Major brush fires burning in SoCal amid powerful windstorm

Several homes erupted in flames in a residential area of Pacific Palisades on Tuesday afternoon as a massive wildfire continued to burn uncontrolled.

The hillside homes were burning around 2:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of Rimmer Avenue, on the edge of a residential area north of Sunset Boulevard.

The houses were among those under a mandatory evacuation order, but it was unclear if any residents were inside.

Several homes erupted in flames in a residential area of Pacific Palisades as a massive wildfire continued to burn uncontrolled.

Meanwhile, sections of the 10 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway were closed to all non-essential traffic to aid in evacuation efforts. But other roads were blocked.

Some residents jumped out of their vehicles to get out of danger and waited to be picked up.

Kelsey Trainor, who lives in the Highlands above the Pacific Palisades, said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was completely blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.

"We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road," Trainor said. "People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming. The road was just blocked, like full-on blocked for an hour."

A homeowner along Livorno Drive in the Marquez section of Pacific Palisades had to break it to his wife that they lost their home in the fire.

The firefighters appeared to have salvaged some items from the home's garage, but unfortunately, the rest of the residence looked to be a complete loss.

That wasn't the only home lost along Livorno Drive - several other residences were destroyed along the street as well.

A homeowner along Livorno Drive in the Marquez section of Pacific Palisades had to break it to his wife that they lost their home in the fire.

Panicked drivers stuck in traffic trying to evacuate the Palisades Fire zone ditched their cars along Sunset Boulevard to flee from the approaching flames.

Hundreds of abandoned cars ditched by fleeing drivers along Sunset Boulevard were pushed out of the way by a fire bulldozer as crews made a path to reach the front lines of the blaze.

Palm trees lining the iconic boulevard were going up in flames, as the Palisades Fire pushed its forward momentum toward the ocean.

Hundreds of abandoned cars along Sunset Boulevard were pushed out of the way by a fire bulldozer as crews made a path to reach the front lines of the blaze.

The vehicles were left behind by people making a mad dash to evacuate the zone as flames closed in.

During an intense moment on live TV, officers were seen coming to the aid of an evacuated resident and her child.

Megan Garmin said she lives up the hill, and when the smoke got bad, she got in her car to evacuate but was stuck behind abandoned cars. She was seen holding her dog and walking with her daughter when ABC7's Josh Haskell interviewed her.

During an intense moment on live TV, a woman and her daughter were rescued by LAPD officers amid the brush fire burning in the Pacific Palisades.

"I had no where to go, so I just had to get out of my car and start walking. The smoke is so bad. I have no idea where we're going," she told ABC7. "I'm scared for my life. It's terrifying."

Shortly after the live interview, an LAPD vehicle stopped to pick up the woman and child and take them to safety.