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Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Los Angeles running out of water as Pacific Palisades wildfire forces X from Malibu to Calabasas to evacuate


Firefighters battling a mammoth blaze in California‘s ritzy Pacific Palisades have warned they’re running out of water, as emergency evacuation warnings spread as far as Malibu and Calabasas.

Tankers full of water have been dousing the inferno from the skies all afternoon, but all aircraft have now been instructed to land amid deteriorating wind conditions and visibility in the skies.

Residents have been warned the worst is yet to come as the raging wildfire burns through more than 2,900 acres of Los Angeles land at an extraordinary rate.

At least 30,000 residents are now under mandatory evacuation orders with more still warned they should be prepared to leave, with new brush fires diverting resources to Pasadena and Altadena near Eaton Canyon.

Pacific Palisades, where houses have already been reduced to rubble in the enormous blaze, is an expensive celebrity enclave, home to Chris Pratt, Reese Witherspoon and Miles Teller among other Hollywood A-listers. Even more celebrities call Calabasas and Pasadena home, including the Kardashians.

Hellish photos from the inferno’s epicenter show once-decadent million-dollar homes completely obliterated by the wildfire. A spiral staircase and opulent art gallery wall were seen burned to cinders.   

Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson declared a state of emergency on Tuesday night – while warning that the worst of the windstorm is ‘yet to come.’ Gov. Gavin Newsom also declared a state-wide emergency. 

With panicked residents fleeing on foot, the city enlisted bulldozers to rid the streets of the deserted, flashy cars and clear a path for first responders to access the hills, where the fire is raging.

Teslas, BMWs, Porches, and Mercedes were all filmed being dozed out of the way on Tuesday afternoon – as terrified millionaire locals said that the natural disaster felt like an all-encompassing ‘tornado of fire.’ 

Amid the hellish backdrop of the apocalyptic inferno, evacuation notices were placed along the affluent coastal region, with a chilling warning which read: ‘Immediate threat to life. 

Los Angeles running out of water as Pacific Palisades wildfire forces X from Malibu to Calabasas to evacuate

Distressing video showed the blaze creeping up the side of a mountain where the iconic museum sits – as eerie black smoke filled the air surrounding its pristine white facade

The day LA turned to hell: An inside view of a home burned to the ground

The day LA turned to hell: An inside view of a home burned to the ground

With panicked residents fleeing on foot, the city has enlisted bulldozers to rid the streets of the deserted cars and clear a path for first responders to access the hills, where the fire is raging

With panicked residents fleeing on foot, the city has enlisted bulldozers to rid the streets of the deserted cars and clear a path for first responders to access the hills, where the fire is raging

A helicopter drops water around homes threatened by the wind-driven Palisades Fire

A helicopter drops water around homes threatened by the wind-driven Palisades Fire

A home is completely engulfed in flames amid the roaring inferno

A home is completely engulfed in flames amid the roaring inferno

‘This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is lawfully closed to public access.’

Firefighter David Ortiz reiterated the urgent warning: ‘Do not stand in the way of this fire. This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for a firefight.’ 

Horrific images coming out of the coveted zip code showed millionaire homes completely burned out – with structures crumbling to the ground while being engulfed in flames. 

Brave firefighters attempted to breach the blaze which jumped from home to home. 

The windstorm poses a massive problem, making the inferno life-threatening – while being the most damaging since 2011. LA officials have said that the wildstorm is only set to get worse as we head into Wednesday.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Marrone also had a stern warning for residents on Tuesday night, telling them: ‘we are not out of danger.’

‘The National Weather Service has predicted that the winds are going to pick up and get worse,’ Marrone said.

‘We’re going to have the most significant wind event between 10 p.m. [PST] this evening and 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.’

The National Weather Service has warned residents to expect more carnage tonight with wind gusts reaching 50 mph. 

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure

The evacuation orders have sparked chaos on the roads, with a traffic gridlock only worsened by panicked residents choosing to abandon their cars and flee on foot

The evacuation orders have sparked chaos on the roads, with a traffic gridlock only worsened by panicked residents choosing to abandon their cars and flee on foot

A person wearing a face mask flees as a wildfire breaks-out near Pacific Palisades

A person wearing a face mask flees as a wildfire breaks-out near Pacific Palisades

A firefighter makes a stand from the balcony of a home in front of the advancing Palisades Fire

A firefighter makes a stand from the balcony of a home in front of the advancing Palisades Fire

Two people flee from the advancing inferno

Two people flee from the advancing inferno

The 200-acre bush fire was first reported around 10:30am on Tuesday and authorities have described the flames as a blowtorch

The 200-acre bush fire was first reported around 10:30am on Tuesday and authorities have described the flames as a blowtorch

A Los Angeles County firefighter in front of a burning house while battling the Palisades wildfire

A Los Angeles County firefighter in front of a burning house while battling the Palisades wildfire

Emmy Award winning actor James Woods, 77, was among high-profile residents forced to flee on Tuesday.

