Devastating Wildfire in Pacific Palisades Threatens Brentwood and San Fernando Valley

A massive wildfire in Pacific Palisades has now reached homes in Brentwood, threatening the already devastated San Fernando Valley, which is becoming one of the most destructive natural disasters in Los Angeles history. After engulfing the entire Pacific Palisades neighborhood and attacking coastal communities, the flames turned their attention to the San Fernando Valley, spreading eastward towards Brentwood and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Images from Sky5 before 11 a.m. showed a home burning in Manville Canyon, with the fire approaching a neighborhood in Brentwood. The footage also showed fire crews working to prevent the fire from spreading northward into the valley, which was dangerously close to Encino and Tarzana, according to KTLA’s Jill Leivas. The fire was nearing the intersection of the 101 and 405 freeways.

Authorities have closed several exits along the 405 freeway includin

Getty Center exit in both directions.

Skirball Center with off-ramps closed in both directions.

Sunset Blvd southbound exit.

Wilshire Blvd southbound exit.

Southbound Santa Monica Blvd exit.

Southbound Olympic/Pico Blvd exit.

Evacuation orders have been extended from Pacific Palisades to the ocean, including areas of Santa Monica, Malibu, and Topanga. Residents and businesses in Calabasas, parts of Tarzana, and Encino were under evacuation warnings on Saturday morning.

The flames have also moved east toward Westwood and the UCLA campus. The UCLA Police Department alerted the university community on Friday evening to be ready in case nearby evacuation warnings turned into mandatory orders.

By Saturday morning, the Palisades fire had burned 22,661 acres and was 11% contained. At least two fatalities have been reported.

Over 3,700 firefighters are involved in the response, with 24 helicopters and 463 fire trucks working to extinguish the flames. The fire began early on Tuesday and quickly escalated into an aggressive blaze due to Santa Ana winds, similar to hurricane-force winds. In just minutes, neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades were reduced to rubble, and the famous downtown area was destroyed.

In addition, the Kenneth Fire near Calabasas is nearly fully contained. It is estimated that more than 5,000 buildings have been destroyed, and the damage is believed to reach tens of billions of dollars.

The dry humidity and strong winds have led the California Fire Department to warn of the potential for critical fire conditions again on Saturday.

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