Tens of thousands fled their homes as a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades quickly spread to nearly 3,000 acres Tuesday, a blaze that authorities said could grow further as even stronger winds are expected through the night.

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.

Residents are being told to “evacuate now” due to a rapidly spreading wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.