Palisades wildfire forces thousands to flee: In Pictures

Wildfires rip through upscale Pacific Palisades, Pasadena in California

More than 30,000 people evacuated their homes as a wildfire ripped through an upscale coastal area of Los Angeles on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) and into Wednesday (January 8, 2025), with Hollywood celebrities among those fleeing by car and on foot as flames engulfed homes and set hillsides ablaze. Two other fires inland were also spreading fast, officials said.

Numerous buildings were destroyed and nearly 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) burned in the Pacific Palisades area between the beach towns of Santa Monica and Malibu, officials said. Roads were jammed with people fleeing the inferno, some abandoning their cars as flames licked the edges, and plumes of smoke and flames rose in the night sky over Los Angeles and its suburbs.

Firefighters has not contained the blaze by the early hours and Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency.

(With inputs from agencies)