Horrifying footage shows Pacific Palisades wildfire destruction as powerful winds fuel inferno
Countless heart-dropping videos showing the Pacific Palisades wildfire destruction in real time are popping up online as the inferno rages through the ritzy Los Angeles neighborhood fueled by high winds.
The fast-moving blaze has forced roughly 30,000 LA residents to evacuate their homes and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency Tuesday as 2,900 acres and counting have been scorched. In nearby Altadena, a second roaring fire ignited hours later.
Dramatic videos shared by local reporters on the scene show complete devastation in every direction as flames torch homes and light up the dark skies and embers are carried by winds that are expected to increase to up to 100 mph overnight.
Clips posted by CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti show a block where every single home is on fire — some completely leveled.
Vigliotti described the community in the heart of Pacific Palisades as “a total loss,” noting that fire crews on the scene weren’t even attempting to put out the blazing homes as they struggled to stop the flames from spreading to nearby communities.
Fox LA reporter Matthew Seedorff shared multiple video dispatches from around the Pacific Palisades neighborhood — showing block after block of luxury homes on fire as the sound of alarms and cracking flames fill the otherwise eerily quiet and vacant neighborhood.
Seedorff initially tweeted off counts of homes on fire — going up to 20 on one block before he gave up counting.
“Devastation all around. I’ve lost count of the number of buildings we’ve seen on fire,” he wrote on X.
Live footage from a KTLA broadcast caught several explosions as the out-of-control inferno consumed nearly every building in its path.
Businesses and at least two school buildings have also gone up in flames.
Another clip shared on X shows two men in face masks running out of a home — with its smoke alarms going off — as towering flames engulf surrounding houses and trees. The pair had hoped to try to save what they could, but decided it was too dangerous to stay any longer.
“Alright dude, let’s get out of here. We tried, bro. I’m sorry,” Tanner Charles tells the homeowner as they run out. “We gotta get out of here.”
As they run out onto the street, dozens of glowing embers fly through the air, igniting new fires all over.
A video taken from a rooftop outside the area by Mike Rowe of the popular TV show “Dirty Jobs” shows a towering plume of smoke extending far and wide above Los Angeles’ skyline.
