California firefighters battling wildfire sweeping exclusive Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity homes
Around 30,000 residents have been ordered to leave because of a fire tearing through the foothills of the upmarket Pacific Palisades. The blaze spread so rapidly staff at a care home had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street.
A state of emergency has been declared by the governor of California as wildfires, fuelled by high winds, sweep through the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Firefighters are battling a fast-moving blaze which is sweeping through an exclusive LA hillside dotted with celebrity homes.
Posting on X, Governor Gavin Newsom said: “I’ve proclaimed a state of emergency to support the communities impacted by the #PalisadesFire.
“Southern California residents: stay vigilant, take all necessary precautions, and follow local emergency guidance.”
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Officials say the wildfires are being fanned by “life-threatening” and “destructive” winds hitting southern California.
Around 30,000 residents have been ordered to leave because of a fire tearing through the foothills of the upmarket Pacific Palisades, located between Santa Monica and Malibu.
The blaze spread so rapidly staff at a care home had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street.
Further evacuation orders were issued about 25 miles northeast in Altadena after another fire, called the Eaton fire, started near a nature preserve at around 6.30pm local time (2.30am UK time) and by midnight (8am UK time) it had burned 1.6 square miles, according to fire officials.
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A third blaze, called the Hurst fire, has also ripped through Sylmar in the north of the city, burning around 500 acres.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it had affected more than 100 acres of land and was spreading at a “rapid” rate.
The smoke cloud from the flames of the Pacific Palisades fire is so high it can be seen from LA’s famous Venice Beach, more than six miles away. The fire has destroyed 4.5 square miles, according to the Angeles National Forest.
The fires were at 0% containment as of Wednesday morning local time.
Actor James Woods shared footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his Pacific Palisades home.
In a post on X he said he had been evacuated, adding: “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing, but sadly houses on our little street are not.”
The award-winning actor, 77, later wrote he had been told his neighbour’s house had caught fire, but “fortunately, they were safely evacuated”.
Meanwhile, actor Steve Guttenberg, who also lives in the area, has been helping to move parked cars to make way for fire engines.
“This is not a parking lot,” he told local media.
“I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate… I’m walking up there as far as I can, moving cars.”
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Kristin Crowley, fire chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the area is experiencing “extreme fire weather conditions” and more than 250 firefighters are currently attempting to battle the blaze.
She said the fire was initially reported as a 10-acre fire, but, fanned by 40mph winds, had since spread to more than 1,200 acres “and growing”.
Ms Crowley says the job of firefighters tackling the blaze is being made “extremely challenging” due to “strong winds and surrounding topography”.
No injuries have so far been reported, but the service has received “multiple reports” of damage to buildings in the area.
The flames were buffeted by Santa Ana winds, which topped 60mph in some places. The winds were expected to increase to speeds of over 100mph in mountains and foothills overnight, including in areas which have not seen substantial rain in months.
Santa Ana winds are sometimes called “devil winds” and are strong, extremely dry downhill winds that start inland and affect coastal southern California and northern Baja California, in neighbouring Mexico.
The area where the fire has struck, Pacific Palisades, has long been a celebrity hideaway.
To the south, the area boasts a three-mile stretch of beach that featured in the 1963 The Beach Boys hit Surfin’ USA, as well as craggy cliffs and popular hiking trails to the north.
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One of its most popular attractions is the Getty Villa, a branch of the famous J Paul Getty Museum focused on Greek and Roman antiquities.
Alongside Woods and Guttenberg, the area is reportedly home to double Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, actress and film director Reese Witherspoon, and Happy Gilmore and Grown Ups star Adam Sandler.
