Terrifying moment California wildfire engulfs family home before residents and their pet dog flee

8 January 2025, 10:57 | Updated: 8 January 2025, 12:58

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Terrifying viral footage shows walls of fire outside Pacific Palisades home

This is the terrifying moment a wildfire engulfed the home of a California resident.

The shocking footage taken in Palisades captures the level of destruction currently facing Los Angeles - which has declared a state of emergency.

In the video, enormous flames and thick smoke can be seen engulfing the garden.

The man recording can be heard reassuring his dog saying "It's going to be okay."

He also says "the plastic is gone, dude" as the flames get nearer.

The man and the dog were reported to have escaped to safety.

At least 30,000 residents are now under mandatory evacuation orders.

The fire - which broke out about 10:30 on Tuesday - rapidly spread in incredibly dry conditions and high winds.

The vast blaze in the Pacific Palisades forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, with some abandoning their cars to flee on foot to safety.

Firefighting planes had been dumping water on the inferno from the skies all afternoon, but they had to be grounded due to deteriorating wind conditions and visibility.

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The fire ripped through the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday afternoon, with flames now engulfing an area measuring around 2,921 acres "and growing".

Fire officials say the blaze is gathering pace at an alarming rate, having initially covered an area akin to only 20-acres a handful of hours ago, before expanding to cover 770-acres just one hour later.

It comes as gusts reaching 100mph (160km/h) are forecast to sweep through the area in the coming hours.

More than 30,000 people in more than 10,000 households and more than 13,000 structures are under threat from the blaze, said Kristin Crowley, fire chief of the LA Fire Department.

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has now declared a state of emergency 'to support the communities impacted by the Palisades Fire'.

"By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods," Governor Newsom said, suggesting the highest winds were forecast overnight.

Plumes of thick black smoke billowed over miles of traffic jams as residents tried to escape, and bulldozers are being used to unblock roads from hundreds of abandoned vehicles, according to US reports.