At least 510 hectares of the Pacific Palisades area between Santa Monica and Malibu had burned, officials said, after they had already warned of extreme fire danger from powerful winds that arrived following extended dry weather.
The fire grew rapidly in a matter of hours as officials warned the worst wind conditions were expected to come overnight, leading to concerns that more neighbourhoods could be forced to flee.
Flying embers set alight a palm tree at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway.
The blaze is threatening more than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes in Los Angeles, authorities say. (AP PHOTO)
Witnesses reported a number homes on fire with flames nearly scorching their cars when people fled the hills of Topanga Canyon, as the fire spread from there down to the Pacific Ocean.
"We feel very blessed at this point that there's no injuries that are reported," Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference.
Firefighters in aircraft scooped water from the sea to drop it on the nearby flames. Flames engulfed homes and bulldozers cleared abandoned vehicles from roads so emergency vehicles could pass, television images showed.
With only one major road leading from the canyon to the coast, and only one coastal highway leading to safety, traffic crawled to a halt, leading people to flee on foot.
Before the fire started, the National Weather Service had issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday, predicting wind gusts of 80-130km/h with isolated gusts of 130-160km/h in the mountains and foothills.
Combined with low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain, conditions were extremely dangerous, authorities said.
"In other words, this is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather," the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service said on X.
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. I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing, but sadly houses on our little street are not. — James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) pic.twitter.com/xZjvsIg6FgJanuary 7, 2025
Governor Gavin Newsom said the state began moving fire resources from northern to southern California as early as Saturday because of the weather warning.
Many of those personnel, firetrucks and aircraft remained in position elsewhere in Southern California because of the fire danger to the wider region, he added.
"Hopefully, we're wrong, but we're anticipating other fires happening concurrently. And that's exactly the previous experience we've had with these kinds of wind events," Newsom told the press conference.
Known as Santa Ana winds, the strong, dry westerly winds originate in inland deserts are more common in the fall but can affect Southern California any time of year.
Pacific Palisades is home to several Hollywood stars.
Actor James Woods said on X he was able to evacuate but added, "I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing".
More than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes were threatened, Crowley said, equal to nearly the entire population of the Pacific Palisades.
