UPDATED: Wednesday, Jan. 9, 4:34 p.m. PT
Fire Status:
- Palisades Fire: 17,200 acres, 0% containment
- Eaton Fire: 13,600 acres, 4,000 structures destroyed, 0% containment
- Hurst Fire: 670 acres, 10% containment
- Sunset Fire: 43 acres, 100% containment
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.
Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could allow firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Here’s the latest:
Canada readies resources to help ‘American neighbors’ battle wildfires
Canada’s emergency preparedness minister says Canadian military personnel, their equipment and another 250 firefighters stand “ready to support our American neighbors” as wildfires devastate parts of Southern California.
Harjit Sajjan says Canada is ready to deploy 250 firefighters, aircraft equipment, and other resources as early as Thursday night.
Sajjan’s pledge comes as the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said Thursday that the U.S. National Interagency Fire Centre asked for two of its CL-415 Skimmer Airtankers to join the fight against the fires.
Alberta is preparing to send water bombers, night-vision helicopters and incident command team support. Premier Danielle Smith said on social media that the province was working with the agency and the federal government to assess California’s needs.
“Good neighbors are always there for each other in times of need, and we will assist our American friends in any way they need during this crisis,” Smith said.
Biden tells Los Angeles fire victims the federal government will be with them
Biden said his message to the people of Southern California is: “We are with you. We’re not going anywhere.”
But with less than two weeks left in his term, it’s a promise he might not hold.
Republican Donald Trump takes over on Jan. 20, and he was at odds with California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over wildfires the first time he was president.
Trump lately has been referring to Newsom by putting a derogatory spin on his last name. He also has blamed Newsom for the fire currently raging in Los Angeles.
New fire near West Hills neighborhood forces more evacuations
More evacuations are underway across Los Angeles because of another fire that ignited Thursday afternoon.
The Los Angeles Fire Department issued orders for what’s being called the Kenneth Fire near the West Hills neighborhood of LA in the San Fernando Valley. The fire quickly triggered mandatory evacuations in the area, which has many homes.
Several thousand structures destroyed in wildfires in the Los Angeles area
More than 4,000 structures have been destroyed in the Eaton Fire in the Los Angeles area, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a media briefing Thursday afternoon.
Los Angeles city officials say thousands more structures burned in the Palisades Pacific community.
Structures could include homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings or even vehicles, Marrone said.
Biden prompts energy secretary to explain why Los Angeles hydrants couldn’t pump water
President Joe Biden took some time during a White House briefing to debunk President-elect Donald Trump’s claims that the hydrants were running dry because of water conservation priorities, without naming Trump directly.
Biden asked his deputy energy secretary David Turk to help explain why power lines were shut down in the fire and how that impacts hydrants.
Turk said it was a power and pressure issue — hydrants need power in order to pump water up, but during such disasters, power lines are cut in order to curb the potential for power surges and line breakdowns.
Federal resources have been approved to help battle fires in California, Biden says
President Joe Biden said during a White House briefing with staff that that he was making federal resources available and has approved additional funding to help California battle the devastating fires, saying they were the “worst fires to ever hit Los Angeles. Ever.”
The new funding will cover 100% of the cost for 180 days for hazardous materials removal, temporary shelters, first responder salaries and measures to protect life, he said.
“We’re sticking with this,” Biden said. “We expect there may be a temporary break in the winds, but in some areas, the winds are likely to continue well into next week.”
As Biden turned the floor over to Vice President Kamala Harris, he noted she was “directly affected.” Harris is a former California senator, and her home there was in the evacuation zone, but it wasn’t clear if it was damaged. She described the scene as “apocalyptic.”
“This is something that is going to have an impact for months and years to come,” she said.
FEMA’s administrator is in Los Angeles
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is in Los Angeles on Thursday, at the direction of President Joe Biden, to hear from state and local officials and firefighting personnel to assess immediate and anticipated needs from the wildfires.
FEMA also has a team embedded at the California State Emergency Operations Center to help with the wildfire response, the White House said.
‘There are areas where everything is gone’
There’s no way to quantify the extent of the destruction yet other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, CEO of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.
“I don’t know what’s still standing and I’m not allowed in,” Bruderlin said. She’s sent an email asking everyone to check in but doesn’t know where people have gone.
Bruderlin recalls the damage and what it took to rebuild after the Woolsey Fire in 2019 that burned in a different part of Malibu. But this time is different.
