Watch: Palisades Fire in Los Angeles explodes as people flee from burning homes
The fire has already burned at least 1,200 acres, according to estimates by CalFire, as crews race to keep flames from burning homes. Winds have gusted as high as 50-65 mph in the area with potential for even stronger winds Tuesday night.
Palisades Fire forces thousands to flee
Video taken by FOX's Matthew Seedorff showed several homes that were damaged by a fast-moving wildfire in Los Angeles County, California.
LOS ANGELES – Southern California residents are fleeing the wind-whipped Palisades Fire after the blaze exploded in size during a potentially life-threatening windstorm. Winds have gusted as high as 50-65 mph in the area with the potential for even stronger winds Tuesday night.
The fire has already burned over 3,000 acres, according to estimates by CalFire, as crews race to keep flames from burning homes. More than 13,000 structures are threatened by flames and 30,000 people have been told to flee, according to officials.
Photos and videos from Los Angeles and surrounding areas show the intensity of the fire:
Palisades Fire burns several homes near Los Angeles
Video from FOX 11 Los Angeles' Matthew Seedorff shows multiple homes engulfed in flames in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Thick smoke blocks sunlight from view, clouding the sky. The fire remains uncontained as of Tuesday evening.
Smoke from newly erupted Palisades Fire in Santa Monica
The Palisades Fire erupted in Los Angeles County, California Tuesday amid A "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Fire Weather Warning. The fire is quickly spreading as strong winds fuel the blaze.
LOS ANGELES ENDURES ‘LIFE-THREATENING’ WINDSTORM AS RESIDENTS FLEE GROWING PALISADES FIRE
Fire crews from the Los Angeles Fire Department are battling the blaze with fixed-wing aircraft. A video shows a sea plane swooping into a body of water to recover water to fight the wildfire.
Watch: Sea plane refuels to battle Palisades Fire in California
The Palisades Fire erupter Tuesday in Los Angeles County. Dangerously strong winds are causing the fire to spread rapidly. Video shows a sea plane dipping into water to fuel up to fight the fire.
Several photos from various areas near the wildfire show Los Angeles and Santa Monica skylines filled with smoke.
![The Palisades Fire burns a building in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles.]()
Image 1 of 12The Palisades Fire burns a building in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles. (Brandy Carlos/@FirePhotoGirl)
![A plane drops water on the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, CA.]()
Image 2 of 12A plane drops water on the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, CA. (Brandy Carlos/@FirePhotoGirl/X)
![Brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades]()
Image 3 of 12Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades as seen from Santa Monica, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (Agustin PAULLIER / AFP)
![Brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades]()
Image 4 of 12Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades as seen from Santa Monica, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (Agustin PAULLIER / AFP)
![Brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades]()
Image 5 of 12Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades as seen from Santa Monica, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke (Agustin PAULLIER / AFP)
![Brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades]()
Image 6 of 12Firefighters work as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisafes, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (David Swanson / AFP)
![Brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades]()
Image 7 of 12Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisafes, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (David Swanson / AFP)
![Traffic on West Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles heading toward the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7, 2024.]()
Image 8 of 12Traffic on West Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles heading toward the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7, 2024. ( )
![The Palisades Fire seen from the airport in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2024.]()
Image 9 of 12The Palisades Fire seen from the airport in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2024. (@mzvxb/X)
![Smoke from the Palisades fire seen from Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2024.]()
Image 10 of 12Smoke from the Palisades fire seen from Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2024. (@depression2019/X)
![Wildfire burns in Southern California]()
Image 11 of 12Wildfire burns in Southern California's Pacific Palisades area on Jan. 7. 2025. (CAL Fire / UC San Diego)
![Wildfire burns in Southern California]()
Image 12 of 12Wildfire burns in Southern California's Pacific Palisades area on Jan. 7. 2025. (CAL Fire / UC San Diego)
Traffic along the Pacific Coast Highway is backed up as residents work to get to their homes to prepare for evacuations.
Traffic moving toward the Palisades Fire
Video from FOX 11 Los Angeles shows the smoke from the Palisades Fire and traffic heading toward the explosive blaze.
Portions of the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles County have been shut down due to fire spread.
Evacuation orders are in place for several neighborhoods north of Santa Monica, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Video: Palisades Fire engulfs Los Angeles homes, forces evacuations
Videos shot by @FirePhotoGirl in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood Tuesday show the Palisades Fire creeping up on homes in the neighborhood. Residents are being evacuated.
A compilation of videos from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles shows destruction as the fire creeps up on homes in the area.
Brandy Carlos, of @FirePhotoGirl on X spoke with a resident in the area, who is under an evacuation order.
"Hope to come back tomorrow to a standing house," the resident told Carlos.
A "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Fire Weather Warning – the most dire fire weather warning the National Weather Service has – remains in effect for a large swath of the Los Angeles area through at least Wednesday.