Freak Los Angeles Wind Storm Sparks Fires in Pacific Palisades

An extreme wind event is threatening two of Los Angeles’ toniest neighborhoods, igniting fires through the Pacific Palisades. Currently tracking at almost 25 miles per hour, winds have been gusting in spurts sparking brush fires that has expanded to 770 acres, per the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Among the residents who call the area home are Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Eugene Levy, Michael Mann, Ann Sarnoff, Carol Lombardini, Alan Bergman, Kathleen Kennedy, Steve Guttenberg and James Woods.

Santa Ana winds are nothing new to Southern California, and it’s not uncommon for them to flare up in January, but this “life threatening” and fast-moving wind storm, coupled with low humidity and cooler temperatures, has forced mandatory evacuations for areas surrounding the highly combustible Santa Monica Mountains range.

The National Weather Service said the wind storm constituted a “PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION Red Flag Warning event.” The warnings are in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday for Malibu, the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains, Eastern Ventura Valley and coastal areas adjacent to the Sepulveda pass.

The damage and smoke engulfing the Palisades is being described as “apocalyptic,” with one local field reporter noting its resemblance to a movie set.

So far, flights out of LAX have not been grounded. News network helicopters, on standby at nearby Van Nuys airport, are not permitted to fly near the area.

Guttenberg told KTLA that he was assisting with clearing streets to help residents evacuate and to allow firefighters easier access to reach the blaze.

“What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot,” he said. “This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars. If you leave your car behind, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there.”

Guttenberg said he was walking up Palisades Drive moving cars.

“There are families up there. There are pets up there,” he said. “There are people who really need help.”

Meanwhile, Woods shared photos and videos on his X account of the flames burning near his house.

“We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well,” he wrote in one post. “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.”