Palisades Fire in California forces drivers to abandon cars as they flee Santa Ana winds-fueled blaze
The Pacific Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles spread rapidly Tuesday afternoon amid a devastating storm, with some residents choosing to leave, others following evacuation orders, and others forced to walk through smoke and ash amid dangerous flames. Abandon a stuck car when approaching.
10:30 am Palisades Fire It was expected to be 20 acres, and within an hour it had grown to 200 acres. By about 6:30 p.m., Cal Fire said it had reached 2,921 acres and was continuing to grow. Pacific Palisades is a coastal community northwest of Los Angeles.
“It happened on the spur of the moment,” resident Krishan Chaudry said. “We looked at the smoke and all of a sudden we saw fire everywhere.”
About 30,000 people have been evacuated and an estimated 10,367 homes remain threatened by the fast-moving flames, Los Angeles Fire Department and law enforcement officials said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Sunset Strip is packed with cars as people tried to evacuate. Resident Marsha Horowitz took her dog for a walk along Sunset Boulevard and said the fire department told people to get out of their cars. “The fire spread right onto the road and the fire department came and said ‘get out of the car now’ because the fire was pointing right at the car,” she said.
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One Sunset resident said evacuation order When he was already walking along the road he went out. He said he saw someone walking with a suitcase. “It’s beautiful when everything is good, and when there’s a fire, everyone wants to be somewhere else,” Eugene said.
Another resident, Nicolas Libonati, said he saw many abandoned cars on the road and people running towards the coast. “It was a surreal scene,” he said. “There’s one way in, one way out and there’s a fire road and I tried to cross the fire road but the flames went straight over my head so I just walked down the main road and obviously everyone had that idea.”
Many residents headed toward the sea, where super shovels could be seen sinking to load water against black, smoky skies.
Longtime Pacific Palisades resident Sean Butler said he didn’t hesitate once the evacuation order came. “I put my dog ​​in the car, grabbed my duffle bag and went to the parking lot at Temescal Canyon and Pacific Coast Highway.”
Some can’t get out. The fire surrounded them, spreading flames to houses and paralyzing roads.
“We were terrified and shaking everywhere,” said resident Sue. “The fire department are the most amazing people. They embraced us and said don’t worry, we’re going to take care of you. They were awesome.” She earlier estimated the winds were gusting at 50 mph.
Evacuated residents wondered if their homes could survive. “I don’t know if my house is okay or if it burned down,” said resident Andrew Hales. “When I started evacuating, I was about 100 yards from our house, in the backyard… when I started packing up and taking the kids out.”
Complete list of Cal Fire Palisades Fire evacuation orders and warnings can be found here.
The Westwood Recreation Center is open as an evacuation center and overnight shelter for evacuees and small animals, according to the fire department. Latest information on evacuations and resources for affected personnel can be found here.
