More than 30,000 people have been evacuated as a rapidly spreading wildfire raged across an upscale area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, destroying multiple buildings and causing traffic jams.
According to Cal Fire, a second fire, known as the Eaton Fire, started about 30 miles (50 km) inland close to Pasadena and quickly doubled in size to 400 acres (162 hectares).
As the fire spread from the hills of Topanga Canyon to the Pacific Ocean, witnesses saw several burning homes, with flames almost scorching their cars as they fled.
After warning of extreme fire danger from powerful winds that arrived after extended dry weather, officials said the Palisades Fire had burned at least 2,921 acres (1,182 hectares) of the Pacific Palisades area between the coastal towns of Santa Monica and Malibu.
Local television station KTLA was informed by a fire official that multiple people were hurt, some of whom had burns on their hands and faces. One female firefighter had suffered a head injury, the official added.
CBS News reports that nearly 100 residents of a Pasadena nursing home have been evacuated. As fire trucks and ambulances responded, footage showed elderly residents, many of whom were in wheelchairs and on gurneys, crammed onto a windswept and smokey parking lot.
Some nearby residents were evacuated after fire officials reported that a third fire, known as the Hurst Fire, had begun in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles.
As the fire spread from the hills of Topanga Canyon to the Pacific Ocean, witnesses saw several burning homes, with flames almost scorching their cars as they fled.
At a press conference earlier, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said that 10,000 homes and over 25,000 people were under threat.
Water from the sea was collected by firefighters in airplanes and dropped onto the surrounding fires. Television footage showed homes engulfed in flames and abandoned cars being removed from roads by bulldozers to make room for emergency vehicles.
Preventive measures to remove brush around the buildings helped keep the collection safe, the museum said, although the fire damaged some trees on the grounds of the Getty Villa, a museum that houses priceless artwork.
Prior to the fire, the National Weather Service had predicted wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph (80 to 130 kph) and issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for a large portion of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday.
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The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office said on X that the conditions were “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” with low humidity and dry vegetation from a lack of rain.
A state of emergency was declared by Governor Gavin Newsom.
He said the state positioned personnel, firetrucks and aircraft elsewhere in Southern California is because of the fire danger to the wider region, he added.
President Joe Biden’s travel plans were altered by the strong winds, which caused Air Force One to be grounded in Los Angeles. For a ceremony to establish two new national monuments in California, he had intended to take a quick flight inland to the Coachella Valley; however, the event was postponed to the White House.
Many celebrities from Hollywood have been affected. James Woods, an actor, claimed on X that he managed to evacuate, but added:
“I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”
