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(AP) — Fierce wildfires are raging in the Los Angeles area, with fast-moving flames burning through homes and businesses as residents flee smoke-filled canyons and picturesque neighborhoods that are home to many celebrities.
Two men and their dog were seen trapped as Palisades fire surrounded their home in Los Angeles.
They safely evacuated with the dog.pic.twitter.com/cfF2jpkKDN
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) January 8, 2025
Many of the towering fires began Tuesday and were fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, which gusted more than 70 mph (112 kph) in some spots. The winds persisted Wednesday and made it too dangerous for aircraft to attack the fires from the sky, furthering hampering their efforts.
This is what’s left of the Pacific Palisades. The mall survived. Most everything else is gone. Homes, apartment complexes… businesses. pic.twitter.com/Vfz721V48J
— Jonathan Vigliotti 🐋 (@JonVigliotti) January 8, 2025
When I lived in California, I never understood how a state surrounded by ocean could have droughts
Democrats didn’t want to invest in desalination plants b/c the droughts helped them push the climate change narrative so they could raise taxes
Well now there is no water in… https://t.co/AmYDRlxVLb
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) January 8, 2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state has deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to battle the blazes. In a rare, urgent plea, the Los Angeles Fire Department asked all off-duty firefighters in the city to help.
Two men and a dog were trapped inside a home in the Pacific Palisades when the 2,900-acre fire hit their area https://t.co/pN4zPeW4FR pic.twitter.com/PoQ24oufKS
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) January 8, 2025
Here’s what to know about the fires:
The Palisades Fire, which started around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, had burned about 4.5 square miles (11.6 square kilometers), according to officials.
I just left the hellscape formerly know as Pacific Palisades where I’ve lived for 26 years. I’m mad at what I saw. Our politicians have failed us. Unprepared, unimaginative, understaffed, now overwhelmed. Heads must roll for this disaster. I personally saw 100+ homes fully… pic.twitter.com/8txvSJEZXd
— Wes Nichols (@wesnichols) January 8, 2025
It rained flaming embers onto trees and rooftops in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Residents rushing to escape created a traffic jam on Palisades Drive, blocking emergency vehicles from getting through. Crews used a bulldozer to push the abandoned cars off to the side.
NEW: Woman says her parents’ fire insurance got cancelled shortly before the fires ripped through Southern California.
The woman said she is forced to defend the house herself.
“They got canceled from their fire insurance… They’re 90 years old, they’ve lived in this house for… pic.twitter.com/3mIsmhtnIE
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 8, 2025
Photos depict what some residents describe as an apocalyptic scene.
The Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena in the Altadena area, which started around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, quickly burned 1.6 square miles (4 square kilometers) by early Wednesday according to fire officials. At a senior center, employees pushed dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds to a parking lot to escape.
Welcome to the great reset! The California government has deliberately cut off water supplies to cities towns and farmers for over a decade. https://t.co/ktMhzct8XE
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) January 8, 2025
The Hurst Fire started around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday and prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community in the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. That fire had grown to 500 acres (202 hectares) by early Wednesday.
This was the view from Temescal Canyon as we drove out to PCH, we tried to take Sunset but homes were burning on either side of us and the smoke was so thick we couldn’t see the road. So much devastation, Palisades Village won’t look the same after tonight. #PalisadesFire pic.twitter.com/BmYGq9JBxR
— Cristy Fajardo (@fajardonews) January 8, 2025
About 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders from the Palisades fire and more than 13,000 structures were under threat, authorities said. The Eaton fire prompted more than 50,000 evacuation orders, Angeles National Forest officials said.
“We came from Huntington Palisades and there were so many homes destroyed along Sunset Boulevard,” KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell reports from the #PalisadesFire. “It just took my breath away.” Live Updates: https://t.co/pAlVjlCqi8 pic.twitter.com/HTNVwOmZjk
— KTLA (@KTLA) January 8, 2025
Many of the evacuations were in the Pacific Palisades area, but others were in parts of Santa Monica and Altadena.
Power outages
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.
Multiple explosions are seen from KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo’s live report from the 800 block of Radcliffe Avenue in the #PacificPalisades as the #PalisadesFire continues to grow on Tuesday night. Details: https://t.co/egkx6v231f pic.twitter.com/h8rdk6i7kh
— KTLA (@KTLA) January 8, 2025
The forecast
Santa Ana winds increased late Tuesday and in the early morning hours Wednesday, and more strong winds are in the forecast. Winds could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months, the National Weather Service said.
KTLA 5 News photojournalist Paul Sanchez recorded this video from an airplane flying over the #PalisadesFire.
Live updates: https://t.co/7YD7QVAYcu pic.twitter.com/qn8GQuricu— KTLA (@KTLA) January 8, 2025
Ongoing red flag warnings highlight extremely critical fire weather conditions due to a combination of strong wind gusts in some of the highest terrain Wednesday morning and exceptionally dry relative humidity levels, according to Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in College Park, Maryland.