“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left — it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said. “There’s nothing left in Pacific Palisades except for Caruso Village … and there’s no gas stations, there’s no grocery stores, there’s no banks.”
Santa Ana winds expected to strengthen
In its latest forecast discussion, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office said there’s a high likelihood of “damaging wind gusts across the mountains into the foothill areas again tonight and into Friday.”
Computer models are also beginning to show another “strong and damaging Santa Ana wind event” forming next Tuesday night into Wednesday.
“There is great concern that fire weather conditions could become exacerbated given the antecedent conditions, little rain across the area since the Spring of 2024, and another offshore wind event on top of all of what we have seen, so far,” the agency said.
Defense secretary says the department will be ready if more help is needed
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Thursday that California has made only a “few requests” so far for aid from the military to fight the fires, but he has taken steps to ensure troops are ready if needed.
“We stand ready to surge capability in as quickly as possible,” Austin said during a press conference in Germany. “I’ve done some things to cause our troops to get in a three-point stance to make sure that … if the whistle blows we are ready to move in and provide assistance.”
He said the department has “a lot more capability” that can be requested, and officials are working with FEMA and California’s leaders to determine any next steps.
He did not provide details on what troops may have been asked to prepare to deploy.
The death toll is expected to rise
Cadaver dogs and search crews are beginning to search the rubble, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. “Right now, frankly, we don’t know yet,” he said.
Crews are working around the clock to restore power, official says
There are currently 118 crews deployed, Quiñones said. Downed power lines remain a priority for the agency.
“If you see a wire down, please call 911 and we will send crews immediately to make the area safe,” said Janisse Quiñones, CEO and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
“Some customers may experience some longer outages because some power equipment has been damaged or “compromised” by the fires,” she added.
Sewer, water and power infrastructure ‘significantly damaged,’ official says
The “life safety” infrastructure in some of the Los Angeles-area communities ravaged by wildfires has been destroyed, Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said Thursday.
Crews are focusing on utility restoration, Pestrella said, but sewer, water and power infrastructure has all been “significantly damaged.”
Before repair work can begin, massive amounts of debris — including fallen tree limbs and hazardous materials from burned structures — must be removed, he said.
Ash and other materials have contaminated some water supplies, so boil orders have been issued in areas including Palisades, said Janisse Quiñones, the CEO of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Officials were working to deliver water to residents who have partial damage or have remained behind, Pestrella said.
Area water reservoirs are full and available for aerial water drops by firefighting aircraft, he said.
LA fire chief says thousands of homes, other structures burned in Palisades fire
“Damage assessments are ongoing at the Palisades fire. Preliminary reports estimate the damage or destroyed structures to be in the thousands,” Los Angeles city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said during a news conference Thursday morning.
“It is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.”
At least 180,000 residents are under evacuation orders for all blazes in the county, officials said.
First responders are still focused on rescuing people, officials say
More than 400 sheriff’s office personnel have been deployed to the fire response in addition to the deputies handling normal patrols, said L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna.
“The people that are working under very difficult conditions are doing their best to do what they do,” Luna said. Some of the areas impacted by wildfires “look like a bomb was dropped in them.”
It’s too soon to conduct major searches of burned areas, and it’s not clear what authorities will find when they do search, Luna said. Special K-9 search teams and other tools will be brought in when possible.
The best way to help emergency responders is to stay informed, be prepared to evacuate and follow all evacuation orders, said Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.
Others should stay off the road when possible, officials said, to reduce the risk of car accidents and other issues during the wildfire response.
Evacuation order lifted in Hollywood Hills West near the Sunset Fire
The Los Angeles Fire Department made the announcement on Thursday morning. Fire crews are still working in the area, and the department asked that people be careful as they return to their homes.
The Sunset Fire is a brush fire that broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday morning that it had burned 43 acres (17 hectares), well under a square mile.
Hundreds of thousands without power across California
More than 425,000 customers statewide are without power as wildfires continue to rage in southern California, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.
Southern California Edison wrote on its website that several community resource centers have been set up around the region and work crews have been deployed within impacted communities. The resource centers allow customers to charge mobile devices and medical equipment and get information.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Wednesday night that it had restored power to more than 150,000 customers since the start of the windstorm. Roughly 94,000 of the utility’s customers remained without power Thursday morning, as wind and fire conditions continued to present hazards for work crews.
