Lucy Sheriff
in Santa Monica

This morning at 10:45am I was watching small flames in the Santa Monica mountains, and within an hour Sunset Boulevard was gridlocked. Two hours later, there was mass panic as everyone tried to evacuate at once. I can’t get over how quickly it all unfolded.

I saw a father and his 10 year old daughter, in her school uniform, run down the street trying to get to safety. The girl was hysterical – she could see her house on the mountain being engulfed by flames, and repeatedly said her mother was in there and was going to die. I heard an elderly woman try to get a ride up to her house so she could get in her car and leave, but no-one would – or could – help her.

I never received a message about any evacuations or fire warnings – nor did my partner. I was informed by neighbours. The evacuation process was extremely hectic – everyone trying to get out at once on the same road – and it was disconcerting having so little information available. I’m lucky I have a press pass and I could approach emergency services to find out what news I could.

Firefighters are racing to extinguish flames that have turned entire homes into blazing infernos.

About 30,000 residents have been evacuated from 10,000 households so far, with strong winds expected to fuel the flames into the night.

Thousands of people don't know if their houses will still be standing when this crisis ends.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The fire near Eaton Canyon, above Altadena, has doubled in size in the past hour and is now at 400 acres, according to Angeles National Forest authorities.

High winds are driving rapid fire growth, posing a "significant threat" to nearby communities and making containment efforts challenging, according to officials from the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection.

"Firefighters are working aggressively to slow the spread and protect critical infrastructure under extreme conditions," it said.

Image source, Getty Images

Santa Monica authorities have ordered residents in all areas of the city north of the San Vicente boulevard to evacuate.

"Evacuation Order: Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is closed to public access," authorities said in an X post.

Santa Monica is a coastal city west of downtown Los Angeles, famous for its beaches and the iconic Santa Monica Pier.

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden has encouraged residents in fire-affected areas to remain vigilant and heed the warnings of local officials.

In a statement from the White House, external, Biden said he has been "frequently briefed" on the situation and has offered federal assistance to state and local officials.

On Tuesday night, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to support affected areas and to reimburse the state for immediate firefighting costs.

"My administration will do everything it can to support the response," Biden said.

Biden and first lady Jill are now in Century City, Los Angeles, just miles away from the wildfire. They had travelled on Tuesday to California's Coachella Valley to announce the creation of two national monuments.

Lucy Sheriff
in Santa Monica

I thought my home would be safe as it sits on the other side of Sunset Boulevard, across from the mountains. But when I got a text from a neighbour to say she saw Palisades High School on fire as she was evacuating, I knew that the fire was spreading further than I thought.

I’ve been watching the news – it’s hard to look away – and it’s been heartbreaking to see the school in flames, as well as some of our cultural landmarks, such as our local theatre.

Knowing that the wind speeds are only going to pick up this evening, and it’s much harder to fight a fire in the dark, I realised at that moment my home might not make it.

Watch this timelapse video to see the wildfire's explosive growth. You'll see how the plume of smoke billowed over the city.

The blaze grew from 10 acres to more than 2,900 acres in mere hours.

Earlier we reported on a new brush fire above Altadena, near the Eaton Canyon. The blaze has now grown to over 200 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for residents in the area, as authorities warn of an "immediate threat to life".

Over 46,000 homes and businesses in LA County have lost electricity, according to Poweroutages.US, external.

Officials had warned earlier that as the winds increased through the night so would the chance that trees could be knocked over, taking out power lines and blocking roadways.

Another 8,000 customers are without power in neighbouring San Bernardino, which is also seeing the impact of the Santa Ana winds but has not reported any wildfires.

Image source, Reuters

There is no longer a fire season in California, says state governor Gavin Newsom - noting that the past 12 months has been a year of blazes.

"This time of year traditionally has not been fire season, but now, we disabuse any notion that there is a season," Newsom said in a video posted on X, reiterating comments he made at an earlier press conference:

"It's year-round in the state of California."

Newsom thanked the firefighters and first responders battling the blaze, and said authorities will continue to "mobilise resources to support local communities" in this severe weather.

Another brush fire has started near Altadena, a city at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest.

Los Angeles County and Angeles National Forest firefighters are responding to the fire in the Eaton Canyon area, but there are no details yet on how far it has extended.

