Mansions of Hollywood A-Listers escape damage in raging wildfire
A fire spanning at least 40 acres and threatening multi-million dollar mansions in the tony Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades was fended off by firefighters before damaging them.
The flames, which broke out on North Palisades Drive near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard about 10:40 a.m., were quickly driven upward by the terrain, according to Los Angeles television station Fox 11. Within an hour, the blaze spread over more than 30 acres, threatening residences valued at more than $4 million, according to the Daily Mail.
The future home of newlyweds Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger, still under construction, was the only celebrity dwelling close to the blaze, the Mail reported, though actor Ben Affleck and former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant also live in the area.
Some residents were seen using garden hoses in a futile attempt to wield off the flames, while others ran down their driveways to escape, according to the outlet.
A Palisades resident talks with a firefighter before evacuating her home as a wildfire erupts in the Pacific Palisades area. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
Firefighters pull hoses and spray flames behind a home in Pacific Palisades. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
Firefighters watch as a helicopter drops water on a wildfire in Pacific Palisades. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
A firefighter gets caught off-guard by a flare-up of the Palisades fire. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
A firefighter bends down near a hydrant supplying water to battle flames in the Palisades area. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
Firefighters protect a home from a wildfire in Pacific Palisades. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
Ahead of the blaze, residents of about 200 homes were ordered to evacuate.They were escorted back to their homes by police after the orders were lifted about 9 p.m. Monday, but warned that they should be ready to evacuate again if the weather changed.
No structures appeared to have been damaged in the blaze, about 10 percent of which was contained by the evening. One firefighter suffered minor injuries, and a civilian was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries resulting from "respiratory distress," Los Angeles Fire Department officials told Fox 11.
The state’s largest utility has warned that dry, windy weather, which heightens wildfire risk, may force it to shut off power to about a half-million people this week. Pacific Gas & Electric began notifying customers Monday that it could begin precautionary shutoffs to parts of 16 counties as early as Wednesday, mostly in the Sierra foothills and north of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The utility, concerned that winds as high as 60 mph may throw branches and debris into power lines and spark blazes, is in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings spurred by massive liabilities from wildfires in 2017 and 2018 linked to its equipment.
“This could be one of our most critical weeks of the fall season for fire weather due to very warm temperatures and bouts of Santa Ana winds,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.