Closing summary
Thanks for joining our live coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires today. It’s approaching 7pm in Los Angeles, where winds are easing, allowing firefighters to make significant progress containing the fires. But officials warn that the danger is far from over – red flag warnings are expected to go back into effect next week – and the work to identify the dead and rebuild is just beginning.
This blog is now closing, but you can read our full report on the Los Angeles wildfires here. Here are the top headlines from this afternoon and evening:
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There are six wildfires currently raging in Los Angeles county. They include:
The Palisades fire, at 21,317 acres and 8% containment
The Eaton fire, at 13,690 acres and 3% containment
The Kenneth fire, at 1,052 acres and 50% containment
The Hurst fire, at 771 acres and 37% containment
The Lidia fire, at 395 acres and 98% containment
The Archer fire, at 19 acres and 0% containment
Eleven people have died, and more than 12,000 structures have burned, in the Palisades and Eaton fires – which are likely the third and fourth most destructive fires in California history. Six deaths have been confirmed in the Eaton fire and five in the Palisades. As family members have been alerted to the loss of their loved ones, six of the victims have been publicly identified. Law enforcement officials expect the death toll to rise once weather and fire conditions allow cadaver dogs and detectives into the burn zones.
Fire chief Kristin Crowley criticised city officials over water supply issues and budget cuts that she says hindered her department’s ability to fight the Palisades fire. The water supply has become a focal point, with California governor Gavin Newsom calling for an investigation into the shortage.
California governor Gavin Newsom has invited Donald Trump to visit the state and tour the devastation wreaked by the Los Angeles wildfires. Trump visited the state six years ago in the wake of the Camp fire, the most destructive fire in California history, which hit the town of Paradise.
The state of California has issued a one-year moratorium preventing insurance companies from canceling or refusing to renew home policies in zip codes impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
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In his letter to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power promising an investigation, California governor Gavin Newsom called “reports of the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir” in Pacific Palisades “deeply troubling”.
The news that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, as the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday, “leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades,” was quickly seized upon by Republicans seeking to blame California’s Democratic leadership for the lack of water to fight the fires.
Officials at the water authority acknowledged that the reservoir being offline contributed to some diminished pressure and dry hydrants in the Palisades, but it remains unclear when it went out of service for the repairs.
But as images of the reservoir, which had a floating cover installed in 2011 to protect drinking water against contamination, were shared online, and memes were launched, there was also widespread confusion, as amateur sleuths appeared to mistake the reservoir’s cover for its floor, and mistakenly concluded that the reservoir had been empty for more than a decade.
In fact, as a satellite image of the nearby Eagle Rock Reservoir available on Google Earth shows, the floating covers routinely found on reservoirs now makes it difficult, or impossible, for the untrained eye to determine whether a reservoir with a cover on it is empty or full.
Here are some more images of the destruction:
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Officials have declared a local health emergency in Los Angeles County “due to the widespread presence of ash and particulate matter in the air throughout the entire region,” according to a public health department press release.
“The fires, coupled with strong winds, have severely degraded air quality by releasing hazardous smoke and particulate matter, posing immediate and long-term risks to public health,” it added.
The Los Angeles wildfires have damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 structures, according to the latest counts. The damage includes more than 5,300 structures burned by the Palisades fire, making it the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history. Farther inland, the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena burned more than 7,000 structures, including homes, apartment or commercial buildings and vehicles. It also substantially damaged five school campuses in Altadena.
Still unclear is the financial impact from the damage, though an estimate from AccuWeather, a private firm that provides weather data, estimated the toll to be about $135 billion to $150 billion. Government officials haven’t given a damage estimate yet.
Los Angeles Dodgers firstbaseman Freddie Freeman and his wife Chelsea have pledged $300,000 to support wildfire relief efforts in the wake of the LA fires. The funds will support the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Pasadena Fire Department and the Salvation Army, CNN reports.
The Lidia fire is now 98% contained, according to the California governor Gavin Newsom, who shared the news on social media on Friday evening.
“Grateful for the work of our firefighters and all those on the frontlines keeping our communities safe,” he wrote.
The fire, which broke out in the Los Angeles county town of Acton, on Wednesday encompasses 395 acres.
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Firefighters have made further progress containing the blazes raging across Los Angeles – most recently announcing that the Kenneth fire is 50% contained.
