'Evacuate now': Residents ordered out as Pacific Palisades fire ...

A brush fire fueled by dangerously high-speed Santa Ana winds threatened homes in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, prompting mass evacuation orders for thousands of residents and power shutoffs.

"Evacuate now from the area of Palisades Area," the City of Los Angeles warned on X. "Those not in the evacuation area should shelter in place."

Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, has 9,400 homes with 27,000 residents, according to the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce. The area has been touted by real estate brokers as an oasis of tranquility and understated elegance and home to numerous A-list celebrities.

The fire was first reported at 10:10 a.m. local time along the West Sunset Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and CalFire. It grew to 200 acres within about 90 minutes, threatening nearby homes and emitting a thick plume of black smoke. By roughly 2:30 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department said the blaze had nearly quadrupled in size to 770 acres.

Public safety power shutoffs affected nearly 4,200 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles County and another 400 in Ventura County, according to the utility. Additional shutoffs were being considered for more than 400,000 customers across Southern California.

California wildfire map: Track the Palisades Fire as evacuations ordered in Los Angeles

Officials shut down all traffic on Pacific Coast Highway at Topanga Canyon Boulevard due to the fire, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Traffic jams could be seen along the highway, a crucial artery, and on roads near the Pacific Palisades, video from NBC Los Angeles shows.

The City of Santa Monica additionally closed a westbound portion of Interstate 10 at Lincoln Boulevard to help smooth fire evacuations, officials said in a social media post.

Some people have abandoned their cars as they seek to flee the area. About 30 vehicles have been left on roadways, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, which is clearing them to allow emergency response crews better access to the area. 

Actor James Woods posted a video to X showing fire raging near his deck. He had posted video earlier of flames threatening his neighborhood as giant palm trees swayed from the wind and plumes of smoke filled the air.

“I’m standing in my driveway getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said, adding several planes had flown over the area and dropped water.

President Joe Biden canceled an event to dedicate two national monuments previously scheduled Tuesday for Box Canyon, California, because of the dangerously high-speed Santa Ana winds and wildfire.

Biden arrived in Los Angeles late Monday night to announce the creation of the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. He was set to fly to the Eastern Coachella Valley the next day for the event.

Biden remains in Los Angeles. The White House said the event will be rescheduled for next week at the White House.

The new monuments – announced two weeks before Biden’s White House term ends – is part of the president’s land conservation agenda. On Monday, he used executive authority to ban offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts including off the California coastline.

– Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

Karla Mendoza, 36, was driving for the food delivery company DoorDash in Santa Monica Tuesday when she noticed the fire around 10:20 a.m, she told USA TODAY. She didn’t realize how close it was to her route when she went to pick up an order at a cafe in Palisades Park.

When Mendoza arrived five minutes later, she said clouds of smoke were billowing and ash was raining down.

“As I’m driving, I was like ‘Oh my God, this is getting worse. The winds are really bad,” Mendoza said. “We had no idea how close it was and how fast it was going to move.”

Mendoza said she saw two firetrucks speed up the Pacific Coast Highway onto Sunset Boulevard – and then saw others from Los Angeles and Beverly Hills quickly follow.

As she evacuated, traffic began to pick up along the highway, but Mendoza was able to get out of the area before the roads became gridlocked.

“When I got back to Santa Monica, I could smell the fire on me,” she said. “That’s how fast it was.”

NWS warns about extreme fire conditions

A high risk for dangerous fire weather conditions is present for most of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service said, adding that "widespread damaging winds and low humidities will likely cause fire starts to rapidly grow in size with extreme fire behavior."

The agency said damaging wind gusts between 50-80 mph, with isolated gusts between 80-100 mph for mountains and foothills are expected. Power outages are also expected Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, according to the NWS.

Forecasters urge residents to use extreme caution with any potential ignition sources.

Winds expected to strengthen Tuesday night

Winds in the Los Angeles County mountains had already reached around 80 mph by Tuesday morning and were expected to start moving into parts of Ventura County, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, California.

The Santa Ana winds fueling the flames are expected to peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The forecast called for wind speeds to reach 80 mph or higher and humidity levels to bottom out in the teens or even single digits.

Authorities urged the public to avoid any activity that could generate a spark, saying any fire that ignites could spread quickly. With so little rain, the vegetation is tinder dry.

“It is a kind of a worst-case scenario situation," Wofford said.

– Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star

Contributing: Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press; Cheri Carlson and Gretchen Wenner, Ventura County Star; Joey Garrison, Saman Shafiq and Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY