Mandatory evacuations kicked off Tuesday evening as a wind-driven wildfire consumed the western Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity residences. Tens of thousands of people fled on foot, and their vehicles were abandoned. Horrifying visuals of the Palisades Fire caught attention as about 30,000 residents acted upon the evacuation orders, and the fanned blaze threatened over 13,000 structures.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. He said the worst was yet to come, as damaging winds were expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday. The mayor’s office also established that as of Tuesday evening, 28,300 households were without power. Meanwhile, about 15,000 utility customers in Southern California had shut off their power.
Viral videos on X show the horrifying ground reality of the Palisades Fire
Amid the rising reports, a frantic frenzy took over social media as viral videos on X, formerly Twitter, captured the ground reality of what appeared to be apocalyptic horrors in the wake of the wildfire breakout. Numerous images released by AP Photo captured firefighters in action, battling the Palisades Fire in the LA neighbourhood. Other visuals also showed helicopters dropping water to fend off the fast-moving wildfire in the Los Angeles hillsides as winds gaining strength fanned the flames.
Burning residences and abandoned vehicles became the primary focus of videos and photos of the horrors unleashed in LA. Actor James Woods was one among many to share footage of the real-life disaster unfolding in the Pacific Palisades. “Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in his video on X. Meanwhile, Steve Guttenberg, another actor who lives in the neighbourhood urged people leaving behind the cars to also drop their keys so they could be moved to clear the way for fire trucks.
A widely shared video on X showed a family and two and a dog sitting at the centre of a heart-stopping ordeal as they were forcefully trapped inside their home as raging Palisades fire engulfed their property. A different one captures the very moment a man and his friend abandoned his house after trying to save what they could. A third clip visualised how a nursing home in Pasadena was being evacuated as elderly patients were wheeled out as life-threatening winds wreaked havoc. More and more worst-case scenarios and wild scenes from the Palisades Fire emerged online as words of caution urged people not to abandon animals.
Check out heart-rending scenes of the Los Angeles wildfire blazing out of control as homes, mountains and other structures are ignited.