The fire, which broke out in the West Hills area of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, quickly ballooned to 1,052 acres, making it the third largest fire in southern California.
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The Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5K have been postponed as a result of the nearby Eaton fire. The annual runs, which were scheduled to take place on 19 January, are held in Pasadena – not far from where the Eaton fire devastated the neighborhood of Altadena.
A sixth of the 11 known victims of the Los Angeles wildfires has been identified. CNN reports that 85-year-old Annette Rossilli died in the Palisades fire, according to the home health company caring for her at the time.
A caregiver offered to help Rossilli evacuate, but she wanted to stay with her pets: a dog, canary, two parrots and a turtle, said Fay Vahdani, president of Luxe Homecare.
Rossilli, who ran a plumbing business in Pacific Palisades, leaves behind a daughter and son.
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As the sun sets here in California on the fourth day since deadly wildfires broke out in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, here is a sense of the devastation left behind.
Updated
The state of California has issued a one-year moratorium preventing insurance companies from canceling or refusing to renew home policies in zip codes impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires. A 2018 state law bans insurers from canceling home insurance coverage after a state of emergency.
California governor Gavin Newsom shared the news in a post on social media Friday, writing, “The folks in these communities have suffered enough. They should not have to deal with the stress of home insurance on top of it all.”
The Eaton fire is not expected to grow significantly over night, officials shared at a community meeting Friday.
“The big difference today from the past several days is we’ve lost the wind influence,” fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns said.
The National Weather Service’s red flag warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties will expire this evening at 6pm local time as winds are expected to ease.
Los Angeles fire chief criticizes city officials over water supply
City officials failed the Los Angeles fire department, fire chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11 Los Angeles in an interview Friday.
“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” she said. “We don’t control the water supply.”
Early on Wednesday morning, as firefighters were battling the Palisades fire, hydrants ran dry – raising questions about the state of the city’s water resources.
“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” said Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer and 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.”
Urban water systems are not designed to fight wildfires, Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles county department of public works, said Wednesday. “That’s why air support is so critical to the firefight. And unfortunately, wind and air visibility have prevented that support.”
But on Friday Crowley confirmed to Fox 11 Los Angeles that the city had drained the Santa Ynez Reservoir near the Palisades fire for repairs without alerting her department.
During the interview, the reporter asked Crowley whether the city failed the fire department – after hedging, she said yes, noting cuts to the department’s budget.
“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded,” she said. “It’s not.” On July 1, 2024, Los Angeles cut the fire department’s budget by $17m.
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The Palisades and Eaton fires are likely the third and fourth most destructive fires in California history, CalFire shared in a social media post Friday.
The Palisades fire, which currently encompasses 21,317 acres, has killed at least five and destroyed more than 5,000 structures.
The Eaton fire, which currently encompasses 13,690 acres, has killed at least six and destroyed another 5,000 or more structures.
The Palisades fire is currently about 8% contained, and the Eaton fire is 3% contained.
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The IRS is offering relief to individuals and businesses affected by the California wildfires, including extending the 2024 filing deadline to October 15, 2025.
“The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. These taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief,” the agency wrote in a press release.
Mexico is sending a team of firefighters to support California’s battle against the wildfires raging in Los Angeles.
“We are going to send a support team to Los Angeles,” Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday morning. The “solidarity team” would consist of firefighters from the country’s forestry department and military.
“We are going to provide support,” she added. “Not only because the people and government of Mexico have always been generous, but also because there are many Mexicans in this area of the United States.”
California governor Gavin Newsom confirmed the news in a social media post Friday afternoon: “Firefighters from Mexico are en route to the #EatonFire — joining more than 10,000 personnel already on the ground. California is deeply grateful for President @ClaudiaShein’s support as we work to suppress the Los Angeles wildfires.”
The Walt Disney Company pledged $15m to initial and immediate response and rebuilding efforts after the Los Angeles wildfires in a press release on Friday. The funds will be directed towards groups like the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“Walt Disney came to Los Angeles with little more than his limitless imagination,” CEO Bob Iger said. “As this tragedy continues to unfold, The Walt Disney Company is committed to supporting our community and our employees as we all work together to recover and rebuild from this unbelievable devastation.”
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LA wildfires death toll rises to 11
The death toll from the Los Angeles wildfires has risen to 11, according to the LA county medical examiner’s office.
