The Pacific Palisades fire, which has already scorched nearly 3,000 acres, began as a brush fire near 1190 North Piedra Morada Drive at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Fueled by powerful winds reaching up to 40 mph, the flames quickly spread to about 200 acres and grew exponentially throughout the day, leaving tens of thousands displaced.
By Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that the fire had burned 2,921 acres with zero containment. Evacuation orders were issued for around 30,000 residents as flames threatened more than 10,000 homes, including areas in Malibu that had recently been devastated by the Franklin Fire in December.
“We’re not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
He noted that 110 fire engines had been dispatched to Southern California in anticipation of the high winds.
The fire’s rapid spread has caused significant destruction, with multiple homes engulfed in flames and thick plumes of black smoke rising over the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Some residents, such as Krishan Chaudry, described the sudden appearance of the flames: “This happened just spur of the moment. We were just looking at the smoke, and then all of a sudden, we saw fire everywhere.”
The Westwood Recreation Center and El Camino Real Charter High School have been designated as evacuation centres, offering shelter to displaced residents and small animals. Meanwhile, the fire forced the closure of several schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
Firefighting efforts have been further complicated by extreme wind conditions, with gusts expected to reach up to 100 mph in some areas. These powerful Santa Ana winds, which peaked from late Tuesday into early Wednesday, prompted the grounding of firefighting aircraft.
“This will likely be a life-threatening, destructive, and widespread windstorm,” the National Weather Service said, issuing a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The Pacific Coast Highway was shut down in several locations, including Southbound PCH at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Las Flores Canyon Road. Some drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles as flames quickly approached.
In response to the escalating crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency, which will enable local, state, and tribal agencies to apply for financial assistance to cover fire suppression costs. President Joe Biden also issued a statement, confirming FEMA’s approval of a Fire Management Assistance Grant and pledging federal support for the firefighting efforts.
“My team and I are in touch with state and local officials, and I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” Biden’s statement read.
As the fire continues to rage, the Los Angeles Fire Department has called on all off-duty firefighters to report for duty, a measure not taken in nearly two decades. Despite these efforts, the fire remains uncontained, with resources stretched thin due to the simultaneous Eaton Fire and Hurst Fire burning elsewhere in Los Angeles County.
Tesla owner, Elon Musk, has criticised California’s approach to wildfire management, arguing that the state’s regulations hinder effective measures and exacerbate the destruction of homes and loss of lives.
Musk made this known in a post on his official X account on Wednesday.
The billionaire’s remarks were in response to a post referencing former President Donald Trump’s stance, which suggested that federal emergency wildfire aid should be withheld until California adopts controlled burns and forest clean-up initiatives.
Reacting to the post, which he reposted, Musk asserted that the wildfires devastating California are preventable.
He criticised the state’s environmental policies, describing them as counterproductive to addressing the ongoing crisis.
He stated that the absence of proactive measures results in recurring devastation each year.