Firefighters in California are battling a wind-blown blaze that has ripped through the Los Angeles area, destroying homes and closing roads as thousands of people have fled, wreaking havoc on the economy as officials prepare for the worst.
A fire that broke out Tuesday evening in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles spread so quickly that workers at a large shelter pushed dozens of people in wheelchairs and medical beds out into the parking lot.
The people waited in their clothes as the lights flashed around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vehicles arrived to take them to safety.
The blaze that started a few hours earlier raged near the Pacific Palisades, a coastal mountain area with homes famous and remembered by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin' USA.” .
In the rush to get to safety, roads were disrupted, as many people abandoned their cars and fled on foot, and some carried suitcases.
Traffic jams prevented emergency vehicles from getting through. Then a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars aside and make way. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed extensive damage to homes and businesses along the popular highway.
A third wildfire broke out around 10:30pm (06:30 GMT, Wednesday) and prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a suburb north of Los Angeles. The causes of the three fires were under investigation.
The blaze was being pushed by winds of up to 60mph (about 100km/h) in some areas. Wind speeds are expected to increase overnight, producing gusts of up to 100mph (160km/h) in the mountains and mountain ranges – including in areas that haven't seen rain in months.
This prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of issuing a request to off-duty firefighters for help. It was so windy that firefighting planes couldn't fly, which put a damper on the fight.
Officials did not say how many homes were damaged or destroyed in Pacific Palisades, but said about 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate and more than 13,000 homes were at risk. Governor Gavin Newsom visited the site and said many buildings had been burned.
By evening, flames had spread to neighboring Malibu and several people were being treated for injuries. The firefighter suffered a serious head injury and was taken to the hospital, according to Captain Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
As of Tuesday evening, about 167,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County, according to the website PowerOutage.us.
Recent dry spells, including the notorious Santa Anas, have helped warm temperatures in southern California, which has seen very little rain this season. Southern California has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5mm) of rain since early May.