Riviera CC involved in a mandatory evacuation from the fast-moving Los Angeles wildfire

Firefighters are racing to contain a fast-moving fire fueled by strong Santa Anna winds in northwest Los Angeles – and a historic PGA Tour golf course is now in a mandatory evacuation zone.

The Pacific Palisades fire was first reported shortly before 10:30 a.m. PT near the Pacific Palisades Highlands community, east of Palisades Drive and about 5 miles as the crow flies from the Riviera Country Club, which is scheduled to host next month’s Genesis Invitational, a signature event that run by the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Originally, Riviera was outside the evacuation zone, but with the fire spreading rapidly in strong winds (up to 100 mph, according to NBC News) and exceeding over 1,200 hectares in just a few hours, the mandatory zone was expanded. Riviera, southeast of the fire, is now inside the red zone, which also extends west past Big Rock Beach and north into Topanga State Park.

Over 30,000 people have been evacuated, according to NBC News.

It’s been more than seven years since a fire struck the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California, just hours after the conclusion of the 2017 Safeway Open. Although the courses were relatively unchanged, the tournament grandstands were engulfed in flames from the Atlas Fire, which, along the nearby Tubbs and Nuns fires, caused more than a billion dollars and killed over 30 people.