An extreme wind event is threatening one of Los Angeles’ toniest neighborhoods, igniting fires through Pacific Palisades.
Winds have been gusting in spurts sparking brush fires around 10:30 a.m. that have expanded to 2,900 acres as of early Tuesday evening, with zero percent containment, per the Los Angeles Fire Department. (See photos.) California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a “state of emergency.”
Among the residents who call the area home are Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, Michael Keaton, Miles Teller, Michael Mann, Ann Sarnoff, Carol Lombardini, Alan Bergman, Kathleen Kennedy, Steve Guttenberg and James Woods.
Santa Ana winds are nothing new to Southern California, and it’s not uncommon for them to flare up in January, but this “life threatening” and fast-moving wind storm, coupled with low humidity and cooler temperatures, has forced mandatory evacuations for areas surrounding the highly combustible Santa Monica Mountains range.
Around 7 p.m., news broke that another fire had broken out in the Eaton Canyon area above Altadena, which is some 45 miles from Pacific Palisades, forcing evacuations. That fire had grown to 200 acres by 8:45 p.m. Around 8 p.m., an evacuation order was issued for northern Santa Monica.
The National Weather Service said the wind storm constituted a “PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION Red Flag Warning event.” The warnings are in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday for Malibu, the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains, Eastern Ventura Valley and coastal areas adjacent to the Sepulveda pass.
The damage and smoke engulfing the Palisades is being described as “apocalyptic,” with one local field reporter noting its resemblance to a movie set.
The Associated Press reported that about 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures are under threat. It’s not clear what caused the fire, and there have been no reported injuries, according to officials.
So far, flights out of LAX have not been grounded. News network helicopters, on standby at nearby Van Nuys airport, are not permitted to fly near the area.