‘This is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 25 years on the fire department’
Firefighters in Southern California are accustomed to dealing with the strong Santa Ana winds that blow in the fall and winter, but the hurricane-force gusts earlier in the week took them by surprise.
“This is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 25 years on the fire department,” Los Angeles Fire Capt. Adam VanGerpen told CBS This Morning.
VanGerpen called the fire historic. Erratic winds gusted up to 99 mph the first night, spitting embers that rapidly spread the fire.
While gusts are dying down, VanGerpen said winds forecast through Friday were still cause for concern.
Fire in the Hollywood Hills held to under 1 square mile
The latest flames broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, striking closer to the heart of the city and the roots of its entertainment industry and putting densely populated neighborhoods on edge during exceptionally windy and dry conditions.
Within a few hours, firefighters had made major progress on the Sunset Fire in the hills. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire in check because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”
PREVIOUS REPORTING: Jan. 8, 9:00 p.m. PT
Evacuations ordered due to new fire in the Hollywood Hills
Tens of thousands of people have been notified by authorities to evacuate their homes because of the multiple fires burning in the Los Angeles region.
The most recent mandatory evacuations orders came Wednesday evening related to the Sunset fire, a new fire in the Hollywood Hills. That order was in place for Laurel Canyon Boulevard on the west to Mulholland Drive, with others in nearby areas warned to be ready to leave.
Mandatory evacuation orders also remained in place near the Palisades fire west of Los Angeles. People have also been told to leave their homes in the San Fernando Valley near the Hurst fire. Others were told to leave their residences in parts of Santa Monica and Altadena because of the Eaton fire.
Biden has formally signed off on a federal disaster declaration
The White House says the declaration allows for federal funding to be made available to impacted individuals in Los Angeles County for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs aimed at helping individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App.
Multiple states sending firefighters
Firefighters from multiple states have arrived or are on the way to help with the fires, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a media briefing Wednesday afternoon.
He said 60 teams were coming from Oregon, 45 from Washington state, 15 from Utah, 10 from New Mexico and “numerous” teams were coming from Arizona.
Another fire has broken out in the Hollywood Hills, officials say
As officials were providing a media update about the fires around 5:50 p.m., Los Angeles city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley announced that a new blaze had broken out in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon.
She said all available resources were responding and excused herself to attend to that blaze.
Los Angeles County has lost several facilities to fire, officials say
Los Angeles County has lost several facilities to fire, including the Eaton Canyon nature center and a senior center, LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a media briefing Wednesday afternoon.
She also said a sheriff’s station had been evacuated because of fire. It wasn’t clear if it had been damaged.
100,000 people have received notices to evacuate due to Eaton fire, officials say
Authorities gave an update Wednesday afternoon on the Eaton fire near Pasadena that exploded in high winds Tuesday, causing at least five deaths.
Here’s a few facts and figures they shared:
- The Eaton fire has consumed over 16.5 square miles (42.7 square kilometers) and is so far uncontained.
- Between 200 and 500 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
- About 100,000 people have received notices to evacuate.
- At least five school campuses in Altadena have suffered substantial fire damage.
- Embers carried by winds in the 70-mph range started dozens of fires Tuesday night, igniting block after block as they flew through the air.
- 750 firefighters are working to halt the blaze, with more on the way.
- More than 250 pets have been taken in by the Pasadena Humane Society in the past 24 hours.
Weather conditions conducive to fires to continue through Friday, forecasters say
The National Weather Service says gusty winds and very dry conditions would continue to fuel fires in the Los Angeles area.
Forecasters predicted wind gusts of 35-55 mph (56-88 kph), which could rise higher in the mountains and foothills. Meteorologists said Los Angeles and Ventura counties would have weather conducive to fire through Friday, meaning low relative humidity, strong winds, unstable air and drought.
But winds have dissipated enough for aircraft to assist in fighting the fires, Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustine said.
“Tonight we have very mild wind conditions where we can get aircraft and a ton of additional resources getting their hands around this fire,” Augustin said. “That’s what gives me confidence that we’re going to get a handle on this fire.”
The fire chief warned that it was still an active fire with risk of spread over the next day.
Eaton fire has damaged between 200 and 500 structures, officials say
The Eaton fire burning north of Pasadena, California, has damaged or destroyed between 200 and 500 structures, Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
The fire has burned over 16.5 square miles (42.7 square kilometers) and is so far uncontained, Augustin said. He said wind gusts reached over 70 mph (113 kph) Tuesday night.