Five of those deaths were due to the Palisades fire, and the other six resulted from the Eaton fire.
Officials said they expected that number to rise as cadaver dogs go through leveled neighborhoods to assess the devastation to an area larger than San Francisco.
Five of those killed in the Eaton fire have been identified by relatives so far:
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California governor Gavin Newsom has invited president-elect Donald Trump to visit the state and tour the devastation wrought by the Los Angeles wildfires. In a post on social media, Newsom shared a copy of the letter addressed to Trump:
“It was just six years ago that we toured the devastation of the Camp Fire in the town of Paradise, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history,” Newsom wrote. “Now, California is again facing one of the most destructive fires in our history.”
“As you prepare to assume the presidency once more, I invite you to come to California again – to meet with the Americans affected by these fires, see the devastation firsthand, and join me and others in thanking the heroic firefighters and first responders who are putting their lives on the line.”
Here’s Trump’s visit in 2018:
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Good afternoon – here in northern California the skies are clear as we think about our friends and colleagues weathering heavy smoke, evacuation orders and continued unknowns just a few hours south. I’m Cecilia Nowell taking over our live coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires into the evening.
Firefighters made progress containing the Hurst fire this afternoon. The fire, which encompasses 771 acres near the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles, was 70% contained around 3pm, according to Wildfire.gov.
On social media, mayor Karen Bass said that all evacuation warnings for regions impacted by the Hurst fire – as well as the smaller, 19-acre Archer fire in the Granada Hills neighborhood – had been lifted.
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Summary of the day so far
At least 10 people have been killed in the fires raging in the Los Angeles area, with an estimated 10,000 homes and structures reduced to ash and rubble.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Here’s how the largest fires in LA county stand: the Palisades fire, the largest of the fires, has burned more than 20,000 acres and is 8% contained. The Eaton fire, in the Pasadena area, has burned more than 13,600 acres and is at 3% contained, it has damaged or destroyed more than 7,000 structures. The Kenneth fire has burned about 1,000 acres and is 35% contained. The Lidia fire has burned 395 acres and is 75% contained. The Hurst fire has burned 771 acres and is 37% contained.
About 166,800 Los Angeles county residents remain under evacuation warnings, and 100,053 residents are under evacuation orders. Approximately 57,830 structures are at risk from the fires.
A curfew is in effect from 6pm to 6am local time for the Palisades and Eaton fire areas in all mandatory evacuation zones. “You can’t not be in these affected areas. If you are, you are subject to arrest,” LA sheriff Robert Luna said.
A red flag warning will expire at 6pm PT on Friday but a new warning is expected to be issued on Monday, when windy conditions in the Los Angeles area are forecast to return.
At least 10 people have been killed in the fires but the true death toll is not known. At a briefing on Friday, Joe Biden said the loss of life would likely increase, “whether significantly or not, we don’t know yet”.
California governor Gavin Newsom has called for an independent investigation into “deeply troubling” reports that some hydrants lost water pressure in the midst of the wildfires.
Joe Biden described the fires as the “worst in California history” and said “we still got a long way to go.” He said police and National Guard members have been deployed to improve security in the areas affected by the wildfires due to looting.
Police have made 18 arrests during the fires, 15 connected to the Eaton fire in the foothills of the Angeles national forest and three arrests in the area of the Palisades fire.
California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued a moratorium that bars insurers from canceling or non-renewing home policies in the Pacific Palisades and the San Gabriel Valley’s Eaton fire zones.
Los Angeles officials have apologized after residents across the county received erroneous evacuation warnings. People have been urged not to disable the emergency messages.
Updated
More than 7,000 structures damaged or destroyed by Eaton fire
Approximately 7,081 structures are believed to have been damaged or destroyed by the Eaton fire, according to an estimate by officials.
The fire has burned 13,956 acres and is a 3% containment, LA fire chief Anthony Marrone said.
The current red flag warning will expire at 6pm PT today but a new warning is expected to be issued on Monday.
Los Angeles fire chief Anthony Marrone said the county “would be prepared” to face the return of the high winds and dry brush conditions.
A red flag warning means warm temperatures are expected to combine with very low humidities and strong winds to create an increased fire danger risk.
