Thousands of people flee as strong winds sweep through the affluent Los Angeles area

Wildfires fueled by strong winds tore through Los Angeles’ affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Tuesday, burning homes and prompting the city to issue evacuation orders for 30,000 people.

About 1,200 acres were burning in the hills surrounding the Palisades, an affluent coastal community with some of the most expensive real estate in the US, the Los Angeles Fire Department said Tuesday. There were no reports of how to burning started.

Smoke darkened the sky in the area as winds reached 60 kilometers per hour. Gusts were expected to increase on Wednesday and could top 100mph, the strongest in a decade for Southern California.

Fire officials said about 13,000 buildings were at risk in the Palisades, home to Hollywood stars such as Tom Hanks and James Woods. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said “many buildings (have) been destroyed”.

After the fires broke out on Tuesday morning, the roads through its valleys were filled with gridlocked traffic as residents tried to evacuate. Many cars were abandoned by their drivers, who fled on foot towards the beach, witnesses said.

The fire department has sent trucks to tow vehicles to clear their way of the burning fire.

Susan Vash, who moved Tuesday afternoon and stayed with her family in Santa Monica, a southern beach town, said: “We were evacuated three times (from the fires). ago) but this is the scariest thing we’ve seen.

He has lived in Mandeville Canyon in the Palisades area since 1998. “Every time this happens we say we have to move, but we never do.”

The fire engulfed the Getty Villa, and other trees and vegetation on the hillside were burned. But the collection remained safe, said the president of the museum.

Helicopters and “super scooper” planes dropped water on the fire, although strong winds proved to be a problem for the aircraft. Utilities shut off power to more than 8,000 homes to prevent live power lines from increasing the risk of fire.

Refugees said the fires were spreading rapidly in the middle of the morning, which forced parents to rush to schools to pick up their children. Witnesses said they did not know for sure if the houses they fled from were still there.

It could be days before firefighters can bring the blaze under control, and longer before residents are allowed to return, fire officials said.

The National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening storms”, which hastened the fire’s spread in an arid region that has seen little rain in months.

Fire officials warned that winds would worsen overnight. “Know that we’re not out of danger,” said Anthony Marrone, chief of the LA County Fire Department.