The Palisades Fire that damaged several multimillion-dollar hillside homes in Pacific Palisades this week was 55% contained as of Wednesday night, officials said.
The blaze now stands at 45 acres after gaining 5 acres overnight, but firefighters prevented the flames from gaining ground during the day Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The destructive fire spread rapidly after erupting along the 800 block of Palisades Drive around 10:40 a.m. Monday, threatening more than 625 homes that all had to be evacuated. LAFD earlier said the blaze sparked on the 500 block, but revised the location.
Ultimately, eight structures were damaged, firefighters say.
One civilian and three firefighters have been hurt, according to LAFD, though the agency has not released information on the nature or extent of their injuries.
Video posted to Instagram shows what appears to be the the fire in its first minutes as an unidentified person stands nearby. The user who posted it, @colinspack, says he called 911 and was told he was the second person to report the flames.
Evacuated residents were all allowed to return home Monday night, and firefighters have been working to increase containment since.
LAFD said hand crews from multiple agencies were able to strengthen containment lines Wednesday working in treacherous terrain on the rocky, cliff-like hillsides.
Firefighters will remain on scene overnight to monitor hot spots and prevent them from spreading outside the containment area. About 247 personnel remained assigned to the firefight Wednesday night, officials said.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
Crews hope to increase containment further before strong Santa Ana winds return to Southern California Thursday morning. The heavy gusts of 35-50 mph are expected to linger through Friday afternoon.
Coupled with high temperatures and low humidity, the winds will create dangerous fire conditions. Red flag warnings will be in place, and Southern California Edison is threatening another round of power shutoffs affecting as many as 308,000 customers.
LAFD says red flag parking restrictions will begin at 8 a.m. Thursday and stay in place at least 24 hours. Vehicles parked illegally in areas with signs stating no parking on red flag days will be removed.