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Lila Victor, 22, a freelance journalist, from Venice, Los Angeles, has been in touch with the Guardian. She says it’s been stressful to see LA ravaged by the fires but that the community has come together to help each other:
I live in Venice, pretty close to Santa Monica. We haven’t had any actual fires or evacuation orders here, but it’s still been very stressful with all the uncertainty. I’m born and raised in LA, so watching my home town be partly destroyed has been really difficult.
We’ve seen giant clouds of smoke. On Wednesday evening, we were up on my friend’s balcony in Mar Vista and my mom saw this bright orange glow – she thought it was a reflection at first. Then we watched as it just expanded so rapidly on the hills in the distance. Later we realized we’d watched the Sunset fire spreading.
I write for a local news site called the Westside Current. On Tuesday, I felt paralyzed, and was asking myself, ‘what can I do to help?’ Then I realized people were posting links online of restaurants that were offering free meals to first responders and evacuees, or were opening their doors to the community – for shelter, wifi, bathrooms, anything. I realized I could be helpful by putting together a list, and keep it updated, so people could find support.
Seeing the community really come together right now – to be there for the people who may need their services, supplies – has been heartwarming. We’ve seen reports of people taking advantage of this horrible situation by looting, but the people rallying together to help each other in the community far outnumber them. To see these little pockets of light is really important.
Sleeping is not easy right now. It’s all so tense. I saw a childhood friend posting online that their home in Palisades – which I used to visit as a child, where I had so many memories – has burned down. And hundreds of thousands are displaced. This has been a real wake-up call for disaster preparedness. Now we’re just gearing up for the next thing that happens.
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Three days since the Palisades fire began blazing across Los Angeles, firefighters have begun to contain the five wildfires currently raging in southern California.
Containment, importantly, does not mean that a fire has been extinguished – or that the burn zone is safe to enter.
What it does mean, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, is that firefighters have created a “control line” around a portion of the fire that flames should not be able to cross.
So if a wildfire is described as 25% contained, then firefighters have created control lines – usually wide trenches – around 25% of the fire’s perimeter. Once a fire is 100% contained, firefighters can begin extinguishing the fire.
It’s key to bear in mind that a fire being 100% contained does not mean it no longer poses a threat.
“Wind and other factors can sometimes cause spotfires to jump these lines,” the Western Fire Chiefs Association explains, which means fires can sometimes go from being 50% contained back down to 30%, for example.
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California governor orders investigation of LA department of water and power
California governor Gavin Newsom said he has called for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to some fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.
In a letter to LA department of water and power chief Janisse Quiñones and LA county public works director Mark Pastrella, Newsom described the reports as “deeply troubling”.
“While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors,” he wrote.
“We need answers to how that happened,” he added.
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Silvia Fernandez, 59, a federal government contractor, in Hancock Park spoke about the feeling of loss while watching the fires across the LA region.
I have watched in a mixture of disbelief, awe and horror on Tuesday to see large smoke clouds first emerge to the west (Palisades) and then to the east (Eaton and Altadena).
When the Sunset fire broke out on Wednesday night, much closer to me in the north, I had this sense of being surrounded by flames and smoke.
Luckily the Sunset fire emerged on a day when the winds had died down and water airdrops were possible. [The Sunset fire is now under control.] But it was very claustrophobic. There was a palpable sense of loss and suffering.
I just have this sense of doom. It feels apocalyptic – I know it’s an overused term, but it’s what comes to mind. My neighbors and I watched the aircraft do their magic [dropping water] above the visible flames. I felt fortunate in those moments, to have a little community of safety.
It’s horrible that so much history has been lost, and so much natural beauty.
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Just days before Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office, promising to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, Adrian Florido of NPR came across a remarkable scene in fire-ravaged Altadena on Thursday: a group of Latino immigrants, some undocumented, volunteering to save the homes of evacuated residents they did not know.
Florido spoke with a group of about 20 volunteers, who came from other neighborhoods and were trying to douse fires with garden hoses and buckets of water from swimming pools.
“Why come into a neighborhood that isn’t yours,” the reporter asked one undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who works cleaning houses, “to save houses whose owners you don’t know?”
“Our values and principles come first,” the woman said. “That’s what our parents taught us.”
“You don’t need to have legal papers or be a US citizen to help others,” a volunteer from Mexico told Florido.
“When you support someone, you strengthen them. When you stop and ask - could you use a hand? - they’ll remember that.”
We reported earlier that California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that he had issued a moratorium to stop all non-renewals and cancellations by insurance companies for a year.
