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

Thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate the Los Angeles area as wildfires continue to tear through the region.

As crews continue to battle the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County, the scope of its destruction is coming into focus two days after the massive blaze first ignited.

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.

We need to make it incredibly expensive to build in these kinds of environments,’ one expert told The Independent. ‘If the insurance industry refuses to sell policies, maybe people won’t risk it’

By Andy Sullivan The Pacific Palisades area ravaged by wildfires in Los Angeles is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the U.S., home to Hollywood A-Listers and multimillion dollar mansions. And ahead of this week's disaster,