Augustin said the water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages.
“But I’ll be clear,” he added, no matter how much water was available, “we were not stopping that fire last night. Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire.”
Nic Coury/AP
Evacuation orders issued for some densely populated areas of Santa Monica
Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for some densely populated Santa Monica neighborhoods just north of the city’s famous pier.
City officials say people in the affected zones should leave now, including those in evacuation warning areas who may need additional time to get out. Police were being deployed to help with evacuations, the city wrote on its website.
The city says its Big Blue Bus is offering free transport every hour to evacuation centers.
5 people have died in wildfires in the Los Angeles area, officials say
The death toll from the wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area has risen to five, according to Nicole Nishida, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials had reported earlier that two people had died. Officials say they have no other details on the deaths.
Pentagon to send helicopters to help California fight fires
The Pentagon will send 10 Navy helicopters to help fight fires burning in California, said Sabrina Singh, spokesperson for the department.
The order has yet to be finalized, but officials expect it will be an active duty unit with Navy Sea Hawks based in Southern California that can be equipped to carry water.
Singh also said Wednesday that the military is prepared to make four additional modular air firefighting systems available to the California National Guard. Those would likely come from other National Guard units in the country.
Over 1.5 million people in Southern California are without power
More than 1.5 million customers were without power in Southern California on Wednesday afternoon as wildfires tore through several Los Angeles county neighborhoods, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us.
Well over half of the roughly 334,000 customers in Ventura County were without power, along with more than 957,000 customers in Los Angeles County.
Power companies often shut off power as a public safety measure when extreme winds, like the ones pummeling Southern California, are forecasted.
Already crowded hospitals now contend with medical emergencies from smoke inhalation
Wildfire smoke is known to cause heart attacks and worsening asthma. Now, patients suffering from those conditions are showing up in emergency rooms at a time when hospitals are already full because of flu season, said Dr. Puneet Gupta, the assistant medical director for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
“We have a number of hospitals threatened, and if they have to be evacuated, it could become a crisis,” said Gupta, also a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Many at Pasadena evacuation center were evacuated from assisted living facilities
Several hundred evacuees were at the Pasadena evacuation center by Wednesday afternoon. Many were elderly, sitting wheelchair to wheelchair, and from assisted living facilities.
Donald Fisher, 78, said he was first to be wheeled onto the bus at the Camellia Gardens Care Center to be taken to the shelter around 8 a.m.
“I can stand up but I can’t walk,” Fisher said. “I think that the city of Pasadena did a marvelous job.”
The earlier arrivals were able to snag green cots to sleep on, while others wondered where they would sleep at night when the cots ran out.
The shelter was providing hot meals, as well as food for dogs and cats brought there.
Ethan Swope/AP
Biden and Mayor Bass discuss the wildfires
The White House says the president and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass discussed the latest updates by phone as Biden flew back to Washington, D.C., aboard Air Force One.
Preliminary damage and losses are in the billions, AccuWeather says
AccuWeather estimates $52 billion to $57 billion in preliminary damage and economic loss has occurred from the raging Los Angeles area wildfires.
The company said the estimate comes from an advisory that will soon be released.
Oregon is sending strike teams to help battle the fires in California
“We both understand that fire does not recognize map lines, and we are ready to help each other whenever there is a need,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a statement.
“During our historic 2024 wildfire season, California sent us help and in their time of need, we are working as fast as possible to lend them support during this emergency,” she added.
The 12 teams include 240 firefighters and 60 engines.
Their Wednesday mobilization comes after the Oregon agency received a request for assistance late Tuesday evening.
Los Angeles firefighting aircraft resume flights
Aircraft had been grounded due to extreme winds, dramatically hampering the firefight.
Los Angeles City Fire Capt. Jacob Raabe said aircraft resumed dropping fire retardant and water on the Palisades Fire at around 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Biden attends briefing on California wildfires
“It’s going to take time,” President Joe Biden warned when talking about the recovery from the wildfires during a briefing at a Santa Monica fire station on Wednesday.
Newsom, who stood next to Biden, thanked him for his support.
“It’s impossible for me to express the level of appreciation,” he said.
Kristin Crowley, the Los Angeles fire chief, said her team knew there was a “significant threat” from the Pacific Palisades fire as soon as it started because of the “high, high, high winds.”
Crowley said she’d never seen anything like the wind conditions in her 25 years of experience.
