This is the worst fire the Pacific Palisades has ever seen, experts say

Pacific Palisades, one of the wealthiest communities in the US, is experiencing the worst fire in its history.

Nestled in the lower hills of the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades is known for its multi-million dollar mansions, high-profile residents, and proximity to Hollywood.

California is no stranger to extreme wildfires. The Los Angeles area is no stranger to drought or wildfires. And while there have been burns in the Pacific Palisades in the past, never to the extent the Palisades fire is burning today, Edith de Guzman, a water equity and adaptation policy extension specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told ABC. the news

“That area has seen fire time and time again, but usually, emergency crews are able to meet the demands of these fires and put them out before they become a threat to life and property,” who lives nearby, outside the evacuation zone. “But clearly, given the conditions this week, that wasn’t an option.”

The Palisades Fire has reduced entire neighborhoods to ashes, destroying hundreds of homes, among others celebrity residences Like Billy Crystal, Steve Guttenberg and Eugene Levy. Thousands of people were evacuated from the Palisades, and people reported leaving their cars on closed roads to escape the fast-moving fire on foot.

It’s the worst wildfire the Pacific Palisades has ever seen, experts told ABC News, and it’s far from over.

“Mars would be more habitable than this place right now, so it’s crazy. There’s nothing,” Shaun, a resident of the Palisades Bowl community. said ABC News on Thursday

As of Friday morning, the Palisades Fire, the largest of the five major wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area, had burned more than 20,000 acres in Pacific Palisades — about 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles — and was Only 6% is held as the firefighters are struggling to control the embers thrown by the strong winds of Santa Ana. The Palisades fire is now the third deadliest in California history, according to state data.

Aerial of Pacific Palisades

The topography previously protected the Pacific Palisades from the worst of the wildfires

The Palisades’ unique location has kept the worst fires from spreading there.

Because the Palisades are in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, strong Santa Ana winds would essentially blow through the neighborhood, Hugh Safford, a fire ecology researcher at the University of California, Davis, told ABC News.

“Since you’re at the base of the hill, the wind will blow any fire to the north,” Safford said.

But the hurricane force winds brought it down this time. In the atmosphere, the upper-level support aligned with the surface gradient, which caused a sink or trough of colder air to the north-northeast over the region, said Curt Kaplan, a retired operational forecaster with the National Weather Service in Oxford, California. , said ABC News.

“If you get a northerly wind, it’s basically a death trap” for foothill communities, Safford said.

Santa Ana’s erratic wind pattern also contributed to the fire’s ability to spread, De Guzman said, as gusty winds typically have a tighter, more predictable pattern.

And because the Palisades are located at the forest-urban interface — in the hillsides and foothills adjacent to more urban areas — those homes will face fire threats after the surrounding vegetation ignites, said De Guzman, whose research includes climate and urban planning. planning

Once the ignition happened, there was a lot of dry vegetation, as well as houses made of mainly wooden structures, which are easily engulfed, De Guzman said.

Patios with wood decks and patio furniture designed to enjoy Southern California’s warm climate are also highly flammable, Safford said.

The climate shock has affected the region in the last two winters

The extremes of southern California have experienced extreme rainfall and drought conditions over the past two years.

Two “exceptionally” wet winters in 2023 and 2024 followed a dry period that began in February 2024 and has lasted until now, De Guzman said. So all the extra vegetation that sprouted quickly from the abundant moisture dried up, turning it into an abundance of fuel that could burst into flames. Just 0.16 inches of rain has fallen in the region since May 6, according to the National Weather Service.

“This means that the periods of very dry vegetation are overlapping more and more with the usual season of strong and dry offshore winds, which is what we are seeing,” said De Guzman.

Pacific Palisades was a tinderbox waiting to happen, experts said. Los Angeles is currently in a severe drought, according to the latest US Drought Monitor update, released on Thursday.