(CNN) Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for the area near Topanga Canyon due to the Palisades Fire, a tweet from the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Saturday night.
The area affected, at Topanga State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, is approximately 20 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.
About 1,000 people evacuated from their homes Sunday morning as a result of the fire, according to Los Angeles City Fire Public Information Officer David Ortiz.
Approximately 750 acres have burned and there is 0% containment, the department said. There are approximately 300 firefighters on the scene of the blaze, which began Saturday.
Two zones, identified as 4 and 6, of the department’s tactical map have been ordered to evacuate, according to the tweet.
Zone 4 includes everything east of Topanga Canyon between the Community House and View Ridge. Zone 6 is everyone north of Entrada, south of Oakwood and east of Henry Ridge, the department said.
It is difficult to determine the fire’s containment because overcast weather is making it difficult to fly aircraft over the area, Ortiz said. Rainy weather Sunday morning has helped contain the blaze, but officials expect the rain to stop by noon local time and fire activity to ramp up.
Firefighters are working to keep the fire away from an area that hasn’t burned in more than 50 years, Ortiz said.
It is unclear how many homes or residents are impacted by the mandatory evacuation order. Homes are not currently threatened, according to Ortiz.
“There’s a lot of dense, thick material there, oily plants that have dried out because of the drought,” Ortiz said. “So that’s our objective today to try to keep it out of that and protect the communities and neighborhoods that are to the west of this fire because that’s what’s closest to it.”
The fire’s cause was deemed to be a “suspicious start,” according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Investigators are working with the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department LASD to identify a suspect and determine the cause, Ortiz said.
No injuries have been reported as of late Saturday, according to the department.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: https://cnn.it/3fqOWZB