US firefighters on Tuesday battled to contain a fast-moving wildfire tearing through the celebrity-studded hillsides of Los Angeles, as powerful winds swept across Southern California.
The flames, visible for miles, prompted frantic evacuations, with residents abandoning cars and fleeing on foot as gridlocked roads became impassable.
According to LA Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley, the fire threatens nearly 26,000 people across more than 10,000 households and over 13,000 structures. Residents reported distressing scenes of people fleeing with their children and pets, amid tears and screams.

Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades in flames
A fire in western Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades area quickly spread across nearly 2 square miles (just over 5 square kilometers), creating a prominent smoke column visible throughout the city.
Residents in Venice Beach, located about 6 miles (10 kilometers) away, reported spotting the flames. The wildfire was one of several burning across the region.
Authorities closed portions of Interstate 10 and the Pacific Coast Highway to non-essential traffic to facilitate evacuations. However, other routes remained impassable, compelling some residents to leave their vehicles and await rescue.

The area that borders, approximately 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of downtown LA, comprises densely populated hillside streets with houses along winding roads near the Santa Monica Mountains, extending towards the Pacific Ocean beaches.
Approximately half a million utility customers faced possible power cuts to minimise fire risks from equipment.
Biden cancelled his visit
Due to unpredictable weather conditions, Outgoing US President Joe Biden cancelled his visit to Riverside County, California, where he was scheduled to announce two new national monuments. Instead, Biden will deliver his speech in Los Angeles.
Windstorm to continue for several days
According to the Associated Press, the most severe winds were anticipated between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Weather experts indicated the windstorm would continue for several days, with potential gusts reaching 100 mph (160 kph) in mountainous regions and foothills, particularly concerning in areas lacking recent rainfall.
According to the National Weather Service, the wind event, expected to reach its peak early Wednesday, could be the strongest Santa Ana windstorm affecting Los Angeles and Ventura counties in over ten years.

The winds will rapidly dry vegetation, creating an extended period of fire danger, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “We really haven’t seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one,” Swain said on Monday.
Regions at risk of extreme fire conditions include the scorched remains of last month’s wind-driven Franklin Fire, which devastated 48 structures—primarily homes—in and around Malibu.
‘We are safe and out’
Actor James Woods shared video footage showing flames consuming bushes and moving past palm trees on a hillside near his residence. The intense orange flames surged through the landscaped gardens between houses.
“We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well. We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely. Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD,” Woods posted on X.

Pacific Palisades resident and actor Steve Guttenberg requested people who left their vehicles to leave their keys, enabling movement of cars to create access for fire engines.
“This is not a parking lot. I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate. I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars,” Guttenberg told KTLA. Video footages circulating show bulldozers clearing abandoned vehicles that were blocking the roads.