Los Angeles wildfire prompts evacuations amid extreme winds

2:34 pm on 8 January 2025

By Daniel Cole, Reuters

A wildfire burned about 80ha and threatened homes in an upscale section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, forcing evacuations after officials had already warned of extreme fire danger from dry, powerful winds.

The Pacific Palisades fire between Santa Monica and Malibu led the Los Angeles Fire Department to issue a mandatory evacuation order for a large area from the hills of Topanga Canyon down to the coastline.

Huge billows of smoke could be seen blowing from the hills from miles away as flames encroached on nearby homes. The fire was fueled by Santa Ana winds that blow warm and dry winds from the inland deserts toward the coast.

PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: People drive out of harm’s way as the Palisades Fire burns amid a powerful windstorm on January 7, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. The fast-moving wildfire is threatening homes in the coastal neighborhood amid intense Santa Ana Winds and dry conditions in Southern California. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Some evacuees walked away from the fire, while others got stuck in traffic in their cars. Photo: AFP / MARIO TAMA

"Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW," read one notice posted by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Some evacuees walked away from the fire, while others got stuck in traffic in their cars.

Before the fire started, the National Weather Service had issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday, predicting wind gusts of 80 to 130 km/h with isolated winds of 130 to 160km/h in the mountains and foothills.

A brush fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisafes, California on January 7, 2025. - A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (Photo by David Swanson / AFP)

The Los Angeles Fire Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for a large area from the hills of Topanga Canyon down to the coastline Photo: AFP / DAVID SWANSON

That combined with low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain.

"In other words, this is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather," the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service said on X.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered emergency measures that mobilized city departments to prepare for downed power lines and trees likely to cause power outages.

Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Erik Scott urged against complacency because of cool winter weather, warning of "explosive wildfire behaviour" in a public service message.