A destructive wildfire continues to rage through the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles on Wednesday, forcing more than 30,000 people to evacuate the area.
The Details: Before the fire started, the National Weather Service issued an alert for extreme fire conditions, including wind gusts of between 50 and 80 miles per hour, for Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday.
From Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning, the fire burned more than 3,000 acres, according to Reuters.
The Pacific Palisades fire, 0% contained, grew to encompass more than 4.5 square miles Wednesday morning, according to the Weather Channel. Authorities expect the worst conditions through Wednesday morning with wind gusts possibly reaching 100 miles per hour.
"This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for a firefight," David Ortiz of the Los Angeles Fire Department told KTLA-TV.
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Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley on Tuesday said at a press conference that more than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes were threatened.
Karen Bass, mayor of Los Angeles, encouraged residents to heed warnings from officials in an early Wednesday morning post on social media.
The Los Angeles Times reported homes and businesses along the Pacific Coast Highway were leveled by the fire Tuesday night as high winds whipped the flames. The National Weather Service reported a gust of 99 mph near Altadena at 10:20 p.m. PT Tuesday and 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport at 8:30 p.m. PT.
More than 160,000 power outages are reported in Los Angeles county, according to data from Poweroutage.us. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. PCG currently has 5,700 customers without power. San Diego Gas & Electric, a subsidiary of Sempra SRE, has more than 9,000 customers without electricity.
Los Angeles International Airport is operating with minimal interruptions Wednesday morning. However, some flights have been diverted due to smoke in the area. Total delays stand at 56 with 8 cancellations reported so far on Wednesday, according to data from FlightAware.
Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, American Airlines Group Inc. AAL and United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL are the largest airlines with flights out of LAX and could face operations disruptions in the coming days.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom toured part of the affected area in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday.
"Not a few — many structures already destroyed," Newsom said.
Precise damage estimates will only be available after a thorough assessment once the fire is contained. Some of the largest property insurers in California include Allstate Corp. ALL and The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV and could face increased claims resulting from fire damage.
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that a federal grant had been approved to reimburse California for the fire response.
“I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” Biden said in a statement.
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