(NEXSTAR) – Residents are being told to “evacuate now” due to a rapidly spreading wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, according to Nexstar’s KTLA.
The Palisades Fire was first reported around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 1100 block of North Piedra Morada Drive. It had exploded to more than 200 acres as of noon, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott.
“Fire is burning westward near the Pacific Palisades Highlands community with Rustic Canyon to the East & Topanga Cyn to the West are all under Evacuation warning,” Scott told KTLA.
Evacuations were ordered for the entire community down to the Pacific Ocean, according to CALFIRE.
The blaze ignited on a day when fire officials were bracing for a gusts of up to 100 miles an hour, a speed the National Weather Service described as “life-threatening,” “extreme” and “destructive.”
More than 100 firefighters and pre-positioned strike teams were battling the blaze, David Ortiz of the LAFD said.
“This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for a firefight,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz described the fire as a blowtorch and urged residents to follow orders if asked to leave. “Do not stand in the way of this fire,” Ortiz said.
It was not immediately known if any homes had been destroyed as of 12:30 p.m. Video from Alert California showed a large plume of smoke rising over the Santa Monica Mountains.
Pacific Palisades is located about 10 miles from Malibu, where the Franklin Fire burned more than 4,000 acres and burned several homes after erupting during similar windy conditions in December.