The Eaton Fire could become historic
The Eaton Fire stands to become the largest wildfire to burn in California during the month of January in the past 41 years.
The fire, which ignited on Tuesday north of Pasadena, has now burned more than 16.5 square miles (42.9 square kilometers), according to state fire personnel.
Federal data shows just six wildfires have burned more than 2 square miles (5.18 square kilometers) in the month of January in California since 1984.
The largest was the Viejas Fire, which burned 17.1 square miles (44.3 square kilometers) in 2001 in the mountains east of San Diego.
More recently, the Colby Fire burned just over 3 square miles (8.2 square kilometers) near Glendora, California, in 2014.
Since 2014, wildfires of any size in January have been uncommon, with the exception of 2021 and this year, according to Cal Fire data.
Excess water demand caused fire hydrants to run dry
For roughly 15 hours, water systems faced four times more than normal demand, lowering water pressure and causing some fire hydrants to run dry, according to officials from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Demand was so high that it wasn’t enough to fill the three, one-million-gallon (3,785,411-liter) tanks that help maintain pressure for the hydrants in the hills of Palisades.
One tank ran out late Tuesday afternoon, another in the evening, and the third early Wednesday morning.
LADWP is sending in about 20 mobile water tankers to the area to help with suppression, in addition to refilling water trucks at some pressurized hydrants in the area, according to chief engineer Janisse Quiñones.
It takes about 30 minutes to refill about 4,000 gallons (15,142 liters) of water.
County officials urge residents to conserve water for firefighters
Municipal water systems are not designed to fight wildfires, said Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
“That’s why air support is so critical to the firefight. And unfortunately, wind and air visibility have prevented that support,” Pestrella said. County and city reservoirs are ready to be used to fight fires from the air once it becomes safe to fly, he said.
Officials are urging residents across the region to conserve water so there’s enough for firefighters to use.
“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” chief engineer Janisse Quiñones said.
Air quality in the Los Angeles area is at a hazardous level
The air quality index for most of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Wednesday morning was well over 300, which is considered hazardous to the general public, according to AirNow.gov.
At that level, people are advised to stay indoors and reduce activity levels.
Richard Vogel/AP
ORIGINAL REPORT – Jan. 8, 1 p.m. PT
Fire hydrants in Palisades turn to a trickle
“We pushed the system to the extreme,” said Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure.”
The utility was pushing water from its source into the system, but demand was so high that it wasn’t enough to fill three, one-million-gallon tanks that help maintain pressure for the hydrants in the hills of Palisades.
One tank ran out at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, one at 8:30 pm and the third at 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
Officials are urging residents across the region to conserve water so there’s enough for firefighters to use.
“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” Quiñones said.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is closed
Only essential workers will be allowed in, according to an emergency notice from NASA.
The fire is “very close to the lab,” but there’s been no fire damage yet, the center’s director, Laurie Leshin, wrote in a post on the social platform X.
However, there has been some wind damage, wrote Leshin.
She added that hundreds of NASA employees at the lab have had to evacuate from their homes.
The research lab near Pasadena, California, is known for building and sending robotic spacecraft to Mars and the outer solar system.
Biden to be briefed by fire crews in Santa Monica
The president had planned to travel from Los Angeles to Riverside County by plane on Tuesday to announce the creation of two new national monuments.
His trip was announced on Jan. 3 and he was already in the state when the fires broke out.
White House officials canceled the air traffic restrictions necessary for his travel and noted that he stayed put in his hotel Tuesday in order to minimize his impact on first responders and law enforcement.
He will head to Washington, D.C., later in the day.
GoFundMe has centralized all fundraisers related to the wildfires
The crowdfunding site also has a California Wildfire Relief Fund that will be distributed to people seeking help through GoFundMe fundraisers and nonprofits providing relief, the company said.
Pasadena synagogue caught fire, executive director says
Melissa Levy, the executive director of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, said staff evacuated on Tuesday night and the synagogue’s Torah scrolls were taken to the home of a community member.
Levy said it appears the synagogue caught fire and buildings have burned.
“We are still assessing the situation and right now our primary focus is on our community members and their safety as many of them have also lost their homes,” Levy said in an email.
Caltech closes its Pasadena campus
Classes were canceled on Wednesday due to the fires and strong winds, the university said on its website.
Thousands are told to leave
Officials have said about 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders. And more than 13,000 structures are under threat.
The evacuation orders affect areas including the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near the sea, areas north of Pasadena and part of the San Fernando Valley.
