As the more than 2,900-acre Palisades Fire rages, a Southern California cultural touchstone – the Getty Villa along Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades – is threatened. 

In a statement, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust Katherine E. Fleming said the villa was swiftly closed Tuesday morning to non-emergency staff and irrigation was deployed throughout the grounds. 

Fleming added that extensive measures to clear brush from the surrounding areas had taken place earlier in the year as part of the villa’s fire mitigation efforts, though some trees and vegetation on the grounds have burned. 

“Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from smoke by state-of-the-art air handling systems,” the statement noted and added that the double-walled construction of the galleries provides significant protection to the priceless collections housed in the museum.  

Villa officials extended their gratitude for the tireless efforts of first responders. 

“We, of course, are very concerned for our neighbors in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and the surrounding areas,” the statement adds.

Wild weather – including rain, snow, high winds and dangerous fire conditions – is how Southern California is starting 2025, and officials in the L.A. are taking no chances ahead of the adverse conditions. 

The National Weather Service has described the windstorm hitting SoCal as “life-threatening,” “extreme” and “destructive,” and snow flurries were seen Tuesday morning in mountain communities; further inland, rain showers caused slick roadways. 

In L.A., Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday morning that the city has activated its Emergency Operations Center to a Level 2 to ensure the safety of all Angelenos.  

“Parts of the Los Angeles region will potentially face one of the most significant windstorms in more than a decade, and I urge Angelenos to continue monitoring the storm and stay vigilant and safe,” Mayor Bass said in a statement. “Power outages as a result of downed power lines, increased fire risk and falling trees and debris should be expected during this time and the impacts and dangers of a windstorm should be taken seriously.” 

The mayor’s office released a list of resources and helpful information for residents to use during the windstorm: 

• Reporting and tracking power outages: Visit www.ladwp.com/outages or call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397)
• Reporting blocked roadways: Service can be requested through www.lacity.gov/myla311 or by calling 311; Angelenos are also encouraged to download the MyLA311 mobile app
• Red Flag Warning updates: Check www.lafd.org/redflag for the latest updates; Red Flag parking restrictions have been in place since 8 a.m. Tuesday and are set to last until further notice
• Outage updates: LADWP will regularly update their X page to inform residents of power outages
• Weather updates: Click here for the hyperlocal forecast for your community, or visit the National Weather Service for the regional forecast
• In case of emergency: Dial 911

In addition to downing trees and causing power outages throughout the region early Tuesday morning, the dangerously high winds are already fueling brush fires in the area, including one that erupted and was later contained in the Santa Ana Riverbed in Colton around 5 a.m. 

A much larger and more rapidly spreading vegetation fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in L.A.’s upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood. By noon, area residents were being told to prepare to evacuate as it spread to over 200 acres in about an hour. 

Some mallgoers in a Santa Clarita Valley neighborhood were surprised by a trio of motorcyclists riding through the food court Saturday night.  

The chaotic scene unfolded at the Town Center Mall in Valencia where three suspects on two dirt bikes, likely juveniles, were captured on cellphone video obtained by KTLA cruising through the food court area at a relatively high speed.  

A restaurant manager at the mall, Chris Hernandez, said the fast-driving suspects evaded mall security, which was slow to respond.  

“It was loud. I saw the motorcycles come up through the mall,” the restaurant manager told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “To me, it’s a big no, no because there’s little kids all over the place and somebody’s going to end up getting hurt.”  

Other mall employees who spoke to KTLA say this is not even the first time that dirt bikes riders have made their way inside the mall.  

“They’re very bold,” Matthew Montano, who works at a restaurant in the mall, said. “It’s usually happened in the last year, though, a little frequently.”  

So far, authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have not made any arrests, though Sgt. Guillermo Martinez said the three suspects could face felony charges if caught.  

“People are there for the shopping experience. They’re not going to expect having a motorcycle ride right past them,” he told KTLA. “That could be threat of serious danger, injury to them as well as to the riders of the motorcycles.”  

Just an hour after the mall incident, a teenager on a motorcycle who was reportedly driving in the wrong way in traffic at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Oak Ridge Drive was killed.  

Several posts on social media report that it was one of the drivers in the mall motorcycle incident, though law enforcement officials have yet to confirm that.  

What officials with the sheriff’s department did say, however, is that they will be increasing patrols in the area.  

“We will be out there, and we will take a zero-tolerance approach,” Sgt. Martinez told KTLA. “If we see it, we will either cite, confiscate, arrest or impound depending on what the circumstances are, but we are ramping up enforcement.”  

Authorities added that they are seeing more of this type of dangerous activity, especially since e-bikes, many of which resemble dirt bikes, have become more common and that deputies on motorcycles and ATV’s will be enlisted to chase the suspects down.