By Julie Watson, Janie Har, and Jaimie Ding, Associated Press
Los Angeles Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate Tuesday when a wildfire fueled by strong winds tore over a hillside in Los Angeles that was home to several celebrity properties. Some of the residents left their cars behind and escaped on foot to safety as highways were shut.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was in Southern California to see President Joe Biden’s dedication of a national monument, took a detour to the canyon to witness the effects of the flames and swirling winds firsthand. He claimed to have discovered numerous buildings already gone.
Although officials did not provide a precise figure for the number of buildings damaged or burned in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, they did state that over 13,000 structures were in danger and that around 30,000 individuals were under evacuation orders.
The worst might still be to come. Shortly after the National Weather Service warned that the Santa Ana windstorm, the strongest to hit Southern California in almost ten years, could be fatal, the fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Officials stated that no casualties had been reported and that the precise origin of the fire remained unknown.
In mountain and foothill regions, especially some that haven’t experienced significant rainfall in months, isolated gusts of up to 100 mph (160 kph) were predicted to occur as the winds increased overnight and persisted for days.
Residents were cautioned by Newsom that they were by no means out of the woods, as the strongest winds were predicted to occur between Tuesday at 10 p.m. and Wednesday at 5 a.m. On Tuesday, he proclaimed a state of emergency.
The mayor’s office reports that as of Tuesday night, the severe winds had left 28,300 houses without electricity. Approximately 15,000 Southern California utility customers had their power turned off in order to lower the possibility of equipment igniting a fire. Preemptive power outages threatened to affect a total of half a million people.
In the Pacific Palisades district of western Los Angeles, the fire quickly spread across nearly 2 square miles (just over 5 square kilometers) of land, creating a striking smoke plume that could be seen throughout the city. The flames were spotted by locals at Venice Beach, which is around 6 miles (10 kilometers) away. It was one of many fires in the region.
To facilitate evacuation efforts, all non-essential traffic was prohibited from using portions of Interstate 10 and the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway. Other roads, however, were closed. To avoid danger, some residents leaped from their cars and waited to be picked up.
The only route into and out of her area was totally closed, according to resident Kelsey Trainor. Fires burned on both sides of the road, and ash fell everywhere.
According to Trainor, we glanced across the street and saw that the fire had spread from one side to the other. People were sobbing and yelling as they got out of the cars with their babies, pets, and suitcases. For an hour the route was simply closed—completely shut.
One home’s roof and chimney were on fire, and another house’s walls were on fire, according to an Associated Press video journalist. Approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown Los Angeles, the Pacific Palisades area borders Malibu and features hillside neighborhoods with densely populated residences along winding lanes that nestle against the Santa Monica Mountains and extend down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
As helicopters overhead dumped buckets of water, an AP photographer witnessed multimillion-dollar residences on fire. While some evacuees pleaded for rides back up to their homes to save pets, others fled down toward the Pacific Coast Highway, causing traffic jams in both directions. Two of the burned-out houses were in gated neighborhoods.
When Will Adams, a longtime Palisades resident, learned that the fire was close by, he said he hurried right away to pick up his two children from St. Matthews Parish School. As his wife attempted to flee, he claimed that embers flew into her vehicle.
On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Jerome Krausse pushes his mother-in-law in a shopping cart as they leave their Pacific Palisades house after a wildfire ravaged their Santa Monica, California, neighborhood. (Photo by Richard Vogel for AP)
According to Adams, she got out of her car and left it running. Until it was safe to do so, she and a large number of other locals walked down toward the ocean.
Adams claimed that throughout his 56 years of residence, he had never seen anything comparable. As houses began to burn, he saw the sky turn brown and then black. He claimed that he thought the transformers were exploding because he could hear loud pops and booms that sounded like tiny explosions.
It is insane, and it can be found in every corner of the Palisades. According to Adams, one house is safe while the other is on fire.
On a hill close to his house, actor James Woods shared video of flames blazing past palm trees and through vegetation. In the manicured yards between the houses, the tall orange flames raged.
During the brief video on X, Woods stated, “I’m standing in my driveway, preparing to evacuate.”
Pacific Palisades resident and actor Steve Guttenberg asked those who left their automobiles unattended to leave their keys behind so that they might be moved to make room for fire trucks.
KTLA was informed by Guttenberg that this is not a parking lot. My pals who live up there are unable to leave. Moving cars, I’m walking as far as I can up there.
Biden was supposed to drive to inland Riverside County to announce the creation of two new national monuments in the state, but the unpredictable weather forced him to postpone his trip. He was briefed about the wildfires and stayed in Los Angeles, where smoke could be seen from his hotel. A funding authorized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency will assist California in covering the expense of combating the fire.
According to a statement from Getty President Katherine Fleming, workers and the museum collection are secure despite some trees and plants on the Getty Villa grounds having burnt by late Tuesday. A distinct campus of the renowned Getty Museum, the museum on the eastern end of the Pacific Palisades specializes in the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced that it had temporarily moved students from three schools in the Pacific Palisades region, and film studios canceled two movie premieres because of the wind and fire.
Southern California, where there hasn’t been much rain this season, has had warmer-than-normal temperatures due to recent dry winds, particularly the renowned Santa Anas. Since early May, Southern California has not received more than 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) of precipitation.
Har reported from San Francisco, and Watson from San Diego. This report was written by Christopher Weber of the Associated Press and Eugene Garcia, a video journalist in Los Angeles.
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