California has been placed in a state of emergency and five people have been reported dead as wildfires that began on Tuesday ripped across metropolitan Los Angeles, triggering evacuations and power outages.
The most populous state in the United States, California has frequently been swept by wildfires, with its fire season increasingly considered year-round. But the current wildfires are, by some estimates, among the worst ever to have hit the Los Angeles region.
Here is what we know about the fires, their impact and the latest news on the ground.
Where and when did the wildfires in Los Angeles begin?
At 10:30am (18:30GMT) on Tuesday, the first wildfire began in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
This affluent neighbourhood, which lies between the Santa Monica mountains and the Pacific Ocean, is about 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of downtown Los Angeles.
Which areas of LA have wildfires affected and how much of the area has been burned?
Nearly 6,410 hectares (15,832 acres) of land had been burned in the Pacific Palisades Fire by Wednesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.
About 6pm (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday, a second blaze, called the Eaton Fire, broke out some 50km (30 miles) inland near Pasadena. It had grown to 4,290 hectares (10,600 acres) as of Wednesday.
A third blaze, named the Hurst Fire, started in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles on Tuesday. Then three more erupted on Wednesday: the Lidia Fire, the Woodley Fire and the Olivas Fire, all burning in areas close to the city.
Together, the fires have burned through more than 10,938 hectares (27,028 acres).
How many people have been killed in the LA wildfires?
On Wednesday morning, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said two deaths had been reported in the Eaton Fire as well as a “high number of significant injuries to residents” in the Palisades blaze.
A fire official told local television station KTLA that one female firefighter had suffered a head injury in the Palisades Fire.
By late Wednesday night, the death toll from the fires had risen to five.
Are the LA wildfires spreading further afield?
Yes, it appears so. US media reported the fires have already spread north, torching homes near Malibu.
Cal Fire said that a newer blaze, dubbed Woodley Fire, began on Wednesday in the Sepulveda Basin area north of Los Angeles. That was followed by the Olivas Fire in Ventura County and the Lidia Fire near the Angeles National Forest.
Malibu began issuing evacuation orders on Tuesday afternoon and Santa Monica on Tuesday evening.
Have any buildings been damaged?
Approximately 1,000 buildings have been destroyed in the Pacific Palisades, Marrone told reporters on Wednesday.
The Palisades Fire also burned some trees and vegetation on the grounds of the Getty Villa Museum, one of the world’s wealthiest art museums, which houses artefacts from ancient Greece and Rome.
In a post on social media platform X, the museum said no structures had caught fire, and “staff and the collection remain safe”.
The Eaton Fire engulfed a McDonald’s restaurant and the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Centre, but Melissa Levy, the temple’s executive director, told The New York Times that the temple’s staff safely evacuated with their holy books, including Torahs.
American actor James Woods reported damage to his Pacific Palisades home.
All the smoke detectors are going off in our house and transmitting to our iPhones.
I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 8, 2025
How do Santa Ana winds contribute to California’s wildfires?
Officials have not confirmed the cause of these fires. However, winter-time wildfires are not unusual in California because of the region’s Santa Ana winds, which dry out vegetation and make them more susceptible to fire.
These are dry, warm and strong winds common in Southern California during the cooler months due to conditions created by atmospheric pressure changes and cooler temperatures of the season.
Santa Ana winds form when high pressure over the Great Basin, a large, dry region in the western US, forces air to flow towards the coast. As the air sinks through mountain ranges and valleys, it loses moisture, compresses and accelerates, becoming warmer and faster.
The region’s geography, including the orientation of the mountains and valleys, directs the winds towards Southern California and the Pacific Ocean coast.
Experts say this winter has been particularly threatening.
“We really haven’t seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one – all of that extra abundant growth of grass and vegetation followed immediately by a wind event of this magnitude while it’s still so incredibly dry,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at University of California, Los Angeles, said on a livestream on Monday.
The intense Santa Ana winds have been linked to some of Southern California’s worst wildfires, including the Franklin Fire in December 2024, which scorched more than 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of the Malibu area, damaged or destroyed almost 50 homes, and was fully contained nine days after it broke out.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday until Friday.
A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Tuesday-Friday for portions of LA/Ventura Counties. There is the potential for damaging north to northeast winds, that are likely to peak Tuesday-Wednesday.
With no significant rainfall yet, fire season will continue in to the New Year! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/fahxe7RIpI
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 3, 2025
When will the fires stop?
Experts and officials are not optimistic that the fires will be tamed soon.
Forecasters said the seasonal winds could develop into the worst windstorm in a decade, with gusts of up to 160 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour) expected. Typically, wind gusts above 64km/h (40mph) can begin to cause damage to trees and infrastructure and become concerning.
“It’s going to be, I think, a rough night. And what’s going on now is only just the beginning because weather conditions are going to get a lot worse,” meteorologist Daniel Swain told the AFP news agency.
LA Mayor Karen Bass warned that “the windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning”, in a post on X early on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, Cal Fire said none of the three blazes around Los Angeles had been contained as winds remain so strong. Firefighters have been trying to work through the steep terrain of the Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica hills to cut back vegetation and create breaks in the blaze.
What will happen next?
A red flag warning, indicating a “particularly dangerous situation”, has been issued for 19 million people in parts of Southern California. This warning is usually issued only “in rare situations when long-lived, strong and violent tornadoes are possible”, according to the National Weather Service. It was last issued during the Franklin Fire.
Amid all this, power outages have also hit the city. The website PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages, noted that nearly 1.5 million people were without electricity in California as of Wednesday afternoon.
Los Angeles County comprised 936,642 of the outages, with another 194,363 cases in Ventura County and 168,830 in San Bernardino.
What action is being taken?
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the affected areas and schools have been closed. Some Hollywood events have been cancelled.
More than 70,000 people have been evacuated, with many fleeing on foot after traffic crawled to a halt. Emergency shelters have been opened for evacuees from the Palisades and Hurst fires, while animal shelters have been established for the pets of residents affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Emergency shelters are open for Angelenos who have been evacuated due to these devastating fires.#PalisadesFire Shelter:
Westwood Recreation Center – 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd#HurstFire Shelter:
Ritchie Valens Recreation Center – 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) January 8, 2025
Meanwhile, hospitals reported a surge in people seeking treatment for smoke inhalation.
Los Angeles Zoo said it would remain closed on Wednesday while 18 school districts are also reporting closures, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The Screen Actors Guild Awards cancelled its in-person nomination event on Wednesday.
31st Screen Actors Guild Awards® Nominations Announcement Update pic.twitter.com/v7dvzIQtc0
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 8, 2025
The National Weather Service urged people to stay inside and away from windows during the windstorm.
California has deployed 1400+ firefighting personnel & hundreds of prepositioned assets to combat these unprecedented fires in LA.
Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives.
— Governor Newsom (@CAgovernor) January 8, 2025
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced “all hands on deck” with more than 1,400 firefighters deployed to combat the blazes. US President Joe Biden has also approved federal assistance, including from the US military.
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