LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A windstorm that forecasters described as potentially destructive and life-threatening is impacting a large swath of Southern California, dramatically raising the risk of wildfires for the next several days.
Firefighters are battling a fire in the foothills of Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles coastal neighborhood. Another brush fire erupted in the evening in the Eaton Canyon area near Altadena, prompting mandatory evacuations. Then late Tuesday night, the Hurst Fire erupted in the Sylmar area.
Winds are expected to peak in the early hours of Wednesday, when gusts could reach 80 mph, the National Weather Service said. Isolated gusts could top 100 mph in mountains and foothills.
Red flag warnings are in effect and will and remain in place until 6 p.m. Thursday for the Malibu coast, the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando Valley, Calabasas, the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the 5 Freeway and 14 Freeway corridors.
The 210 Freeway was completely shut down Wednesday morning due to the Hurst Fire burning in the Sylmar area.
Both sides were closed between Roxford Street and the 5 Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. It's unclear when the road would be reopened.
Drivers were urged to avoid the area.
Evacuation orders were expanded Wednesday morning to parts of La Cañada Flintridge, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as the Eaton Fire that began in the foothills above Altadena continued to burn uncontrolled.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Crescenta Valley station released a map that showed the new evacuation area.
"Residents in affected zones should evacuate immediately," the Sheriff's Department said. "Gather essential items Have an evacuation plan Stay informed through official channels such as Genasys Protect at protect.genasys.com."
The Eaton Fire was reported at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Altadena Drive and Midwick, according to Cal Fire.
As of 5:30 a.m., Cal Fire reported the fire was 2,227 acres and was 0% contained.
Another brush fire, dubbed the Tyler Fire, broke out in Riverside County Wednesday morning.
According to Cal Fire, the fire was reported around 3:30 a.m. at Tyler Street and 47th Avenue in the Coachella area. At least 15 acres have burned.
Additional details about the fire were not available.
An assisted living facility in Altadena was among the structures destroyed by the Eaton Fire, which has scorched about 1,000 acres so far.
Everyone at The Terraces at Park Marino was evacuated late Tuesday night after the wind-driven flames engulfed the building.
Zion Brown, an employee of the facility, described what those moments were like.
"The fire started coming from down the moment, we noticed it moving pretty quickly so we did start evacuating everybody," he said. "I was running up to the third story, second story, carrying people down, just picking them up because we do have a lot of wheelchair people in here... We were able to get everybody out of here in a timely manner before the building actually went into flames."
