The flames are threatening Pacific Palisades, an affluent coastal neighborhood that is home to about 24,000 people, roughly 20 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. Officials ordered residents to evacuate immediately. Part of the Pacific Coast Highway and several nearby schools were closed.

A rapidly growing wildfire raged across an upscale section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, destroying homes and creating traffic jams as 30,000 people evacuated beneath huge plumes of smoke that covered much of the metropolitan area.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, as of 2:23 p.m., local time, the Pacific Palisades Fire had so far covered nearly 800 acres — a number that was soon updated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to more than 1,

A fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles has forced some residents to evacuate amid "life-threatening and destructive" winds.