By Zach Armstrong
The ravenous Palisades fire that started yesterday morning has now grown to encompass 15,832 Acres and has destroyed at least 1,000 homes, businesses and other establishments, marking its place in LA history as the most destructive to ever hit the region.
By 2:45PM, LAFD reported that the fire was not contained at all. A dozen helicopters and three fixed wing aircraft across multiple agencies were working to battle the flames, with earlier reports stating that hundreds of firefighters were deployed in the effort.
The neighborhood has been under urgent evacuation after a rapidly-spreading brush fire that ignited Tuesday morning near Piedra Morada Drive. The area of Palisades under evacuation orders is from north to Mulholland Road, east to Kenter Rd and south to PCH. The City of Santa Monica expanded its evacuation order Wednesday afternoon for all areas north of Montana Avenue from the beach to 11th Street.
Five fatalities have been reported amid the devastating wildfires that currently grip LA County, but none of them occurred within the Palisades.
A video posted on X by @JonVigliotti showed the Palisades Village area as a skeletal ember of its former self.
Everything around the intersection of Antioch and Swarthmore is nearly or completely incinerated. The Starbucks at 15300 Sunset Blvd. along with adjacent businesses on its same block, as well as the entire stretch of businesses along Antioch in between Swarthmore and Via de la Paz, is simply gone. The stretch of businesses along N Swarthmore from Antioch down to La Cruz Drive appear to have vanished in flames as well. The video showed Palm Trees completely blackened and shedding their leaves.
At the time of this writing, the fire has also been reported to have partly damaged or entirely destroyed Palisades Charter High School and Elementary School, the PCH-adjacent seafood restaurant Reel Inn, a nearby mobile home park, while the Getty Villa Museum confirmed to outlets that its grounds had caught fire.
A high wind warning is in effect until 6 p.m. tonight, as projections are calling for north to northeast winds 25 – 40 mph with gusts between 60 – 80 mph.
An evacuation center at Westwood Recreation Center, located at 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd., is open for evacuees and accepts small animals. Those outside the evacuation area are asked to shelter in place. Pierce College, located at 6201 Winnetka Ave., is open for the evacuation of large animals.
