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Mandatory Evacuations And Warnings Remain For Palisades Fire; Investigators Continue Search For Suspected Arsonist

PACIFIC PALISADES (CBSLA) — Mandatory evacuation orders for some residents remained in place Sunday, with additional neighborhoods issued warnings, as firefighters battled a brush fire that has burned 1,325 acres in the Pacific Palisades area.

"We're under warning. We haven't actually been forced to evacuate," a homeowner in Pacific Palisades told CBSLA's Laurie Perez. "We do have our important, necessary items and if we need to, we'll load them in the car and go."

More than 100 other neighbors in the Pacific Palisades also watched and waited to see if they needed to evacuate like the more than 500 homes that were forced to leave Saturday night in Topanga Canyon.

Air support made nonstop water drops throughout Sunday as 100's of firefighters on the ground, including multiple hand crews, tried to stop the flames in remote, rugged terrain.

"What we're dealing with is this. We have essentially onshore flow pushing that wind up into this canyon and that canyon consists of old, heavy growth that hasn't had fire activity in 50 plus years."

The suspected cause of the fire is arson and investigators have been questioning people.

"During the course of the investigation, LAFD Arson Investigators have aggressively tracked down any and all potential leads. We did have one individual who was detained and released. However, we now have a 2nd individual that is being questioned. The active investigation into the cause of the Palisades fire continues," the Los Angeles Fire Department said in statement released Sunday.

Investigators also said they are aware of social media posts spreading unconfirmed information about possible suspects, one app even posted a picture and offered a $30,000 reward. Officials have asked that the fire investigation be left to the experts.

"We don't people on social media to speculate unnecessarily. Give us the time to do a thorough investigation and we'll provide you that information," LAFD Cpt. Erik Scott told CBSLA.

The fire erupted around 10 p.m. on Friday off Michael Lane, and quickly spread. No containment has been reported, as the fire prompted the mandatory evacuation of homes in two zones.

Evacuation orders remain in place for the following: Cheney Ranch Road, Rochemont Drive, Penny Road, Callon Drive, Sylvania Lane, Paradise Lane, and Cheney Drive, Busch Trl, Prier Road, Hillside Drive, Fontaine Road, Winfield Road, Bonilla Drive, Robinson Road, Entrada Road, Waveview Drive, Amy Way, Colina Drive, Greenbluff Drive, Encina Road. The evacuation orders affect 1,000 people.

An evacuation warning was issued as of 2:30 p.m. Sunday for the 1500 block of Chastain Parkway West, which encompasses all homes north of Chastain Parkway to Calle Del Cielo (eastern boundary). The warning area includes Calle De Sarah, Calle Bellevista and all homes West of Calle Del Cielo / Ave Ashley up to the hills. Residents were urged to prepare for a potential evacuation.

No structures have been damaged and no injuries reported.

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