A CNN reporter was nearly hit by a piece of burning debris during his live coverage of the California wildfires.
Nick Watt was on the ground in Palisades Village on Tuesday when he suffered the near miss.
Residents in the area are among tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles who have been ordered to evacuate amid wildfires that have already leveled homes and left several firefighters injured.
Watt, originally from Paisley in Scotland, was on air with studio host Polo Sandoval showing viewers a burning apartment building when the tragedy almost happened.
‘You know, we’ve spent most of the day in the (Hollywood) hills, on the beautiful little windy streets, in the beautiful multimillion-dollar houses, some of which no longer exist. Now we have arrived at the town of Palisades, the center of this community,’ he explained.
‘That was an apartment building we looked at…Jesus, wow! Sorry, I almost got hit by something there. Mmm, yes. Oh. Uh, we’re going to have to go back.’
The camera then zooms out further to show the ruined building engulfed in flames.
“And we just saw this building disintegrate, and a little piece of that building almost hit me there.”
CNN reporter Nick Watt was nearly hit by a piece of burning debris during his live coverage of the California wildfires.
Tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles ordered to evacuate amid wildfires.
The fires started on Tuesday and were quickly fanned by strong winds that are expected to continue today.
Million-dollar mansions in the celebrity enclave of Pacific Palisades were razed last night, and iconic institutions and beloved restaurants were leveled as three out-of-control fires and winds near 100 mph spread at a rapid pace through Los Angeles.
In the frantic rush to reach safety, roads became congested and dozens of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some with suitcases.
Firefighters battling the Palisades fire, which is burning about five football fields a minute, warned they were running out of water and supplies, as evacuation warnings extended to Malibu and Calabasas.
Tankers full of water had been putting out the inferno from the sky all afternoon, but all planes were later grounded amid deteriorating wind and visibility conditions.
Residents have been warned that the worst is yet to come as the raging wildfire burns some 3,000 acres of Los Angeles land at an extraordinary rate. Firefighters have warned that “tornado-like” winds are making their jobs difficult.
At least 30,000 residents are now under mandatory evacuation orders and even more are being warned to be prepared to leave after a fire that broke out in the foothills near Eaton Canyon grew to 1,000 acres in just six hours after it started.
A traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through, and an excavator was brought in to push the abandoned cars aside and create a path.
Watt was on the ground in Palisades Village on Tuesday when he suffered the near miss.
The fire started on Tuesday and has been fanned by strong winds that have proven difficult to combat.
More forest fires have occurred since then. Pictured: Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton fire approaches.
Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famous highway.
Fires at higher elevations were preventing utility crews from getting water to refill tanks, the Los Angeles Department of Wind and Power said in a statement Tuesday night.
A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood of Los Angeles. The causes of the three fires are being investigated.