"This is a dire situation, as resources are already stretched thin, with wind gusts of 60+ mph near the fire and expected to increase," extreme weather analyst Colin McCarthy posted on X.

The scale of the evacuation zone has expanded dramatically in the last two hours, as the fire has also grown.

Mandatory evacuations were initially only impacting the neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, where the fire started.

The areas now under mandatory evacuation include the upscale area of Calabasas - home to many celebrities - and Topanga Canyon.

Mandatory evacuations means there is an "immediate threat to life" and that locals have been given a "lawful order to LEAVE NOW," according to Cal Fire.

Evacuation warnings, which are not legally enforceable, also stretch throughout the Santa Monica mountains, and include parts of wealthy Malibu.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has just posted an appeal for more help from off-duty firefighters.

The notice, posted moments ago on X, says that "all LAFD members currently off-duty are to call" into headquarters "with their availability for recall".

We heard earlier tonight from officials that around 250 firefighters are assigned to this blaze. This request for more help indicates that the fire teams may not have the staff they need to protect more homes from going up in smoke.

Image source, Getty Images

The fast-moving wildfire has more than doubled in size in the last three hours. It now covers 2,921 acres, according to California's Department of Forestry & Fire Protection.

The blaze appears to be reaching Will Rogers State Beach, where officials held a press conference earlier in the day.

Actors Eugene Levy and James Woods are among the celebrities who have been forced to flee their homes.

"To all the wonderful people who’ve reached out to us, thank you for being so concerned. Just letting you know that we were able to evacuate successfully," Woods, who lives in the Pacific Palisades, posted on X.

"I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing, but sadly houses on our little street are not."

Levy told The Los Angeles Times that he spotted "black and intense" smoke while battling traffic during his evacuation.

Speaking to a local news channel, actor Steve Guttenberg urged residents to leave their car keys in the cars so that he could help move their vehicles for fire trucks to come through.

Image source, Getty Images

The fire danger will continue overnight, as wind speeds continue to climb into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In a forecast bulletin issued around 17:00 PT (01:00 GMT), the National Weather Service, external warned that "winds will peak this evening through Wednesday morning".

"Downed trees, hazardous driving conditions, increased traffic, power outages and airport delays," are also expected.

"Any wildfires that start may spread rapidly with extreme fire behaviour."

Winds have already been clocked at up to 70mph (115 km/h), with stronger gusts of up to 100mph forecast to arrive later tonight - fuelling the flames with oxygen and spreading them into new areas.

Air temperatures are forecast to be around 21C (70F), and will climb later in the week.

More wind is expected on Thursday, but it's predicted that the speeds will begin to decrease.

The short answer is: yes. Over the last few decades, wildfires in the US have increased dramatically in size, duration and intensity. The vast majority were ignited by humans.

California in particular is prone to wildfires partly because of its dry climate. The inferno that hit northern California in 2018 is the deadliest fire to ever burn in the state.

Let's take a look at some of the latest photos coming in as the fire continues to spread in the Pacific Palisades.

Image source, Allison Dinner/Shutterstock

Image source, Carolina Brehman/Shutterstock

Image source, Carolina Brehman/Shutterstock

Image source, Mike Blake/Reuters

Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, Getty Images

A fire is burning on the grounds of the Getty Villa Museum, a popular art museum in the area, but has not damaged the building, Los Angeles fire officials say.

The Palisades wildfire has caused a spot fire on the grounds of the Villa but "the Villa itself has not caught on fire," Margaret Stewart, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department tells me.

She said the building has not been impacted by the fire and crews are working throughout the region to protect homes and buildings like this.

Footage on social media shows a small fire burning near the front of the building, and a larger fire burning near the back of the massive property. An online fire map generated by Cal Fire, California's statewide fire agency, shows the blaze has nearly encircled the area.

The art museum - a re-creation of a Roman country house - contains more than 44,000 Greek and Roman antiquities. Its art dates back to the Stone Age and the Roman Empire.

Image source, EPA

We've reported that Sunset Boulevard has been full of cars - many abandoned - as residents in the area try to escape the fire.

One resident, Marsha Horowitz, told the BBC's US news partner CBS that the fire department told people to get out of their cars.

"The fire was right up against the cars," she said.