Palisades Fire forces mass evacuations, leaves 1,000 structures destroyed

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As powerful and damaging Santa Ana winds whipped through Southern California, a large fire ignited in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent Los Angeles community located along the coastline. Winds continue to fuel the flames on the second day of the firefight as homes and even a high school have been destroyed, while tens of thousands remain under evacuation orders. 

The fire was first reported around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday near Piedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives, near the Palisades Hills Recreation Center. 

In the latest update, the fire had grown to 17,234 acres with no containment.

LA County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said in an update Wednesday that an estimated 1,000 structures have been destroyed. 

Chief Marrone added that while no fatalities have been reported, there was a high number of significant injuries to residents who refused to evacuate. 

Marrone also said the department has reached capacity and that he’s requested additional aid from Orange, LA, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, as well as resources from out-of-state and Northern California. The additional resources include 50 engine strike teams, 250 fire engines, and over 1,000 personnel. 

In addition, he said fire crews from Nevada, Oregon and Washington were on the road to help tackle the fires. 

Palisades Charter High School damaged

Palisades Charter High School was damaged by the flames. On Wednesday, school officials confirmed the school is still standing and they hope to reopen the school by the end of the semester. 

"Despite the fire damage to our campus, the heart of our school is the people who comprise our community. My outreach to you today is to reassure you that our school is still standing, and we will reopen this semester, although possibly in a manner other than originally planned," school principal Dr. Pamela Magree said in part in a letter sent to the Palisades Charter High School community.

Palisades Branch Library goes up in flames

FOX 11's Gigi Graciette was at the scene as the Palisades Branch Library went up in flames. 

The fast-wind-driven fire is particularly impacting the Pacific Palisades Highlands, according to Los Angeles FIre Department Capt. Eric Scott. In addition, the fire continues to pose a threat to Santa Monica and West Los Angeles. 

State of emergency

As multiple wind-driven fires erupted, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The declaration will do things like bring firefighting resources down from Northern California to help battle the Palisades Fire.

"This is a highly dangerous windstorm creating extreme fire risk, and we’re not out of the woods," Newsom said. He thanked first responders for their rapid response and urged residents to follow evacuation orders.

The city of Los Angeles also declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.

Structures impacted 

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley said roughly 13,200 structures are threatened, including 10,367 residences.

While some structures have been damaged, there is no immediate word on the number of buildings that have been damaged or destroyed.

Video from the scene showed multiple homes on fire in the area of Shadow Mountain Drive and Bienveneda Ave. Due to limited resources, FOX 11's Matthew Seedorff, who was in the area, reported seeing no firefighters in the neighborhood around noontime. Seedorff then sprung into action, taking a garden hose to attempt to put out flames.

Also, an apartment complex off PCH caught fire to its roof. In a different part of the Palisades, two men and a dog were trapped inside a home as the fire torched their neighborhood on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Fire Department station 23 on Sunset Boulevard and Los Liones Drive also caught fire. 

The vegetation near the Getty Villa Museum caught fire, but it appears the actual museum remained untouched. The museum will remain closed until Monday, Jan. 13.

Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, says the staff and art collection at the Getty Villa remain safe.

"Additional fire prevention measures in place at the Villa include water storage on-site," Fleming says in a statement. "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."

One firefighter got hurt and several others suffered burns in Malibu, according to LAFD.

Evacuation orders and warnings

Firefighters say 30,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders. People in the area of Palisades were urged to evacuate immediately. 

Around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, a new expanded evacuation order was issued for all areas north of Montana Avenue from the beach to 11th Street. Residents in the area were told to leave immediately; the area is closed to the public. Evacuation orders for the red areas can be viewed on this map.

Santa Monica residents living between the northern border of the city and San Vicente Boulevard, and between Ocean Boulevard and 26th Street, are also being told to evacuate, according to the city's alert system around 7:30 p.m. on January 7.

According to LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, over 10,000 households were evacuated and another 15,000 buildings, including businesses, were also evacuated. 

Additional evacuation orders are underway for parts of Los Angeles County, including the area between Merrimac Road and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, south to PCH.

An interactive live map of the evacuation areas can be found below, as well as by tapping or clicking here.

Evacuation Shelter 

An evacuation center has been established at the Westwood Recreation Center on 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. and the Dream Center at 2301 Bellevue Ave. in Hollywood. 

An emergency evacuation shelter for large animals has been established at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank and Pierce College at 6201 Winnetka Ave, Woodland Hills. Those with small animals can go to the Agoura Animal Shelter.

Theme park closures

Universal Studios Hollywood and the Universal CityWalk were closed Wednesday due to the wind and fire conditions in the area. Park officials said they will monitor conditions, but they anticipate reopening on Thursday. 

Road Closures 

• Eastbound Pacific Coast Highway has been closed at Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
• PCH is closed between Temescal Canyon Rd. and Las Flores Canyon Blvd.
• Topanga Canyon Blvd. is closed.
• Westbound 10 Freeway at McClure Tunnel is closed.
• The westbound 10 freeway at Lincoln Boulevard, along with northbound Pacific Coast Highway, is closed to assist with evacuation efforts.

Traffic was backed up on Pacific Palisades Drive, PCH, and Sunset as residents evacuated. 

Due to heavy gridlock, people were seen abandoning their vehicles on the street and walking. Fire officials say about 100 vehicles were abandoned, creating even more traffic and road closures. 

A bulldozer was eventually brought in to remove the cars. 

People are advised to avoid the area west of the 405 between Sunset Boulevard and the 101 Freeway to allow emergency responders to operate.

For more information and a map, visit NotifyLA. 

RELATED: Southern California preparing for 'life-threatening' windstorm

According to the city, LAPD is on tactical alert.

School Closures  

All Malibu and Santa Monica schools will remain closed for Thursday, Jan. 9. The news comes as schools were also closed on Wednesday.

LAUSD also announced all schools will also be closed on Thursday, Jan. 9

Visit lausd.org for updates. If families need additional support, they are urged to contact the city's Family Hotline at (213) 443-1300.

Where is Karen Bass?

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was criticized over here physical absence during the Jan. 7 fires. Bass, who was in Ghana for a diplomatic mission in Africa, cut her trip short to return on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

The LA Mayor spoke on Wednesday following her return to warn the public about hurricane-force winds hitting Southern California this week, calling the recent fires "the big one."

"This firestorm is the big one in magnitude. Hurricane force winds are usually accompanied by rainstorms, but these are hurricane-force winds that are combined with extremely dry drought conditions," she said.

She briefly addressed her trip, saying she was on the phone during her flight back to be briefed on the fires.

"I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane which facilitated our communications. So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight. We are fighting for you and everyone in Los Angeles," Bass said.

Weather Conditions 

Los Angeles County prepared for another round of wicked winds on Wednesday.  Meteorologists said Red Flag Warnings are expected to remain in place until Thursday evening.

Forecasters expected the winds would peak in intensity overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning.  

National Weather Service forecasters said the windstorm was likely to be the worst to hit the region since 2011.