Wildfires raging through Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Tuesday, burning homes and prompting the city to issue evacuation orders for 30,000 people.
More than 2,900 acres have burned in the hills surrounding the Palisades, an affluent coastal community and the most expensive in the US, the Los Angeles Fire Department said Tuesday. The cause of the flame it is not known.
Smoke darkened the sky over the area as winds reached 60mph. Gusts were expected to pick up overnight and could reach as high as 100mph, the strongest in at least a decade for Southern California.
Fire officials say about 13,000 buildings are at risk in the Palisades, home to Hollywood stars such as Tom Hanks and James Woods. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said that “many buildings (have) been destroyed”.
Newsom declared a state of emergency, as did Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass. President Joe Biden, who was in California to present the state's memorials, pledged federal aid to restore the state's response to the disaster.
After sunset, Santa Monica issued an evacuation order for the area near the Palisades fire, warning residents of a “threat to life”.
Another large fire spread in Altadena, about 30 miles east of Pacific Palisades. The fire, which burned about 400 hectares, also prompted evacuations.
The roads that snake through the canyons of the Pacific Palisades were quickly filled with gridlock traffic after the fire broke out Tuesday morning, as residents rushed to evacuate. Many cars were also abandoned as drivers fled on foot towards the beach, witnesses said.
The fire department sent trucks to move the abandoned cars to improve access to the fire.
“We've been evacuated three times (from previous fires) but this is the scariest we've ever seen,” said Susan Vash, who escaped Tuesday afternoon and lives with family in Santa Monica.
He has lived in the Mandeville Canyon area of the Palisades since 1998.
The fire threatened the Getty Villa, and other trees and plants on the hillside were burned. But the art collection and museum staff remain safe, the museum president said.
Airplanes and “super scooper” planes dropped water on the fire, although strong winds were a problem for aircraft. Utility companies shut off power to more than 8,000 homes to prevent live electrical wires from increasing the risk of fire.
The fire in Pacific Palisades is believed to have started around 10.30am. Migrants say it spread quickly, forcing parents to rush to schools and pick up their children. Some who fled said they were not sure if the houses they left behind were still standing.
It could be days before firefighters bring the blaze under control, and even longer before residents are allowed to return home, fire officials said.
The National Weather Service has warned of “life-threatening wind storms”, which have accelerated the spread of fires in a dry region that has seen little rain in months.
Fire officials are warning that the winds will be very bad overnight. “Know that we are not in danger,” said Anthony Marrone, chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.