My mom just heard from my grandfather. He wasn’t evacuated after all. He has some kind of big statues in the back yard (we are so Greek) and the winds are so high that they were being blown around. He was just trying to secure them somehow they don’t damage anything. He also said that the fires were as close as 5 blocks away and several homes were completely lost.
The good news (at least for him) is that the winds seem to have at least temporarily shifted and are now blowing west and blowing the fires away from his area. He said the skies over his house are blue, but the air is still thick. People going outdoors have to cover their mouths and protect their eyes.
LOL, Greeks and their statues... before I moved last year we had a nice elderly Greek couple around the corner from us, with some absolutely stunning Greek Vineyard-style statuary in their front yard.
With luck those big statues will act as wind/firebreaks...