the densely-populated San Fernando Valley are facing a “particularly dangerous situation” — the most severe fire alert level.

Widespread and damaging gales are expected to worsen overnight, with isolated wind gusts in mountains and foothills reaching as strong as 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers), according to the National Weather Service.

The blaze reached and jumped the Pacific Coast Highway at Will Rogers State Beach, according to KABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News. The Los Angeles Fire Department on Tuesday evening expanded the mandatory evacuation zone in the Pacific Palisades, noting that the situation remains “extremely dynamic.”

As of 8:30 p.m., residents throughout Santa Monica were protectively evacuating their homes in search of safer areas within the city. Local television broadcast scenes of flames engulfing parts of the Palisades Charter High School campus. The Los Angeles Fire Department issued an urgent call through local news, requesting off-duty firefighters to report for reinforcement.

Winds are expected to peak Tuesday through early Wednesday afternoon, with the strongest gusts expected to scour the San Fernando Valley and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Weather forecasters have told residents to expect downed trees and power lines, as well as widespread power outages.