A brush fire erupted Tuesday evening in the Eaton Canyon area, with flames fanned by gusting Santa Ana winds.
The fire was reported at about 6:20 p.m. in the area of Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the hills above Altadena, according to Cal Fire.
Initially dubbed the Close Fire but later changed to the Eaton Fire, the blaze was initially estimated at about 10 acres, but it quickly exploded across 200 acres thanks to Santa Ana winds that prompted critical fire danger warnings throughout the region.
Angeles National Forest officials said evacuations were under way, but it was unclear how many people were impacted.
The fire broke out as emergency crews were already stretched thin due to a massive blaze burning in the Pacific Palisades area.