begin quotes from:
https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/los-angeles-wildfire-windstorm-01-07-25/index.html
What we're covering
• At least two fires broke out in the Los Angeles area as a life-threatening, widespread windstorm creates extremely dangerous fire weather conditions in Southern California.
• The largest one, the Palisades Fire, quickly grew to at least 700 acres near Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, according to authorities.
• Fire officials have warned residents to evacuate. “This could be the difference in someone’s life or death if we can get people safely evacuated,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Margaret Stewart told CNN affiliate KABC.
Palisades Fire now over 700 acres
The Palisades Fire has now reached over 700 acres, the City of Los Angeles said in an update.
Pacific Palisades resident and family run to safety amid intense California fire
Rachel Silver, a resident in Pacific Palisades, said she and her family had to evacuate at a moment’s notice, all while the nearby palm trees burned around them.
She said she’s “never been through this” after they left their car at the bottom of Palisades Drive to get away from the fast-moving fire.
She said while she’s worried about her home, all she cared about was “getting the dogs out” and that her “kids were safe.”
Some LA County students are being relocated due to fire risk
Children in at least four schools in the Pacific Palisades area are being relocated as a wildfire explodes in the hillside enclave, the Los Angeles United School District announced on X.
Palisades Charter Elementary School, Marquez Charter Elementary School, Paul Revere Charter Middle School and Topanga Elementary Charter will move their students to other school campuses, the district said.
Pepperdine University in Malibu, which was threatened by the Franklin Fire just last month, said it is monitoring the Palisades fire but is currently not at risk. As of about 1:30 p.m. local time, the fire was about nine miles from the campus, it said.
Fire officials plan to give update on Palisades Fire, but have yet to set a time
Officials from the Los Angeles Fire Department plan to give an update on the Palisades Fire but haven’t announced a time.
The news conference will be held at Will Rogers State Beach, which is in nearby Santa Monica.
At least one structure on fire in Pacific Palisades neighborhood, KABC video shows
At least one structure is on fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, with flames overtaking the roof, video from CNN affiliate KABC shows.
KABC video shows smoke filling the neighborhood, making it difficult to see if more structures are on fire.
A Los Angeles Fire Department official previously told KABC it did not have confirmation of structures on fires.
Palisades Fire now at least 300 acres
The Palisades Fire is now at least 300 acres and continues to grow, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an update.
Evacuation orders remain within the previously designated area and Westwood Recreation Center is open for evacuees.
Evacuating “could be the difference in someone’s life or death,” LA Fire Department spokesperson says
Los Angeles emergency crews are urgently evacuating residents in large areas of the Pacific Palisades as furious winds drive a quickly-growing wildfire in the area.
People should avoid the Pacific Coast Highway along the Los Angeles coastline unless they are actively evacuating, Steward said. The road should be kept as open as possible for evacuees and emergency crews.
“This could be the difference in someone’s life or death if we can get people safely evacuated,” Stewart told KABC.
Though the fire department prepositioned resources in anticipation of Monday’s severe fire risk, battling the flames will still be a difficult undertaking.
“This is going to be a challenging fire because this type of wind is going to push the ember casts easily a mile down and can start spot fires,” Stewart said.
Traffic gridlocked trying to leave Pacific Palisades with some leaving cars, KABC video shows
Traffic is gridlocked as people try and flee the Pacific Palisades neighborhood as a large fire encroaches on residential structures, video from CNN affiliate KABC shows.
Multiple videos from KABC shows traffic backed up along the Pacific Coast Highway as well as in more inland neighborhoods.
Multiple people told KABC they left their cars trying to get out of the area.
What we know about today's windstorm
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles used the most dire language possible to characterize the windstorm and fire threats. The “life-threatening” windstorm “will likely be the most destructive” since a 2011 event “that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley,” the weather service warned.
The 2011 windstorm downed hundreds of trees and knocked out power for days because the seasonally strong Santa Ana winds dipped into more populous, lower elevation areas typically sheltered from them.
That will be the case again with this event. Many areas of Los Angeles and eastern Ventura counties, including portions of the Los Angeles basin and San Gabriel Valley, are at risk of damaging hurricane-force wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday. Gusts between 80 and 100 mph are likely in higher elevation areas.
Winds will “accelerate to dangerous levels” starting Tuesday afternoon, according to the NWS. High wind warnings are in effect through at least Wednesday for much of Southern California. The strong winds will likely result in widespread downed trees as well as widespread power outages.
Winds will also be strong enough to bring down power lines, which could spark fires. Any fire starts during this time could quickly turn into an out-of-control blaze.
Power shutoffs are possible this week as Southern California’s energy providers try to prevent damaged infrastructure from starting blazes. More than 400,000 of Southern California Edison’s 5 million customers may have their power shut off in the coming days, according to the utility’s website.
Extreme dryness during what is typically the wettest time of the year is also helping to drive the fire threat.
Evacuation warnings issued as Palisades Fire grows rapidly in Los Angeles County
Fire officials are warning residents to be prepared to evacuate as the fast-growing Palisades Fire burns toward structures and other fires break out amid a violent windstorm in Southern California.
The Palisades Fire was first spotted just after 10 a.m. local time in the mountains north of Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood on the west side of the city and has since spread to 200 acres, according to CalFire.
The fire could soon threaten nearby structures on Palisades Drive, causing the Los Angeles Fire Department to warn residents there to “get set for a potential wildfire evacuation.” Evacuation warnings have been issued for four zones near the fire, according to fire officials.
Getting resources to any new fires quickly is paramount to contain the blazes as winds roar over the region.
“If we don’t catch these within the first 20 minutes, it can go hundreds of acres very quickly and can lead to significant evacuations,” Capt. Erik Scott, the LAFD’s public information officer told CNN affiliate KABC Tuesday.
Another wildfire broke out near Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills around the same time on Tuesday morning.
North to northeast winds of 5 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph are currently being observed near the base of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Stronger wind gusts are likely occurring in the higher elevations where the fire is burning.
Winds will continue to increase Tuesday into Wednesday across Southern California, including where the Palisades Fire is burning. Wind gusts near the fire could reach 45 mph during the day Tuesday and hit 70 mph at times overnight. Widespread gusts of 30 to 35 mph are likely Wednesday with potentially a few gusts to 65 mph.
Wind gusts elsewhere in Southern California could reach 80 mph over the next 24 hours with some gusts up to 100 mph possible in the mountains.
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