The LA Times has more some more detail on the moratorium:
The moratorium, issued Thursday, protects homeowners living within the perimeter of the fire and in adjoining ZIP codes from losing their policies for one year, starting from when Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.
The moratoriums, provided for under state law, are typically issued after large fires and apply to all policyholders regardless of whether they have suffered a loss.
Insurers have also been urged to pause for six months any pending non-renewals or cancellations that were issued up to 90 days before 7 January.
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Firefighters from outside California assist in putting out the state’s wildfires.
10,000 personnel already on the ground, but more are coming.
Colorado governor Jared Polis announced the arrival of aircraft, fire engines, and firefighters from his state to help California on Thursday. Dozens of firefighters from New Mexico and Utah have also traveled to lend a hand.
The US’s neighbors to the north and south are also providing resources. Canada has deployed aircraft to bolster efforts while Mexico is sending in firefighters.
California governor Gavin Newsom thanked Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday for her support.
“Our partnership and shared commitment to helping communities in need is greatly valued,” Newsom said.
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US health department declares public health emergency for California
“We will do all we can to assist California officials with responding to the health impacts of the devastating wildfires going on in Los Angeles County,” said Xavier Becerra, the health secretary.
“We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide public health and medical support. My thoughts and prayers are with the people impacted in my home state.”
The move gives health care providers and suppliers more flexibility to meet the emergency health needs of federal Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Earlier this week, Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration for the state, which unlocks key federal resources such as support for emergency work and repair as well as assistance to individuals and households.
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California governor Gavin Newsom has shared an update on the six other wildfires wreaking havoc in the Los Angeles area.
The Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills has been 100% contained. Here is where the others stand:
The Lidia fire is at 75% containment.
The Hurst fire is at 37% containment.
The Kenneth fire is at 35% containment.
The Eaton fire is at 3% containment (up from 0% on Thursday).
And finally, the Palisades fire is at 8% containment, (up from 0% on Thursday).
Updated
Brush fire breaks out in Granada Hills, but is under control
The Archer fire has burned nearly 31 acres around O’Melveny Park – close to the Hurst fire.
An evacuation order was in place for the area north-west of Los Angeles, but that has been downgraded to a warning since firefighters managed to get it under control.
No injuries or damaged structures have been reported there so far. A cause for the fire is unknown.
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Denise, 52, a program manager in the tech industry, from West Adams, has been in touch about how the fires have also affected air quality and the health impacts that come with it.
‘The air is so bad I wear a mask inside’
“I’ve been spending a lot of time on watch duty [an app that shares real-time updates of wildfires] to see where the wind is blowing. Yesterday the closest fire to me was the Sunset fire which was about five miles north [and has now been contained]. I couldn’t see the fire but I could see the smoke coming south.
“The air quality in the city is devastatingly bad. I’m recovering from Covid and wearing a mask inside my house because the smoke irritates my throat. I’ve also noticed a persistent headache for most of the day.
“Most of LA is under a red flag warning, which means the area is dry and anything can spark a fire. As someone who lives in the city it’s really unsettling to think you’re surrounded by things that can go up in flames. It’s a tinderbox.
“I’ve lived here for about 27 years and there have been all kinds of natural disasters. But this one feels like the largest impact on day-to-day life. I don’t recall a situation where so many people I know have been directly affected.
“I know the fires are not an immediate threat to me, but it’s been really difficult to sleep. I’m feeling climate anxiety quite intensely right now.”
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Some schools may reopen eventually while others “were completely destroyed,” LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a briefing on Wednesday. LAUSD’s Marquez Elementary and Palisades Elementary were burned to the ground and 30% of Palisades Charter High School was also damaged.
Additionally, five PUSD campuses in Altadena have sustained damage, including Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School.
All Los Angeles Unified and Pasadena Unified schools remain closed.
“The confluence of factors – wind, fire, and smoke – have created unpredictable, complex situations that present potentially unsafe conditions for our school communities,” the LAUSD said in a statement.
“Select essential personnel will be contacted by their supervisors regarding potential work duties. As the Los Angeles region continues responding to this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our students and employees are of the utmost importance.”
Matt Sadie, 41, an artist manager in the music business, from Altadena, has been in touch with the Guardian. He shared his family’s experiences with the Guardian’s Jem Bartholomew.
