Palisades Wildfire LIVE: Extreme Winds Fuel Raging Wildfire in Los Angeles Area Neighborhood | USA Today | CNBC TV18
Source: AP/Reuters
The Palisades Fire, the largest of six active blazes in the Los Angeles region, shifted east on Friday night and triggered a new evacuation order that included much of the Brentwood neighborhood and parts of Encino. The new flare-up was a “significant development,” said L.A. County spokesman Jesus Ruiz, with the fire rapidly growing and moving in the direction of “a heavily populated area … we’re definitely concerned.”
The fires have killed at least 11 people and burned more than 37,000 acres — an area bigger than San Francisco — according to Cal Fire, with flames claiming more than 12,000 structures and displacing tens of thousands. The Palisades Fire is the largest at more than 21,000 acres, while the Eaton Fire has burned more than 14,000 acres. Those blazes are 11 percent and 15 percent contained, respectively.
Raging flames driven by a fierce windstorm scorched a rapidly growing area of Southern California on Tuesday, destroying homes, forcing at least 30,000 residents to evacuate and choking the sky with smoke, with officials warning that the worst was yet to come.
Traffic was backed up for miles along Sunset Boulevard as residents tried to flee the Pacific Palisades, an affluent coastal neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles that is home to some 24,000 people and many celebrities. Gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, the strongest Southern California has experienced in more than a decade, were forecast through lunchtime Wednesday.
Parts of Santa Monica were ordered to be evacuated as fast-moving flames destroyed homes along the coast in Los Angeles. Officials warned that winds would pick up overnight, fueling the fire.
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