Thousands of Pacific Palisades residents were prompted to evacuate Tuesday after a fire broke out amid strong winds.
Actor Eugene Levy, the current honorary mayor of the celebrity-filled Los Angeles area, has fled along with other residents. And like many other actors, the “Schitt’s Creek” actor was stuck in traffic.
“The smoke looked pretty dark and intense over Temescal Canyon,” Levy told the Times. “I couldn’t see any flames, but the smoke was very dark.”
The fire started around 10:30 a.m. and quickly spread, threatening many luxury homes to the west.
Residents fleeing Sunset Boulevard gathered along Pacific Coast Highway, many still calling family members stuck in traffic. Some cried when they finally met again.
Students and teachers from Cavalry Christian School were stationed in the Sunset Beach parking lot, waiting to contact students and families. However, the smoke quickly moved towards the coast. By noon, ash was falling from the sky along the coastline.
“I thought the beach was safer, but now I’m not so sure,” Darryl Goldsmith said. “It’s windy so we just hope it doesn’t burn down. … The poor fire department couldn’t get that far.”
Goldsmith was at his Palisades home with friends when he discovered the fire. It exploded immediately, she said.
While she hurriedly evacuated, her husband remained to help a disabled neighbor escape. Firefighters began directing traffic, but Mr Goldsmith decided to abandon his car in the grass and walk down to the beach.
While waiting at Sunset Beach, my husband was still stuck on the hill.
Residents said the fire quickly spread from eight miles up Palisades Drive to just a half-mile near Cavlery Christian School when authorities first issued evacuation orders.
Erin Sheehy, whose husband was stuck in the traffic, said evacuees initially began fleeing using all lanes of Palisades Drive, but the fire department closed the road to fight in new locations along the evacuation route. The car above was stopped. Some residents got out of their cars and began walking miles to the coast.
The evacuees are currently waiting for information about their homes.
“It’s looking tough,” Magnolia Singh said around noon Tuesday, about an hour after she left her home on Piedra Morada Drive. Singh said he felt the heat of the flames, which were within 50 meters of his home, before leaving. She didn’t have time to try to salvage anything from the house before evacuating.
“I couldn’t even get a rabbit,” she said. “I just left. I grabbed my wallet and drove away.”
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