Wildfires rage in Los Angeles, forcing 30,000 to evacuate Reuters

By Jorge Garcia and Mike Blake

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A wildfire raged through a high-rise in Los Angeles on Tuesday, leaving 30,000 people trapped under heavy smoke, destroying homes and causing traffic snarls.

At least 1,262 acres (510 hectares) of the Pacific Palisades area, between Santa Monica and Malibu, have burned, officials said after warning of a high fire risk due to strong winds following prolonged dry weather.

The blaze grew rapidly in a matter of hours, with officials warning that the worst of the wind is expected to arrive overnight, raising fears that more neighborhoods could be forced to evacuate. Flying embers set fire to a palm tree at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway.

Witnesses said that as the fire descended toward the Pacific Ocean, several homes were engulfed in flames as people fled the hills of Topanga Canyon, nearly engulfing their cars in the flames.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley told reporters, “We are very blessed that there are no injuries at this point.”

Firefighters on the plane scooped up water from the sea and threw it on the nearby flames. Television footage showed houses engulfed in flames and bulldozers clearing abandoned vehicles from the road to allow emergency vehicles to pass.

With only one main road from the canyon to the beach and only one coastal highway leading to safety, traffic came to a standstill, forcing people to flee on foot.

Firefighters stand by as a man tries to get items out of the house while firefighters land on the street.

“So I thought let’s get out of here, I’ve got everything to lose, nothing I can do,” said the man, who identified himself as Peter.

Another resident of Pacific Palisades, Cindy Festa, said that when she left the canyon, the fires were “closer to the cars” and pointed with her thumb and forefinger.

“People have left their cars on Palisades Drive. They’re burning the hillside. Palm trees — everything’s going,” Festa said from her car.

Before the fire, the National Weather Service forecast 80 to 100 gusts with winds of 50 to 80 mph (80 to 130 km/h) for most of Los Angeles County Tuesday through Thursday. miles (130 to 160 km/h) in the hills and mountains.

Due to the lack of rain combined with low humidity and dry vegetation, conditions are very dangerous, officials said.

“In other words, this is bad fire weather,” the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles said on the X.

Governor Gavin Newsom said the state has begun mobilizing firefighting resources from northern to southern California due to the weather warning. He said most of those crews, fire trucks and aircraft remained elsewhere because of the widespread fire in Southern California.

“Hopefully, we’re wrong, but we expect other fires to happen at the same time,” Newsom said in a press release.

Known as the Santa Ana wind, the strong, dry westerly winds that originate from the interior deserts are most common in the fall but can affect Southern California at any time of the year.

Pacific Palisades is home to many Hollywood stars. Actor James Woods said he could leave on X, but “I don’t know if our house is standing right now.”

More than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes are at risk, Crowley said, equivalent to the entire population of Pacific Palisades. About 5% of Pacific Palisades’ 23,431 acres (9,482 ha) burned.