Battle to stop 1,325-acre Southern Calif. wildfire continues; arson investigation underway

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect Monday for residents in the western Los Angeles area as firefighters continue to battle a 1,325-acre brush fire near Pacific Palisades. Authorities are searching for a person suspected of setting the blaze.

The blaze, dubbed the Palisades Fire, was 0% contained as of Sunday afternoon. The blaze nearly doubled in size, from 750 acres Saturday to 1,325, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. An update on the progress against the blaze was expected at 10 a.m. PT Monday.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause, saying it may be suspicious. On Sunday, one person was detained and released and a second person was being questioned, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The status of the arson investigation was not available early Monday.

As of Monday morning, no injuries have been reported and no structures were damaged.

“We’re trying to keep it up out of the old growth, which is 50-60 years that hasn’t burned,” Ortiz said Sunday. “So there’s a lot of dense, thick material there — oily plants that have died out because of the drought. So that’s our objective today is to try to keep it out of that and protect the communities and neighborhoods to the west of this fire because that’s what’s closest to it.”

Crews responded to a remote area off Michael Lane and Palisades Court around 10 p.m. Friday as the fire grew to approximately 15 acres, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The fight continued overnight, but by 4 p.m. Saturday, firefighters were dealing with a significant flare-up that quickly got out of hand, creating a large plume of smoke visible across Los Angeles County.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for about 1,000 residents in Zone 4 and 6 in the Topanga area, according to the LAFD. That includes residents east of Topanga Canyon between the Community and View Ridge, and everyone north of Entrada, south of Oakwood and east of Henry Ridge.

Los Angeles Unified School District said Topanga Elementary Charter School’s campus will be closed Monday because of air quality and safety concerns. The district says classes will be held via remote learning until further notice.

It is unclear if all of the residents in the fire zone had evacuated as of Sunday morning. Ortiz said the fire was not immediately threatening homes in Zone 4 or 6, but the evacuation order was made in case additional resources need to be quickly deployed.

An evacuation center for large animals was established at Pierce College at 6201 Winnetka Avenue. Small animals can be taken to an L.A. County animal shelter at 29525 Agoura Road.

Over 300 firefighters have responded to the area, with water-dropping helicopters working to contain the flames as the steep terrain made it difficult to attack from the ground.