Screaming residents of Los Angeles's affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood scrambled to safety on foot as a fast-spreading wildfire closed in, abandoning their vehicles in a desperate bid to escape. Eyewitness accounts reveal chaotic scenes reminiscent of a Hollywood disaster film, with a windstorm rapidly transforming a routine brush fire into an unstoppable inferno.

On Tuesday, evacuation orders were issued for around 30,000 residents as flames surged towards the Pacific Palisades region, quickly escalating from a mere 10 acres to a sprawling inferno. Nestled along the scenic Santa Monica Mountains and bordering Malibu, this celebrity enclave was soon engulfed by the blaze.

Routes out of the area, particularly the Pacific Coast Highway, quickly turned into gridlocks, forcing many individuals to flee their cars near Sunset Boulevard as the fire closed in. "The fire was right up against the cars,” recounted resident Marsha Horowitz, who was advised by firefighters to abandon her vehicle.

Another resident, who had rushed back home from her job in Hollywood, narrowly escaped the flames while attempting to retrieve her cat. Describing her escape, she recalled, “I’m getting hit with palm leaves on fire; I ran into a car. It's horrifying.”

As winds reached up to 100 mph, Hollywood stars faced evacuations too. Among those affected were actors James Woods and Steve Guttenberg. The latter urged those who’d left their cars behind to leave their keys inside to facilitate rescue vehicle access, stating, "This is not a parking lot."

Emergency crews ultimately employed bulldozers to clear the abandoned vehicles, paving the way for firefighters.

Residents reported seeing flames from neighboring areas, with some, like Melanie, trapped in gridlock, forced to turn back as flames engulfed their escape routes. "I would have been driving right into the fire,” she noted.

Those in Venice Beach, six miles away, also witnessed the fire's fury. Kelsey Trainor observed panic as families evacuated their cars with pets and essential belongings, crying out in distress.

Ellen Delosh-Bacher faced similar chaos, rushing to save her elderly mother and pets. She described a scene where police urged drivers to “Run for your lives!” while she sprinted to the beach, her car’s keys still in the ignition, exclaiming, “This is like an apocalypse.”

As the wildfire rages on, with flames spreading rapidly, residents brace for further updates and continued turmoil.