‘It’s hard to imagine life there again’
“My wife Sophie and I, with our eight-week-old daughter and cat Luna, live streets away from Eaton Canyon in Altadena, where one of the fires began. We go for walks down that canyon most mornings, it’s a beautiful place.
“On Tuesday we were driving home – we’d gone to try and get our newborn to sleep – when we noticed this bright yellow and orange glow towards the canyon. It was a light you don’t see from an artificial source. And there was smoke.
“We rushed home, fighting intense winds and keeping our baby safe. Once we were in I ran next door to warn our neighbor. He said, ‘We need to get out of here quickly.’ So I ran to tell my wife and we started packing. The power was out, but I but we had battery-powered tea lights – I grabbed passports, cash, documents, baby stuff like blankets and diapers. I got Luna into her carrier quickly, which she doesn’t like. We evacuated in under five minutes. I didn’t think about how we wouldn’t be back for a long time.
“We managed to drive to family in Santa Barbara. The highway was insane, with trees and debris. Going to sleep that night around midnight, we mentally prepared ourselves for losing our home.
“Miraculously, despite most of the houses on our street burned down, we saw from a neighbor’s video that ours remains standing, with only damage to the landscaping (like the fences). It’s as if the flames stopped right at our house. A neighbour, who stayed during the fire, helped protect our home from the flames, and saved all the houses beyond it, too.
“We got insanely lucky, but we don’t feel lucky at all. We moved to the area to give my daughter the best start in life, near a really good school, in a great neighbourhood. Now the school’s burned down and the area is almost totally gone. It’s really hard to imagine life there again.
“We can’t get back home, the national guard has closed off the streets. Looters in the area are the new challenge. The neighbor who stayed behind has been patrolling for other fires and looters, and caught two in the area already. He’s a hero.”
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Joe Biden warns death toll likely to rise as he likens fires to 'war scene'
Joe Biden said the death toll from the fires, which he described as a “war scene”, will likely increase, but “whether significantly or not, we don’t know yet.”
“It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” Biden said from the White House’s Oval Office during a briefing on the fires.
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LA witnessing 'mass devastation', says Kamala Harris
Vice-president Kamala Harris, a Californian herself, said in the press briefing with Joe Biden and California governor Gavin Newsom that we are witnessing “mass devastation” and that the effect of the historic widlfires “is going to linger for quite some time.”
“There are moments where we should find optimism in the heroism of people.”
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Guardian reporter Sam Levin spoke to one Sierra Madre resident who detailed his harrowing experiencing trying to leave:
The timing of the evacuation order could not have been worse.
Galen Buckwalter and his wife, Deborah, were alerted around 9.30pm on Tuesday evening that the rapidly spreading Eaton fire near Pasadena, California, was endangering their home and they should immediately flee to safety.
Galen, 68, is paralyzed from the chest down and uses an electric wheelchair for mobility. Normally, he drives with his van that accommodates the chair, but as the extreme southern California windstorm was fueling the flames north of his home, his vehicle was sitting in a repair shop.
Earlier in the evening, he felt confident that the fire in Eaton Canyon would not travel all the way to his Sierra Madre neighborhood by the hills. Now, he was unsure how he could get to safety.
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As of this morning, California has deployed:
Almost 10,000 firefighting personnel
More than 600 California National Guard members
1,059 fire engines
143 water tenders
116 bulldozers
Helicopters and air tankers are also being used to battle the flames.
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California governor Gavin Newsom in a briefing thanked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for federal support and issuing a major disaster declaration.
Newsom said due to favorable winds, “we were able to address some of the perimeter issues. It’s been focused about life, property, and perimeter.”
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Summary of the day so far
Here are the key takeaways from the latest news conference by Los Angeles city and county officials on the wildfires.
A curfew order is in place between 6pm and 6am on all mandatory evacuation zones in the Palisades and Eaton areas. “You can’t not be in these affected areas. If you are, you are subject to arrest,” LA sheriff Robert Luna said. The curfew’s purpose is to enhance public safety, protect property, and prevent any burglaries or looting in areas evacuated by residents, Luna said.
The Palisades fire, the largest of the five fires, currently stands at 8% contained. Firefighters were able to make overnight progress on the fire due to “favorable” overnight weather conditions. Wind gusts are expected to increase in daylight hours that will test containment lines. Red flag warnings continue in Los Angeles county through 6pm PT today.
