KTLA (Los Angeles): The worst-case scenario has come to pass in the Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles, where authorities reported Wednesday morning that a wildfire fuelled by Santa Ana winds had destroyed an estimated 1,000 structures, many of them houses.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Palisades Fire was initially reported in the 1100 block of North Piedra Morada Drive. The fire had spread to 15,832 acres by Wednesday afternoon and was uncontrollable.
Anthony Marrone, the fire chief for L.A. County, stated at a press conference on Wednesday morning that an estimated 1,000 structures had been destroyed. According to him, a "high number of people who didn't evacuate" also sustained severe injuries.
In this wealthy seaside hamlet, entire houses and commercial districts were demolished, and daylight clarified the scope of the destruction.
According to data maintained by the Wildfire Alliance, the Palisades Fire has already destroyed 1,000 structures, making it far more devastating than the second-most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, the Associated Press said. The Sayre Fire, which burned 604 buildings in Sylmar in November 2008, was the most damaging fire to date.
The entire Pacific Palisades region, all the way down to the Pacific Ocean, was ordered to evacuate. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were affected by the evacuations, which also included advisories for the Santa Monica and Calabasas neighborhoods.
Extreme Fire in Southern California (OUTDATED)