Updated at 2:25 p.m.: Homes were destroyed as high winds were expected to increase to between 40 and 60 mph later this afternoon sparking a wildfire that has now burned 772 acres in the Pacific Palisades area. According to reports, many homes were destroyed.
While it started as a 10-acre fire at about 10:30 a.m. on En Pedra Morada Dr. near Highlands, the incident quickly grew into a blaze of more than 200 acres in less than an hour, threatening homes with smoke that is heading west toward Villa Getty. The museum is closed to the public today, but a source told Deadline that people working there have been asked to leave. The facility reportedly has a very detailed plan to keep the artwork safe, including fire-resistant walls.
The eastbound Pacific Coast Highway was closed at Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The eastbound lanes of PCH at Las Flores Canyon Road were also closed, LACSD Public Information Officer Alcala tweeted. Traffic was diverted on the Santa Monica Freeway at Lincoln Boulevard to prevent people from entering the area. Sunset Boulevard at Palisades Drive was reportedly impassable, with firefighters likely using the road as a firebreak.
At about 12:30 p.m., with local roads congested with traffic and some people abandoning their cars, residents were evacuated on foot, according to Captain Eric Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
On KTLA5, a local resident — whom the young reporter did not recognize as actor Steve Guttenberg — implored people who were abandoning their cars to at least leave the keys in them so others could move the vehicles in their path. “This is not a parking lot,” the actor said. “If you leave your car on Palisades Drive, leave the keys in there so someone like me can move it.”
Evacuation orders were issued around noon for the area around Pedra Morada, according to multiple media outlets. Areas near Topanga to the west and Rustic Canyon to the east were reportedly under evacuation warnings. Emergency officials are urging anyone in the path of the fire to leave the area.
In fact, the former local ABC7 TV reporter was live on the air from her home and had to get off the ground when she received the evacuation order. An alert sent out by the Malibu/Lost Hills Police Station warned of an “immediate threat to life.” See map below for current evacuations as of 1 p.m. Mandatory evacuations are in red and evacuation warnings are in yellow.
Local TV stations broke into coverage of former President Jimmy Carter's memorial service to cover the incident, with remote crews shooting from beach parking lots on PCH with a billowing black plume in the background. Smoke could also be seen across much of West Los Angeles.
Actor James Woods posted a close-up video of flames approaching the back deck of his home.
The National Weather Service has been warning for several days that today's wind storm will produce severe fire conditions because it combines very high winds with very low humidity. Wind speeds of 46 mph were recorded in the Palisades this morning. Humidity is expected to be very low on Wednesday.
Starting around noon, SCE began emergency power outages to prevent wind-downed power lines from sparking fires. Affected areas included Point Dume and up the coast as far west as Malibu.
