Maps: Track Where the Fires in California Are Burning

Three major fires, driven by fierce winds, scorched parts of the Los Angeles area prompting thousands to leave their homes as officials issued evacuation orders for large residential areas.

Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate, including some celebrities in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Evacuation orders around the Palisades fire have since expanded to include areas along the Pacific Coast Highway and parts of the city of Santa Monica.

Other smaller but significant fires also burned in the region overnight.

One erupted near Pasadena in Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains. It has grown to an estimated 1,000 acres by Wednesday morning, Angeles National Forest said.

Another, the Hurst fire, burned in Sylmar, a community in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles.

As the Palisades fire continues to grow, smoke has been spreading south through Los Angeles, pushed by the heavy Santa Ana winds. Here’s where it is expected to move in the coming hours:

Already anticipating devastating losses, officials warned that the worst is still to come, with increasingly wild winds expected to fuel the out-of-control blazes into Wednesday. The cause of the fires remain under investigation, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.