As the Palisades Fire quickly consumed 300 acres on Tuesday, the Pacific Coast Highway in the Malibu area was closed — with authorities telling motorists in the area to get out of their cars to escape the flames.
All lanes of the freeway near Topanga Canyon Boulevard were closed as the wildfire grew in size and quickly spread to 500 acres within an hour after the Los Angeles Fire Department first reported the blaze at 10:30 a.m. LA roadway meets PCH, drivers were told to get out and walk as the fire got closer.
“The fire got right up to the road and the fire department came up and said get out of your cars now – because the fire was right up against the cars,” said Marsha Horowitz, who was driving along Sunset at the time. “There were three lanes of cars, and the fire was all the way down and there was nothing to stop it.”
Several other people were seen getting out of their cars and walking towards the ocean. Another driver said she could see flames nearby just as firefighters told her to get out of her car. “The fire was all around us – the trees and everything,” she said.
KCAL News
Other road closures were also announced in the neighboring city of Santa Monica, where government officials announced the closure of the westbound 10 Freeway at Lincoln Boulevard, as well as the northbound Pacific Coast Highway in the same area.
“Please avoid non-essential travel in the northern parts of the city to facilitate evacuations and assist first responders,” the city of Santa Monica said in an alert.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
