The famous area of ​​Los Angeles devastated by a forest fire

Los Angeles' affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood is usually full of strangers trying to catch a glimpse of celebrity homes.

But now its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire that is ravaging the area.

Across the city, more than 30,000 were forced to evacuate their homes as winds fanned three fires. A state of emergency was declared, leaving roads blocked as people fled.

Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to leave their normally idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Sheets Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described the evacuation of his home on social media and said he wasn't sure if it was still standing.

“It feels like losing a loved one,” he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a house costing an average of $4.5m (£3.6m) as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The North District of Los Angeles is bordered to the south by a three-mile (4.8 km) stretch of Pacific Ocean beach nestled between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is a hub for trendy shops, cafes and a farmer's market.

But the Palisades fire — which grew from 10 acres to more than 2,900 in a matter of hours — shattered the area's idyllic nature.

Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, called the fire “the most horrific fire since '93. over here” — which burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu — in an Instagram post.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu, “so at the last minute (there were) small fires on both sides of the road.”

Levy, who became famous for his role in the American Pie film series, told local media that he had been forced to evacuate his home.

“The smoke looked quite black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn't see any flames, but the smoke was very dark,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

Reality star Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.

“My heart is beyond broken for my brother, Heidi and the kids,” she said. “Even the Palisades firehouse burned down.”

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Kelly also live in the area.

Posting to Instagram, Ms Teller shared a photo of the fires and a heartbreaking emoji. She urged people to leave bowls of water for the animals while they evacuate their homes.

Meanwhile, actor Steve Guttenberg of Police Academy fame stayed behind to help firefighters by moving cars to make way for incoming fire trucks.

He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be moved out of the way of firefighters.

“We really need people to move their cars,” he told news channel KTLA: “This is not a parking lot.”

Not only well-known residents are affected by the wildfire – landmark buildings in the area are also at risk.

The Palisades Charter High School — which has served as a movie set and counts several notable people as former students — was injured in a fire, local media reported.

The fire-ravaged school has been used in films, including the 1976 horror classic. “Carrie” and “Project X,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Former students include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades that has a large collection of artwork and artifacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it was closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation on site had burned – but said “no structures are on fire and staff and the collection remain safe”.

Star events scheduled to take place in the area have also been cancelled.

The premieres of Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman were canceled, as was the live nominations event for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.