The Eaton fire, north of Pasadena, has burned 13,956 acres and is 3% contained. About 4,000 to 5,000 structures may be damaged and destroyed by the fire, and 1,527 firefighting personnel have been assigned to the fire. The blaze pushed toward Mount Wilson on Thursday, but the observatory is “OK” and no buildings have been destroyed there.
The Hurst fire, just south of Santa Clarita, has spread to 771 acres and is 37% contained.
The Kenneth fire, in the San Fernando valley, has burned 1,000 acres and is 35% contained. All evacuation orders and warnings in LA county for the Kenneth fire have been lifted.
The Lidia fire is 75% contained. The causes of the fires are still under investigation.
The number of residents under evacuation orders have dipped to 153,000. Approximately 57,830 structures are deemed to be at risk. An additional 166,800 residents are under evacuation warnings.
A super scooper aircraft that was damaged by a drone flown by a civilian should be back in the air by Monday. “Flying a drone in the fire traffic area is not only dangerous but it’s illegal,” Los Angeles county fire chief Anthony Perron said, adding that those who fly them over the wildfire area will be prosecuted.
A man arrested on suspicion of attempting to light a fire in Woodland Hills yesterday will not be charged. Officers found there was not enough probable cause to arrest the person, Los Angeles police department assistant chief Dominic Choi said.
Officials apologized after evacuation order alerts were mistakenly sent on Thursday afternoon and again on Friday. LA county office of emergency management director Kevin McGowan said he could not “express how sorry I am” but implored residents not to disable the messages on their phones, adding: “Not receiving an alert can be a consequence of life and death.”
Airbnb said it has expanded its housing support to an additional 25,000 people who have been impacted by the fires.
The company partnered with 211 LA, a hub for local community members and organizations, earlier this week to offer free, temporary housing to individuals and families who lost their homes or were forced to evacuate.
It said 6,500 people have already been offered access to emergency housing with Airbnb hosts, but that thousands more are still displaced.
“The situation is devastating, and we’ll continue to do everything we can to support the Los Angeles community,” it said in a statement.
An Altadena resident has described returning to her home to find it destroyed in the fire.
In a video posted by NewsNation’s Brian Entin, Fran said she “poured everything” into the house that she has lived with her husband and family for 26 years.
“We have nowhere to go,” she said.
Pointing to the other destroyed houses on the street, she said her neighbors had sent their children – now in their 40s – to kindergarten together.
Fran lost the home she has lived in for 26 years in Altadena.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) January 9, 2025
She poured everything into it. pic.twitter.com/I2avp8aObe
LA county fire chief Anthony Perrone said one of the county’s two super scooper aircraft had been taken out of commission for emergency repairs, after being damaged in a drone incursion at the Palisades fire on Thursday.
The aircraft should be back in the air by Monday, he said.
“Flying a drone in the fire traffic area is not only dangerous but it’s illegal,” he said, adding that those who fly them over the wildfire area will be prosecuted.
The LA county fire department earlier said that a SuperScooper Quebec 1, an aircraft specifically used for aerial firefighting, was grounded on Thursday after it was struck by a drone flown by a civilian.
The collision caused wing damage to the aircraft, though no injuries were reported.
California insurance commissioner issues moratorium on cancellations for Palisades and Eaton fire areas
California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara said he had used his moratorium power to stop all non-renewals and cancellations by insurance companies for a year.
“My primary concern at this very moment is to ensure that wildfire survivors receive the insurance benefits to which they are entitled to as soon as possible,” he said.
“Now is the time for you to focus on your family and on your health. The last thing you should be worrying about is your insurance.”
He said legislation will be introduced to include businesses in the moratorium.
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LA county district attorney Nathan Hochman said anyone who is determined to be intentionally setting fires will be arrested for arson, prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.
Anyone who violates the curfew order will be arrested and prosecuted, he said.
He described looting as a “despicable crime”. “For the people who have already been arrested, please know this is not going to end well,” he said.
He also warned anyone who is thinking of sending a drone up in the area that “you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law.”
On the subject of scams, he said his team had already begun seeing people being targeted in GoFundMe scams, and warned that there will be insurance and government benefit scams targeting people who have been affected by the fires.
“My message to the public is: Beware these scammers. Do not let them take advantage of you,” he said.
More than 200 officers have been deployed to maintain law and order in areas impacted by the fires, assistant Los Angeles police department chief Dominic Choi said.
