Tens of thousands have fled their homes as a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades has burned nearly 20,000 acres as of Thursday. Fire crews are actively working stop forward progress of the flames, which is currently 6% contained.

The blaze began shortly after the start of a Santa Ana windstorm that the National Weather service warned could be the strongest to hit Southern California in more than a decade.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency, urged residents to evacuate after he witnessed buildings destroyed by the blaze.