Other areas are under evacuation warnings that say people who need additional time to evacuate should get moving.
Over 1,000 structures destroyed by wildfires, 2 dead
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said two people were killed and many others hurt in the fires, which have destroyed more than 1,000 structures.
Vice President Harris’ home in Los Angeles is affected
A spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris says her neighborhood in Los Angeles was put under an evacuation order Tuesday night.
Ernesto Apreza said in a Wednesday post on the social platform X that no one was in the house at the time.
The sounds and scene on the ground
The smoke is thick and gray, and the headlights of vehicles in badly hit areas are glowing well after sunrise. There is the crackling of the flames and the rustling of palm trees in the strong wind, and the exclamations of emergency responders.
One firefighter stands on top of a truck and watches a home burn. There is a bin for recycling sitting outside the blazing home, abandoned.
Litter blows by. Every stray piece could become another flame.
Thousands of Southern California Edison customers face power shut-offs
Southern California Edison shut off power to nearly 120,000 customers in six Southern California counties over safety concerns due to high winds and the risk of wildfires.
Another 440,000 customers could face similar shutoffs depending on weather conditions, the utility said Wednesday on its website.
Much of Pasadena is under evacuation orders, fire chief says
Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said much of the city of Pasadena is under evacuation orders as his department waits for winds to die down so he can get aircraft up to start dousing the flames from overhead.
Until that happens, it’s going to be difficult to get the blaze there under control, Augustin told KABC-TV, the ABC affiliate.
Fire departments from across California were sending in firefighters as crews in the Los Angeles area were stretched to their limit, he said.
He said there had been no loss of life and thanked public safety officers for “pulling people out from burning buildings” overnight.
Wildfires lead to several school closures in the Los Angeles area
Pasadena, where the Eaton fire is burning, and neighboring Glendale canceled classes Wednesday.
Los Angeles Unified School District also closed several elementary schools in the evacuation area of the fire burning in Pacific Palisades.
Palisades Charter High School, which burned in the fire, was not back in session yet.
Eaton fire grows to over 3 square miles
Fire crews assigned to the Eaton fire burning in Pasadena are working to keep the blaze north of the 210 Freeway, east of Angeles Crest Highway, west of Santa Anita Avenue and south of Mount Wilson, according to an incident action plan developed for Wednesday operations.
The fire rapidly grew to more than 3.13 square miles (8.11 square kilometers) overnight amid dangerous fire weather conditions caused by strong winds and low levels of relative humidity.
Power outages affecting thousands in Los Angeles County
More than 180,000 customers were without power in southern California, with the vast majority of them in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.
Statewide, over 320,000 customers were without power on Wednesday morning.
A full incident management team has been activated to combat the wildfires
It’s only the third time in 30 years that has happened in January, said David Acuña, a battalion chief for Cal Fire. Such a team, of officials from various agencies, is only assembled during major, complex events.
“This is a rare event” to have incidents like this in January, Acuña said, adding that wildfires are so common during other months that fire officials no longer talk about “fire seasons.”
“We now talk about ‘fire years,’” said Acuña. “We had wildfires pop up in December and now we have these in early January.”
Where are the fires currently burning?
- Palisades fire: West of Los Angeles, by the sea. It has burned about 4.5 square miles (11.6 square kilometers).
- Eaton fire: Altadena area, north of Pasadena. It has burned about 1.6 square miles (4 square kilometers).
- Hurst fire: In the San Fernando Valley. It has burned about 500 acres (202 hectares).
- Woodley fire: In the San Fernando Valley. It has burned about 75 acres (30 hectares).
All four fires are currently at 0% containment.
Voices from the flames
The sun is rising behind a wall of smoke in the Pacific Palisades that looks as black as night. Here’s what witnesses have been saying.
“We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” Kelsey Trainor said. “People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming.”
“As soon as I opened my door, it was like right there,” Sheriece Wallace said. “The first thing I did was look at the trees to see where the wind was blowing. Because it hit me. It blew me back.”
“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” Will Adams said.
Strong Santa Ana winds are driving the fires
The National Weather Service is receiving reports of winds up to 80 mph (129 kph) this morning. They could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills and include areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.
Red flag warnings are highlighting extremely critical fire weather conditions. Those include exceptionally dry relative humidity levels, according to Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the weather service.
He says the winds are expected to continue into Thursday, too, “providing very little in terms of any relief.”
Ethan Swope/AP
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