More than 30,000 people evacuated their homes as a wildfire ripped through an upscale coastal area of Los Angeles overnight, with Hollywood celebrities among those fleeing by car and on foot as flames engulfed homes and set hillsides ablaze.

Wildfires that ripped through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles forced many Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, to evacuate their homes. California firefighters are battling wind-whipped fires tearing across the area,

Hollywood celebrities were among 30,000 residents told to flee their homes as wildfires driven by powerful winds and dry winter conditions threatened upscale Los Angeles neighbourhoods on Tuesday.