The Palisades fire which began as a two-acre fire off Piedra Morada Drive at 10:30 a.m. has exploded. Firefighters, which come from all over the county, have few resources to fight a fire driven by excessively high Santa Ana winds. Firefighters have been exceptional in their efforts to save homes.
Little air support can be provided by firefighters and the ashes twirling around and sent over the hills by 30 to 50 mile an hour winds have started devil fires that spin into fire tornadoes and can’t be stopped.
All of Palisades went under mandatory evacuation orders around noon. Watching the fires on the hills north of Sunset, seeing the heavy smoke and hearing weather warnings that the worst of the winds (gusts up to 80 mph) would be between 10 p.m. tonight, Tuesday, January 7 and early Wednesday, January 8, most Palisades residents wisely evacuated.
As one resident wrote CTN “If we lose our home it will be very inconvenient, but we know our lives are immensely more precious than any material thing.”
This editor, with her husband and two dogs, joined the bumper to bumper procession of cars to the base of Temescal Canyon Road. There were numerous LAPD and parking enforcement individuals, that helped motorists make the turn onto Pacific Coast Highway.
Other evacuees were coming down from Sunset and Castellammare onto PCH, and the police made sure the transition was seamless. PCH northbound was shut to vehicular traffic to allow emergency vehicles onto the road.
A fire command post was set up in Will Rogers State Beach Parking lot and a news conference was held at 3:30 p.m. where city, county and state officials said everything was in place and extra fire trucks had been brought south just in case of an event like this. It would have been nice if the governor had figured out a way for most Palisadians to keep fire insurance – that did not come up in the conference – even though it was estimated as many as 10,000 homes might be impacted.
There didn’t seem to be a cause for the fire. There was a similar fire on January 1 in the same area, but there were no winds during that fire, and it was easily contained.
Here’s what this editor has heard from neighbors. Pierson Playhouse, the home of Theatre Palisades, has burned to the ground. The Woman’s Club has burned. Palisades High School has burned. The fire spread down Temescal Canyon to the sea, burning Tahitian Terrace and Palisades Bowl. There were reports that it burned homes on the Via las Olas Bluffs.There was a report that even one of the lifeguard towers was on fire.
There was a report of fires on Iliff and homes burning on Chautauqua. Buildings on Swarthmore were on fire.
The Mandatory Evacuation Zone for this fire because of the predicted winds has expanded east to Kenter and north to Mulholland Drive. In Santa Monica, evacuation orders have been given for all areas of the city north of San Vicente.
Finally, if you know someone who decided to stay in Pacific Palisades, a text message went out at 8 p.m. on everyone signed up for alerts “Evacuate now from Palisades Fire Pacific Palisades. lafd.org/alertsnixle.us/G26ZK Reply with a friend’s # to forward.” Get out now. The flying embers and the high winds could set everything on fire. You can’t stop it with a garden hose.
LADWP sent a message at 6:50 p.m. that “Water System crews are also responding to the Pacific Palisades area to ensure availability of water supplies to support firefighting efforts. This area is served by water tanks and close coordination is underway to continue supplying the area. LADWP has crews onsite working alongside LAFD and the Palisades Fire Incident Command to ensure continued availability of water supply in the area.”
School Closures and Relocations, which maybe updated tomorrow.
Due to fire activity and adverse weather, the following schools will be closed Wednesday:
- — Students at Palisades Charter Elementary School and Marquez Charter Elementary School will be relocated to Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet at 740 Greta Green Way in Los Angeles;
- — Paul Revere Charter Middle School will be relocated to University High School Charter, 11800 Texas Ave., Los Angeles; and
- — Topanga Elementary Charter classes were moved to Woodland Hills Academy, 20800 Burbank Blvd.
- Canyon Elementary School is being moved, check parent portal.
- Paul Revere Charter Middle School students will attend University High School Charter, 11800 Texas Ave.
- Topanga Elementary Charter students will report to Woodland Hills Academy, 20800 Burbank Blvd.