Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades grew to nearly 20,000 acres by Friday.

The powerful Santa Ana windstorm may cause power outages, severe damage and wildfires as the gusts hit Southern California.

Driven by punishing and unrelenting Santa Ana winds, a massive brush fire ripped through the Pacific Palisades area Tuesday, destroying or damaging an unknown number of structures and forcing thousands of people from their homes as it moved toward Malibu on the west and Santa Monica on the southeast.