Blazing brush fire threatens homes in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

Heavy smoke was seen throughout Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon as a brush fire threatens homes in the Beverly Crest area of Beverly Hills.

The brush fire is located near Portola Drive off Benedict Canyon in the Beverly Glen area.

The fire is estimated to be between 35-40 acres and was at 40 percent containment as of late Tuesday evening. A number of homes are under immediate threat on both flanks of the fire. The fire is moving to Benedict Canyon Drive, according to the the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) alert.

Over 150 LAFD firefighters are assigned to the fire with more being added.

Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) also has air and ground resources on scene. No injuries have been reported.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in surrounding areas, including along San Ysidro Drive, between Milboro Place and Beeson Drive.

A local ABC-7 reporter, Veronica Miracle, tweeted that smoke from the fire is reducing visibility slightly on US-101.

Temperatures are in the mid-80s with relative humidity levels between 30 to 40 percent. There is a south-southwest wind at 8 to 15 mph, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Ken Clark.

The winds may pick up a little. However, winds vary quite a bit in the vicinity of a fire.

"It is not exceedingly hot for this time of year, and the winds are not strong either, so the fire will mainly be driven by going more quickly uphill than downhill as they usually do," Clark said.

A brush fire also caught ablaze on Tuesday in Corona, California. There is no current threat to structures or to the City of Corona, the Corona Fire Department tweeted.

Several brush fires have started in the area in the recent weeks. Over the weekend, a fire burned along the 5 Freeway in the Santa Clarita Valley.