Thousands of people are frantically seeking safety after the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, with elderly individuals being evacuated in nothing more than their socks and pajamas. Regrettably, it seems that this intense conflict is far from being resolved, as powerful winds compelled planes to land and the flames escalated beyond control.

Fierce winds fueled the flames and caused confusion in evacuation zones as the Palisades Fire exploded with such ferocity that inhabitants were forced to evacuate for their lives, some without shoes or basic needs.

More than 30,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes as the initially controllable fire rapidly grew out of control, leading authorities to warn that the worst was “yet to come.”Firefighting planes were grounded due to the strong winds, which were predicted to reach up to 80 mph. This made it practically impossible to confine the fire. According to Margaret Stewart, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, dangerous weather forced the suspension of air support at 8 p.m.

Firefighters were forced to combat the conflagration from the ground up, dealing with erratic flames and intense fire behavior. The scene was uncannily similar to other wildfires in California, especially the Franklin Fire in December, which ravaged the same area.

This time, the evacuation procedure was rendered considerably riskier by traffic congestion. Many locals chose to flee to safety on foot after abandoning their automobiles on clogged highways.

In order to make room for emergency vehicles, firefighters asked individuals to park their cars on the side of the road or to leave their keys behind. However, a lot of cars were left in the road, so in order to make room, workers had to remove cars from the streets.

The Palisades region wasn’t the only place where the catastrophe was developing. An elderly care facility in the area had to evacuate its residents due to the Eaton Fire, which threatened Altadena and Pasadena in neighboring Los Angeles County.

About 95 patients, many of whom were in wheelchairs or on gurneys, were evacuated in a hurry by staff at The Terraces at Park Marino assisted living home.

While fire officials scrambled to obtain safer housing, video footage showed elders sitting in a 7-Eleven parking lot, some of them without shoes and wrapped in shawls and thin gowns.

As authorities cautioned that this fire incident was far from done, the situation’s seriousness increased. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, warned that the combination of the dry weather and the strong winds was a formula for disaster.

During an update, Governor Gavin Newsom reiterated these worries. In anticipation that firefighters could have to deal with more fires than just the Palisades and Eaton fires, he said, fire personnel had been placed strategically in high-risk regions.

“We are anticipating — hopefully we’re wrong — but we’re anticipating other fires happening,” Newsom said, acknowledging the state’s vulnerability to wildfire outbreaks during extreme weather events.