He shared a video of the blaze near his home as he prepared to evacuate.

‘Standing in my driveway ready to evacuate. We’ve got a lot of planes going over dropping water,’ he said. ‘S**t.’

In the video, it appeared as though a house further up on the hills had already been engulfed in flames.

‘We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well,’ he later said.

‘We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely. Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD.’

Jonathan Vigliotti posted a video of a car burning uncontrollably in a driveway on X on Tuesday afternoon. 

‘Come on, guys!’ he called, his voice filled with fear. ‘We got to go!’ 

‘We were in a neighborhood as it went up in flames. Mass panic in the streets, and the worst of the wind will hit the Palisades Fire tonight,’ he wrote on X. 

The 2,900-acre bush fire was first reported around 10:30am on Tuesday and authorities have described the flames as a blowtorch. 

Initially, it was said to be 200 acres, but jumped to 300 and then up to 770 within 30 minutes.

Now, it is encompassing 2,900 acres and destroying over ‘three football fields’ of land every sixty seconds. 

Resident Nina and her daughter told DailyMail.com they were lucky to drive out with the clothes on their backs and their two small dogs Aspen and Buster.

She described the scene as ‘chaotic’ and ‘frightening’ with people running, sirens blasting and planes full of ocean water buzzing overhead.

‘People are parking their cars on the side of the road, getting out and running for their lives!’ Nina told DailyMail.com. ‘People are literally running down the sidewalks pulling kids by their hands and carrying Louis Vuitton luggage.

‘One guy was running with two Gucci suitcases and a house plant. It is like something out of a disaster movie.’

A man uses a garden hose to wet the area around a property in effort to fend off the approaching flames

A man uses a garden hose to wet the area around a property in effort to fend off the approaching flames

Evacuation notices are in place along the affluent coastal region, with a chilling warning from authorities which read: ‘Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is lawfully closed to public access’

A resident attempts to protect his property from the flames

A resident attempts to protect his property from the flames

A woman carries a dog as she evacuates a neighborhood being threatened by the Palisades wildfire

A woman carries a dog as she evacuates a neighborhood being threatened by the Palisades wildfire

The inferno is raging through the neighborhood, which is home to celebrities

The inferno is raging through the neighborhood, which is home to celebrities 

Authorities has issued an 'immediate' evacuation order for Pacific Palisades, urging residents to 'LEAVE NOW.' 'Do not stand in the way of this fire,' Firefighter David Ortiz said

Authorities has issued an ‘immediate’ evacuation order for Pacific Palisades, urging residents to ‘LEAVE NOW.’ ‘Do not stand in the way of this fire,’ Firefighter David Ortiz said

A deadly wildfire is ripping through Pacific Palisades, triggering the evacuation of its 20,000 residents and forcing panicked Californians to ditch their cars

A deadly wildfire is ripping through Pacific Palisades, triggering the evacuation of its 20,000 residents and forcing panicked Californians to ditch their cars

Two firefighters run as they knock on doors to get people out of the million-dollar homes

Two firefighters run as they knock on doors to get people out of the million-dollar homes

Some 90,000 Californians are without power, according to poweroutage.us

Police Academy star Steve Guttenberg said the fire is near his home and that people are abandoning their cars and making it hard for firetruck to make it up the road. 

Guttenberg is urging his fellow neighbors to leave their keys in their car if they’re leaving their vehicle behind ‘so guys like me can move your car.’ 

‘We really need people to move their cars,’ he told KTLA. ‘So if you leave your car on Palisades Drive, leave the key in there.’ 

The actor said he had friends who can’t get out of their homes due to vehicles left behind. 

A person uses clothing to partially cover their face, as a wildfire breaks-out near Pacific Palisades

A person uses clothing to partially cover their face, as a wildfire breaks-out near Pacific Palisades

Residents in one of California's ritziest neighborhoods have been warned their lives are at immediate risk as a wildfire rapidly rips through Los Angeles

Residents in one of California’s ritziest neighborhoods have been warned their lives are at immediate risk as a wildfire rapidly rips through Los Angeles 

A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances and she gets in her car

A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances and she gets in her car

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