Resident Nicolas Libonati said he saw a lot of abandoned cars on the road, and people running toward the coast. "It was kind of a surreal scene," he said.

Southern California faces "extremely critical fire weather" with powerful winds that will result in "widespread" downed trees, power lines and electricity outages Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service warns.

Well known parts of Los Angeles county have been set ablaze through the night as over 1,400 firefighters battle wildfire this morning.