Fast-moving wildfire sparked by ‘life-threatening’ windstorm sweeps Southern California – live updates | California

The Palisades Fire has consumed more than 1,200 acres since it broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning and destroyed several homes in an affluent community along the Pacific Ocean.

Nearly 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures are threatened, said Kristin Crowley, fire chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Actor Eugene Levy, honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades, which was forced to evacuate, told the Los Angeles Times while stuck in traffic: “The smoke looked quite black and intense. » Other evacuees described harrowing escapes, with one woman telling ABC7 how she abandoned her vehicle and fled with her cat in her arms: “I’m being hit by burning palm fronds… It’s terrifying . It looks like a horror movie. I scream and cry as I walk down the street.

The Los Angeles school district was also forced to move students from three campuses, and Joe Biden had to cancel plans for an event announcing two national monuments.

By midafternoon, shoppers at a luxury outdoor mall in Century City, about 12 miles east of Pacific Palisades, were still walking around as usual. But outside the mall, wisps of smoke were visible to the west and the distant view began to look blurry.

I am currently driving east through Los Angeles and am currently close to Beverly Hills. Ahead of me, towards the city center, the view is rather clear and sunny, although the palm trees lining the streets sway quite spectacularly in the wind. But behind me, in my rearview mirror, I can see wisps of smoke coming from the Pacific Palisades fire to the west. The most recent air quality readings in Los Angeles were within a healthy range, but I expect air quality to deteriorate rapidly as smoke spreads across the city .

As a wildfire spreads rapidly near Los Angeles on Tuesday, we bring you this live blog with the latest news on fires sparked by a “potentially deadly” windstorm that hit Southern California this week . The region is expected to experience what could be the strongest winds in more than a decade, bringing extreme fire risk to areas that have not seen significant rain in months.

Much of Southern California, home to millions of people, is at what authorities described as “extreme risk” from the destructive storm. The weather service warned of downed trees and large overturned trucks, trailers and RVs, and advised residents to stay indoors and away from windows. Powerful offshore gusts will also lead to hazardous conditions off the coasts of Orange County and Los Angeles, including Catalina Island, and potential delays and turbulence could occur at local airports.