Residents in Los Angeles are pictured desperately fleeing their homes after wildfires raged today.
The fire happened as a result of a potentially “life-threatening, destructive” windstorm which swept across southern California on Tuesday afternoon. The blaze was seen for miles on roads clogged with cars as residents tried to escape the horror. The urgent evacuation order came as the weather toppled trees, and created dangerous conditions in the water for surfing.
An Associated Press photographer captured images of firefighters working to extinguish flames inside a home, and of people dashing to evacuate their homes and communities. Meteorologist Paul Deano said the wildfire situation in California is "near worst case scenario" for residents.
The first of several small blazes started in the foothills of the Pacific Palisades area in western Los Angeles. These swiftly consumed more than 200 acres (81 hectares) of land, leading to the evacuations in the hillsides which are dotted with celebrity homes.
A journalist saw a roof and chimney of one home in flames and another residence where the walls were burning earlier today. However, there is no initial estimate for the number of structures damaged or destroyed.
But James Woods, an actor, posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his Pacific Palisades home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the homes. He said in the short video posted on X: "Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate."
Sections of Interstate 10 and the scenic Pacific Coast Highway were closed to all non-essential traffic to aid in evacuation efforts. No other roads were blocked.
Another tweet from a different Pacific Palisades resident reads: "We are trapped on Palisades DriveFire road is engulfed in flames. @LAFD you need to close the fire road NOW before it's too late for someone. STAY IN YOUR HOMES if you live in the Pacific Palisades Highlands."
Kelsey Trainor, who lives in the Highlands above the Pacific Palisades, said the only road in and out of her neighbourhood was completely blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road. Kelsey added: "We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road. People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming. The road was just blocked, like full-on blocked for an hour."
The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, California, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. Biden will deliver his remarks in Los Angeles instead.