Fresno firefighters to help battle raging Palisades Fire in Southern California

LOS ANGELES (KFSN) -- Thousands were forced to flee their homes as several fires erupted in Southern California on Tuesday.

The first fire, which broke out in foothills of Pacific Palisades, forced evacuees to abandon their cars.

Megan Garmin was evacuating with her toddler and dog when she got out of her car and started walking.

"I just started packing up all of our stuff and we got in the car to go. And then all the cars were abandoned, so I had nowhere to go, so I just had to get out of my car and start walking. The smoke is so bad. I don't, I have no idea where we're going," Garmin said.

Shortly after speaking to news crews, an LAPD vehicle stopped to pick up Garmin and her child to take them to safety.

Several homes were seen going up in flames with many more remaining threatened by the blaze.

Just before 5:30 pm, the vegetation and trees and what appeared to be a retention wall around the Getty Villa Museum caught fire.

The Getty Trust President said staff and the collection remain safe.

The Villa is a different property than the newer Getty Center but it is the original home of the Getty Museum and houses exhibits.

The persistently changing wind is making the fight more difficult for crews on the scene, especially as evening fell.

"We are going to take advantage of the lower temperatures at night, but with increased windspeed, aerial firefighting becomes more dangerous. There is a cutoff mile per hour wind at which we will not operate at night," said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

The National Weather Service says some isolated wind gusts could top 100 miles per hour in the mountains and foothills of Southern California over the next several days.

Beginning Sunday, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services approved pre-positioning 65 fire engines and more than 120 additional resources from across Southern California in affected counties.

Then on Monday, CAL FIRE/Fresno County Fire deployed 76 personnel, including four hand crews and five engines from

Track the Palisades Fire's movement and evacuation zones here:

Fire Captain Gary Couch says when crews are deployed for weather events, they normally stay for a few days.

This time, crews are prepared to stay up to 21 days.

It's unclear what the Fresno County Fire crews roles are at the fire at this time.

The Fresno Fire Department is sending four off-duty firefighters and a battalion chief to help with the Palisades Fire.

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