People are sharing terrifying footage of their commutes in the fiery hellscape around Los Angeles

It was not a normal commute for drivers on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning.

In the hours before sunrise, wildfire embers fueled by strong Santa Ana winds shot up into the air above traffic, creating a fiery hellscape that heated drivers' windows and temporarily shut down the interstate. Early Wednesday morning, both sides of the freeway had to be shut down, but the southbound 405 was later re-opened.

Strong Santa Ana winds and unusually dry, hot weather are fueling the fires, which started Monday in Ventura County.

The National Weather Service and local firefighters say conditions could worsen before things get better, since the windy days are expected to last until at least Saturday. A roughly 300-mile stretch of California, from the Mexican border up to Santa Maria, is on alert.

The southern California fires come just two months after northern California was hit with its deadliest spate of wildfires on record. The governor has yet again declared a state of emergency as nearly 200,000 people have been forced to evacuate. 

Here's what people were sharing.

SEE ALSO: Schools and freeways closed, thousands of people forced to flee as multiple wildfires tear through Southern California

After flames shot over cars, northbound lanes of the 405 freeway were shut down between the 101 and the 10 "for an unknown duration due to a brush fire," the California Highway Patrol tweeted.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/938437887535628288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
BOTH SIDES of the #405Freeway between the #101Freeway and the #10freeways in Los Angeles are CLOSED due to active, fast moving fire. #WildFire#SKIRBALLFIRE🔥 pic.twitter.com/Co7DQ2eD5R

Freeway slopes near Beverly Hills were lighting up the sky in bright orange just before dawn. The Getty Museum in the nearby hilltops was shuttered, tweeting "air filtration systems are protecting the galleries from smoke."

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/938410022538682368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Not the typical morning commute... pic.twitter.com/kJIOQeqsIK

Twitter user Bethany Ellis posted a video, shouting "something is wrong!" and "I can feel the heat!"

Source: @bethanyel