The Palisades Fire has rapidly spread, burning through over 770 acres in just a little over 3 hours since it first ignited on Tuesday morning. This translates to nearly 3 football fields of land being consumed every minute on average, according to data from CalFire.
Currently, north to northeast winds are blowing around 15 mph near the base of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, with gusts reaching up to 30 mph. In higher elevations where the fire is raging, wind gusts have been recorded at up to 50 mph, as reported by the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.
Forecasts indicate that wind gusts along the ridge tops are expected to intensify this evening and overnight, reaching speeds of 60 to 70 mph at times. On Wednesday, widespread gusts of 30 to 35 mph are likely, with the potential for a few gusts to reach 65 mph. The fire weather conditions are classified as 'extremely critical,' with a level 3 out of 3 rating for LA and Ventura Counties.
Notably, wind gusts of nearly 60 mph are already impacting parts of the San Monica Mountains, located approximately 10 miles west of the Palisades Fire zone.
