Thousands, including Hollywood stars, flee Los Angeles upscale neighbourhood as wildfire engulfs homes

Several Hollywood celebrities were among those fleeing by car and on foot as flames started engulfing homes and set hillsides ablaze.

Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate further on Wednesday as a wind storm and arid conditions fanned a blaze in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood and at least two others in the Los Angeles area, according to forecasters.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.

Several buildings were destroyed and nearly 3,000 acres burned in Pacific Palisades, which lies between the beach towns of Santa Monica and Malibu, officials said. The area is home to many film and music stars.

Roads were clogged with traffic jams on Tuesday with people fleeing the inferno, some abandoning their cars as flames licked the edges and plumes of smoke and flames rose in the night sky over Los Angeles and its suburbs.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday morning urged residents to follow evacuation and parking orders, as well as use shelters set up by authorities if needed.

"Stay vigilant and stay safe," she wrote in a post on X, saying the windstorm was expected to worsen through the morning.

The National Weather Service said in an advisory: "This is a particularly dangerous situation for portions of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties!"

Pacific Palisades resident Cindy Festa said that as she evacuated, fires were "this close to the cars," demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.

"People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees - everything is going," Festa said from her car.