Massive fire burns 11,800 acres in Pacific Palisades, thousands forced to evacuate

Driven by unrelenting winds, a massive brush fire engulfed over 11,800 acres through the Pacific Palisades area, destroying or damaging more than 1,000 structures and forcing thousands of people from their homes as it moved toward Malibu on the west and Santa Monica on the southeast with no reported containment today.   

The fire was reported around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Piedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz. It continued to grow exponentially throughout the day thanks to heavy fuel loads and powerful Santa Ana winds.

By 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, the fire was mapped at 11,802 acres, with 0% containment according to Cal Fire.  

Air tankers and water-dropping helicopters made drops throughout daylight hours, and firefighters from across the region rushed to the scene Tuesday. With the fire raging out of control Tuesday night, the LAFD issued a plea for all of its off-duty firefighters to check in to determine if they could be deployed the fire line.   

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Tuesday afternoon across a wide area generally stretching from Merrimac Road on the northeast, west to Topanga Canyon Boulevard and south to Pacific Coast Highway. The orders essentially cover the bulk of Pacific Palisades.

LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters Tuesday afternoon that roughly 30,000 people were under evacuation orders, with the fire endangering roughly 13,200 structures, including 10,300 homes. That evacuation area was dramatically expanded Tuesday night, stretching east to Kenter Avenue and north to Mulholland Road, still reaching west to Topanga Canyon Boulevard and south to PCH. It was unknown how many additional people were impacted by the expanded evacuation zone.

In a media briefing at 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the fire has burned more than 5,000 acres and destroyed about 1,000 structures.

There were a ``high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire lines,'' he said.

On Tuesday night, LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said a 25-year-old female firefighter suffered a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital. The circumstances of the injury were unknown. Several other people were treated for burn injuries in the area of the famed Duke's restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway, Scott said. It was also unclear how those injuries occurred, or how many people were affected.

People in nearby homes outside of the evacuation area were asked to shelter in place.

With the fire expanding to the east, the city of Santa Monica issued a mandatory evacuation order for all residents north of San Vicente Boulevard between Ocean Boulevard and 26th Street. An evacuation warning was issued for all residents north of Montana.

The city of Malibu issued evacuation orders for three areas:   

-- north of PCH, south of Rambla Pacifio Street, east of Carbon Beach Terrace and west of Las Flores Mesa Drive;   

-- north of PCH, south of Budwood Matway, east of Las Flores Mesa Drive and west of Old Malibu Road; and  

-- north of Rambla Pacifico Street, south of Pauma Road, Las Flores Canyon Road and Rambla Pacifico, east of Carbon Canyon Road and west of Gorge Road.

Other areas in Malibu were placed under evacuation warnings.   

Evacuation centers were established at the Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Pasadena Convention Center at 300 E. Green St. in Pasadena, and at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills.   

Large animals can be taken to Pierce College at 6201 Winnetka Ave., or the Los Angeles Equestrian Center at 480 Riverside Drive in Burbank. Small animals can be taken to the Agoura Animal Care Center at 29525 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills and Pasadena Humane Society at 361 S. Raymond Ave in Pasadena.

Evacuees were initially instructed to travel south on Palisades Drive to westbound Sunset Boulevard then to southbound PCH. However, the evacuation routes quickly filled with vehicles Tuesday afternoon, prompting some people to simply pull over near Palisades and Sunset, exit their cars and walk out of the area on foot.   

LAFD officials said about 30 vehicles were abandoned at the location, and a bulldozer was used to push some of the vehicles out of the intersection to prevent them from blocking traffic in and out of the area.

Eastbound PCH was closed east of the fire area in hopes of clearing the roadway. The westbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway was closed at Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica, along with north/westbound PCH to help clear the roadway and assist people trying to evacuate the roadway. The closures effectively blocked all of PCH between the Santa Monica Freeway and Topanga Canyon.

Sunset Boulevard was also closed west of Mandeville Canyon Road.   

SoCalGas was temporarily shutting off natural gas service to the Malibu community from Brentwood Country Club to Pepperdine University. As a result, approximately 15,000 customers in the impacted communities were experiencing temporary service outages, SoCalGas spokesperson Chris Gilbride said.

By early evening, the flames had jumped to the south side of PCH, reaching the coastline. The fire also continued spreading both east and west, jumping part of Tuna Canyon Road as it pushed toward Malibu.

Multiple structures could be seen burning in the fire zone, and there were reports of police and fire crews working to rescue people from burning buildings -- but there were no immediate reports of any injuries to civilians. On at least two occasions, crews responded to homes where people were in
swimming pools to escape the flames.

Video from the scene showed what appeared to be structures burning on the campus of Palisades Charter High School, which was closed this week. Theatre Palisades on Temescal Canyon Road -- near the high school -- was completely engulfed in flames. At least one elementary school was also believed to have burned.  

Iconic eateries in the area such as the Reel Inn and Cholada Thai were also reported to have been destroyed.   

The Getty Villa museum in Pacific Palisades will remain closed until at least Monday, according to a statement posted on the Getty's website. Katherine Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, issued a statement Tuesday evening saying that the staff and art collection at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades ``remain safe,'' although ``some trees and vegetation on site have burned.''  

