Pacific Palisades fire explodes as thousands of residents flee – Los Angeles Times

A fire was burning out of control Tuesday in Pacific Palisades, destroying homes and forcing residents to abandon their vehicles and flee amid a potentially life-threatening and destructive windstorm.

Most of Pacific Palisades was under an evacuation order by the afternoon, as residents fought traffic jams and heavy smoke trying to escape the nearby flames. The blaze broke out around 10:30 a.m. near Piedra Morada Drive and was pushed by intense wind gusts that officials had warned could fuel any spark into a fast-moving and erratic wildfire. It was more than 700 acres by the afternoon.

It s bad. It s like an inferno, said Lori Libonati, who lives in Pacific Palisades and saw the fire start to burn Tuesday morning before evacuating.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Massive smoke plumes filled the sky around the Palisades fire as families evacuated not far from hillsides glowing with orange. The blaze quickly jumped across Palisades Drive according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection leaving many trying to evacuate in a precarious and chaotic situation. Some jumped out of their stalled cars to run toward the beach, other were forced to return home and shelter-in-place if they couldn t get out, residents told The Times.

via www.latimes.com

Yikes