Hollywood celebrities were among those who fled by car and foot as a wildfire tore through a posh coastal neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday and into Wednesday engulfing homes and setting hillsides on fire forcing over 30,000 residents to abandon their homes.
According to officials, two more flames were rapidly expanding inland.
How Dangerous Are the Wildfires That Forced 30,000 to Evacuate Los Angeles?
In the Pacific Palisades region between the coastal cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, officials said that around 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) were burnt and numerous buildings were damaged. Numerous movie and music celebrities call the region home.
Plumes of smoke and flames soared in the night sky above Los Angeles and its suburbs. Also roads were congested with motorists escaping the conflagration in which some of whom abandoned their cars as flames licked the edges.
Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency after firefighters failed to contain the fire by the early hours of the morning. Palisades Drive was where people left their cars. The slope was on fire. All is well with the palm trees so far.
A fire officer said that the Palisades Fire had harmed a number of persons, some of whom had burns on their hands and faces. A female firefighter had been injured in the head as well.
The Pacific Palisades actor James Woods claimed on X that he was able to leave his home, but he added, “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”
The windstorm is predicted to get stronger throughout the morning according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Also a second fire known as the Eaton Fire started around 30 miles (50 km) inland in Altadena close to Pasadena and grew from 200 acres to 1,000 acres (400 hectares) in a matter of hours.
Around 100 residents of a Pasadena nursing facility were evacuated. As fire vehicles and ambulances responded, footage showed elderly people, many of whom were in wheelchairs and on gurneys crammed onto a windy and smoke-filled parking lot.
Some adjacent houses were evacuated as 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.