The Villa, which houses a treasured collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, is normally closed to the public on Tuesdays.   

``Fortunately, Getty had made extensive efforts to clear brush from the surrounding area as part of its fire mitigation efforts throughout the year,'' Fleming said. ``Some trees and vegetation on site have burned, but staff and the collection remain safe.

``Additional fire prevention measures in place at the Villa include water storage on-site. Irrigation was immediately deployed throughout the grounds Tuesday morning. Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from smoke by state-of-the-art air handling systems. The double-walled construction of the galleries also provides significant protection for the collections.''

Getty officials also said their Brentwood museum near the San Diego (405) Freeway would be closed until at least Sunday ``out of caution and to help alleviate traffic in the area.''

Early Tuesday afternoon, crews raced to LAFD Fire Station 23 along Sunset Boulevard, which was reported to be burning. There was no immediate update on damage to that structure.

Fire incident commanders stressed that the top priority was protecting lives rather than structures, so many homes impacted by the blaze were simply allowed to burn.

Reports from the scene painted pictures of total devastation, with flames jumping from home to home, structure to structure throughout the Palisades area. There was no immediate estimate of the number of structures lost, but the devastation was likely to be massive, wiping out much of Pacific Palisades.

The cause of the fire was unknown. It erupted amid fierce Santa Ana winds that forecasters said could develop into the worst windstorm in the Southland in a decade. Red flag warnings of critical fire danger were expected to be in place until Thursday evening.

The peak gusts of the wind event slammed the fire area between 10 p.m. Tuesday and early Wednesday morning.   

Marrone said authorities hoped to keep water-dropping aircraft flying throughout the night, but officials would have to monitor wind speeds, which could potentially ground the aircraft for safety. By about 9 p.m. Tuesday, most aircraft were grounded due to the winds, leaving the fire to spread virtually unchecked as it paved a path of destruction through the pristine area.   

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger signed an emergency proclamation in response to the fire, and the city of Los Angeles also issued an emergency declaration. Gov. Gavin Newsom later signed a state of emergency proclamation.

Newsom, noting that President Joe Biden was in the Los Angeles area when the fire erupted, said Biden had given immediate approval to federal funding to help cover the firefighting effort. Newsom said it only took a text message to Biden to get the funding approved.

The White House issued a statement saying Biden ``has been briefed on the wildfires in Los Angeles and at his direction his team is in contact with state and local officials to offer any federal assistance as needed. In response to the governor's request, FEMA has just approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to support the impacted community and help reimburse California for firefighting costs.''

Biden, who was staying in the West Los Angeles/Santa Monica area since Monday night for a since-canceled trip to Riverside County, made a joint appearance with Newsom at a Santa Monica fire station late Wednesday morning to meet with Cal Fire officials. Biden announced that military support was being made available to aid the firefighting efforts.  

Earlier, the president had stopped at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills for the birth of his great-grandchild. He was scheduled to fly via helicopter from Santa Monica to Los Angeles International Airport at 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, then depart LAX at 2 p.m. bound for Joint Base Andrews.

The Los Angeles Police Department went on a citywide tactical alert in response to the fire and dangerous wind conditions. The alert allowed the department to keep officers on duty beyond their normal shifts to respond to emergencies.

Due to the fire and wind conditions, several Los Angeles Unified School District campuses relocated students Tuesday, and district officials said multiple schools were closed Wednesday, including Canyon Charter Elementary School, Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary School, Marquez Charter Elementary School, Palisades Charter Elementary School, and Paul Revere Charter Middle School will be closed Wednesday.   

Topanga Elementary Charter School students were instructed to again report on Wednesday to Woodland Hills Academy, 20800 Burbank Blvd. Students at the five closed campuses will be able to access the Continuity of Learning program for remote instruction and digital resources.

The LAUSD announced later Tuesday morning that all schools in the central and eastern part of the district -- north of Manchester Boulevard/Firestone Boulevard, east of 10th Avenue, west of Interstate 710, and south of Highway 134 -- that are experiencing hazardous air quality conditions would be closed Wednesday. District officials say ``the situation rapidly changed overnight as the Eaton fire exploded and it is prudent that we follow the science and close schools.''

Palisades Charter High School, an independent school, is not in session because of the fires. All Malibu school campuses in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District were closed Wednesday.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory due to the fire that will be in place until at least 5 p.m. Wednesday, saying smoke from the blaze could lead to dangerously unhealthy air quality, most notably in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and other northwest coastal areas in the county.  

``It's best to avoid using swamp coolers or whole house fans that bring in outside air,'' AQMD officials said in a statement. ``Residents should also avoid burning wood in their fireplaces or firepits. And, if they absolutely must be outside, a properly fit N95 mask or P100 respirator may provide some protection.''  

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents to stay inside if possible.   

``As Angelenos start their Wednesday morning, there will be notable impacts to air quality with winds pushing smoke across the Los Angeles area,'' Bass said. ``Please limit your exposure by remaining indoors with windows and doors closed and wearing a properly fit mask.''