Californians Flee Massive Palisades Fire

By Jill McLaughlin

A fast-moving wildfire erupted in the Southern California coastal city of Pacific Palisades, about 20 miles west of Los Angeles, destroying homes as Santa Ana winds ripped through the region Jan. 7.

The Palisades Fire burned an unknown number of homes in the city as thousands of residents were forced to flee.

The fire had grown to about 2 square miles (1,300 acres) by 3 p.m. and was continuing to spread throughout the residential area.

Many homes could be seen burning in the fire area, and there were reports of police and fire crews rescuing people from burning buildings, but no reports of injuries surfaced by the afternoon.

Traffic slowed nearly to a halt on the Pacific Coast Highway as residents attempted to evacuate. Some opted to exit their cars and start walking out of the area.

Los Angeles County officials closed the westbound lanes of the Santa Monica 10 Freeway at Lincoln Boulevard, a major artery in the region, just before 2 p.m.

Northbound Pacific Coast Highway was also closed to help officials evacuate residents from the growing blaze.

Flames also destroyed the Los Angeles Fire Department Station 23 on Sunset Boulevard and Los Liones Drive Tuesday afternoon.

Crews were responding to multiple reports of structures burning throughout the fire area.

Officials ordered evacuations in a section of Topanga State Park that reached to the Pacific Coast Highway, which covers most of Pacific Palisades, home to about 20,000 residents.

Parts of nearby Malibu were under evacuation warnings Tuesday.

The Westwood Recreation Center at 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. was open for evacuees and accepted small animals, allowing people to stay overnight.

Los Angeles County Fire Department first responded to a brush fire in Pacific Palisades at about 10:30 a.m. southeast of Palisades Drive that threatened nearby homes.

Homes were on fire in Pacific Palisades by about 11:30 a.m., according to local reports.

Actor James Woods posted a video on X saying he was standing in his driveway getting ready to evacuate at about 11:45 a.m. The video showed his neighbor’s home overcome by flames. Later posts show the flames nearing Woods’ home.

“We were blessed to have LA fire and police [departments] doing their jobs so well,” Woods posted on X. “We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely.”

Fire crews responded to several smaller brush fires throughout the day across the region. Air tankers and helicopters dropped water on the blaze as firefighters from Los Angeles Fire Department rushed to respond.

The Angeles National Forest also sent aircraft and personnel to help with the fire.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a warning for the life-threatening and destructive windstorm to last until Wednesday morning, along with red flag warnings of high fire danger. The fire warnings were expected to be in place until Thursday night.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents to heed evacuation orders, calling it a “dangerous situation.”

“In preparation for high winds, LAFD pre-deployed strike teams in and near areas prone to wildfire,” the mayor wrote on social media. “Firefighters are now actively and aggressively responding to the [Palisades Fire] with support from regional partners.”

Los Angeles and Ventura counties were expected to see widespread north and northeast wind gusts of up to 80 miles per hour Tuesday, with isolated gusts reaching up to 100 miles per hour in the mountains and foothills.

“This could be the strongest event since Nov. 30/Dec. 2011,” the Los Angeles weather service office reported on X Monday. “Pasadena was specifically hit hard then, and we are seeing a similar weather pattern to back then. However, instead of just Pasadena, the impacts could happen anywhere.”

The city of Los Angeles also issued a red flag parking restrictions starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, restricting parking of illegally parked vehicles in zones that are especially susceptible to fire.

Fire commanders have identified several areas where parked vehicles could delay citizens trying to evacuate and fire companies gaining access during brush fires.

“This will be the most significant wind event this season and we ask you to be prepared,” the Los Angeles Fire Department wrote in a social media post Monday afternoon.

All schools were closed in the coastal city of Malibu Tuesday because of the extreme windstorm.

The Southern California coast was expected to see winds reach up to 30 knots and gusts up to 50 knots from the northeast later Tuesday.

Los Angeles County lifeguards warned mariners to change their plans and remain in port to avoid the hazardous conditions.

Thousands of residents lost power Tuesday morning, either after an intentional utility safety shut down or from the strong winds.

Southern California Edison (SCE), which serves 5 million customers in Southern California, reported nearly 9,000 customers were without power at 3:30 p.m. Many of the customers without power were in the northern part of Malibu along the coast.

Of those, 5,000 were in Los Angeles County, and nearly 3,000 were in Ventura County.

The utility was considering more than 413,000 utility shutdowns Tuesday afternoon. California utilities are allowed to shut power down during dangerous weather events to avoid the risk of wildfire.

San Diego Gas and Electric Company also said they may have to shut off power to nearly 118,000 customers to reduce wildfire risk from downed power lines.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Related