Firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department battled a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades area Tuesday morning that burned homes and spread to hundreds of acres.
The Palisades Fire began Tuesday morning and grew to 2,900 acres by Tuesday afternoon. Large clouds of dark smoke were seen billowing from the mountains overlooking the LA County coast. The plume could be seen for miles away, including from Inglewood and East Los Angeles.
According to LAFD, it was reported at around 10:30 a.m. near the 1100 block of North Piedra Morada Drive. Homes are threatened and some structures have already burned.
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Details about how many homes burned were not available early Tuesday afternoon.
Additional LAFD resources had been deployed to wildfire-prone areas with red flag conditions in the forecast. Dry and windy conditions are in the forecast through Thursday for widespread parts of Southern California.
"We went into an aggressive attack," said LAFD Chief Kristin M. Crowley, adding that the fire spread quickly due to winds and the region's topography.
Evacuations were ordered not long after the fire started. Drivers on Pacific Coast Highway and other roads encountered backups as they tried to leave the area. Some abandoned their cars in the street.
Click here for more details on evacuation orders in the area, including Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica to the southeast.
#PalisadesFire Update: 1/7/25 12:45pm
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Evacuation Warning Zones:
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The fire comes as several parts of Southern California are under fire weather warnings due to strong Santa Ana winds.
"We are not out of danger," said LA County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone. "Winds are going to pick up and get worse."
Marrone said the worst red flag conditions are expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday.
In a social media post on X, Pepperdine University said they are monitoring the fire. "The fire is not presently a threat to the Malibu campus, though smoke from the fire is visible from campus," the post said.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
