Officials in Los Angeles have issued a dire warning as a massive inferno makes its way across the city – with hundreds of residents fleeing the Pacific Palisades.

The California Department of Forest and Fire Protection warned residents Tuesday night there is an ‘immediate threat’ to their lives.

‘This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW,’ the department said. ‘The area is lawfully closed to public access.’ 

The evacuation notice has caused a gridlock on Sunset Boulevard as LA residents flee, leaving behind their mansions while the fire spread to 1,260 acres.

But parts of the Pacific Coast Highway have been shut down due to the fire, forcing some residents to abandon their vehicles, the New York Times reports.

Meanwhile, more than 100 firefighters and strike teams are now working to battle the fire, which only ignited at around 10.30am Tuesday, Los Angeles Firefighter David Ortiz said.

It was fueled by what California authorities called ‘life-threatening, destructive’ winds, which helped it spread quickly across the area.

As the fire spread, Police Academy star Steve Guttenberg described how people were abandoning their cars, making it difficult for firetrucks to make it up the road. 

He urged  fellow neighbors to leave their keys in their car if they’re leaving their vehicle behind ‘so guys like me can move your car.’ 

‘We really need people to move their cars,’ he told KTLA. ‘So if you leave your car on Palisades Drive, leave the key in there.’ 

The actor said he had friends who can’t get out of their homes due to vehicles left behind. 

X user Jonathan Vigliotti also posted a video of a car burning uncontrollably in a driveway. 

‘Come on, guys!’ he called, his voice filled with fear. ‘We got to go!’ 

‘We were in a neighborhood as it went up in flames. Mass panic in the streets, and the worst of the wind will hit the Palisades Fire tonight,’ he wrote on X.  

Other residents shared the horrors they faced, with Mina telling DailyMail.com she and her daughter were lucky to drive out of the city with their clothes on their backs and their two small dogs.

She described the scene as ‘chaotic’ and ‘frightening’ with people running, sirens blasting and planes full of ocean water buzzing overhead.  

‘People are parking their cars on the side of the road, getting out and running for their lives!’ Mina told DailyMail.com. ‘People are literally running down the sidewalks pulling kids by their hands and carrying Louis Vuitton luggage.

‘One guy was running with two Gucci suitcases and a house plant. It is like something out of a disaster movie.’ 

In an effort to help contain the fire, Southern California Edison (SCE) shut off power to Cuthbert, Galahad, and parts of Malibu.

The company expected the power to be out for at least eight hours, but noted it could be longer if crews need daylight to visibly inspect power lines and equipment. The inspection is required before SCE will restore power. 

More than 42,800 residents across California were without power Tuesday evening, nearly 29,000 of whom have their power provided by SCE, according to poweroutage.us. 

Still, the inferno forced President Joe Biden to cancel an event where he planned to announce the protection of hundreds of thousands of acres of California lands from oil and gas drilling.

The sudden change came after Biden flew to the West Coast after visiting New Orleans to honor victims of the terror attack there, as he tries to pick up the pace as the door closes on his time in office.

Biden got into ‘the Beast,’ the presidential limo, late Tuesday morning, only to exit ten minutes later and enter his hotel amid the weather concerns.