He said there was a “zero tolerance” policy towards those who are taking advantage of the situation.
“Anybody caught looting or committing crimes in the affected areas will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
One person arrested for suspected looting, says LAPD chief
Assistant Los Angeles police department chief Dominic Choi said an arrest was made late Thursday afternoon after residents reported seeing a person trying to light a fire in Woodland Hills.
That suspect was taken into custody and interviewed, he said.
Officers later determined there was not enough probably cause to arrest the person on arson or suspicion of arson, he said. The investigation is ongoing.
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Curfew order issued for Palisades and Eaton Fire evacuation zones
A curfew order has been established for the Palisades and Eaton fire areas in all mandatory evacuation zones, LA county sheriff Robert Luna said.
The curfew order is in effect between 6pm and 6am. The only people allowed in those areas are disaster workers.
“You cannot be in these affected areas. If you are, you are subject to arrest,” Luna warned.
He said the curfew will be “strictly enforced” to enhance public safety, protect property and prevent burglaries or looting in the areas that residents have evacuated.
Anyone found in violation of the curfew will be subject to arrest for a misdemeanor offense and conviction may result in a fine of up to $1,000 or jail time, he said.
“We are not screwing around with this,” Luna warned. “ We don’t want anyone taking advantage of our residents that have already been victimized.”
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More than 150,000 LA County residents remain under evacuation orders
Approximately 153,000 residents are currently under evacuation orders and another 166,800 residents are under evacuation warnings, LA county sheriff Robert Luna said.
About 57,830 structures are at risk, he said.
The Hurst fire has been updated to 771 acres and is at 37% containment, LA city fire chief Kristin Crowley said.
All evacuation orders and warnings for the fire have been lifted, she said.
The Kenneth fire’s forward progress has also been stopped with 35% contained, she said.
All evacuation orders and warnings within the Los Angeles city have been lifted, she said.
Palisades fire stands at more than 20,000 acres and is 8% contained
LA city fire chief Kristin Crowley said the Palisades fire stands at 20,438 acres with 8% containment.
More than 3,000 personnel worked overnight to strengthen containment lines and addressed multiple spot fires in and around the Topanga Canyon area, she said.
Wind gusts are expected to increase in daylight hours that will test containment lines, she said.
Kenneth fire has been stopped, says official
The Kenneth fire, which erupted on Thursday at the border of the Ventura and Los Angeles counties, has been stopped, LA county fire chief Anthony Marrone said.
The fire is currently at 1,000 acres and 35% containment, he said.
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The National Weather Service has predicted that the Red Flag warning will continue through Friday or through 6pm, LA county fire chief Anthony Marrone said.
He noted that his team’s priority is to prepare for the next Red Flag event that is predicted to begin on Monday.
LA county fire chief Anthony Marrone said the Eaton fire made a push on Thursday afternoon toward the historic Mount Wilson.
The observatory is OK and no buildings have been destroyed at Mount Wilson, he said.
However a firefighter did suffer a “significant fall injury” at the Eaton fire and remains hospitalized.
The cause of the Eaton fire remains unknown, Marrone said.
Eaton fire stands at nearly 14,000 acres and is 3% contained
LA county fire chief Anthony Marrone said the Eaton fire has burned 13,956 acres and is at 3% containment.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 structures are estimated to have been damaged or destroyed due to the fire, he said.
More than 1,500 firefighting personnel have been assigned to the Eaton fire, he said.
Updated
LA county supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the fires have continued to have an impact on the air quality throughout the region.
A smoke advisory has been extended through Friday to limit exposure, she said.
“Please remain indoors as much as possible. Avoid outdoor physical activity and run your air conditioner or air purifier if you have one.”
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said fire crews battled all night on the Palisades fire, the Hurst fire, and the Kenneth fire.
She said President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged his full support, including the federal government’s reimbursement of 100% of the county’s fire response costs.
Members of the National Guard have been secured to help free up firefighters and police officers, as well as to help secure evacuation zones to keep people safe, she said.
Bass said officials are already putting plans in place so they can “aggressively rebuild”. “This will be an enormous undertaking, but we will be ready for it,” she said.
LA county board of supervisors chair Kathryn Barger said the public will hear information from the California insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, to learn how to access insurance support to recover and rebuild.
“We’ve all had someone impacted by this fire. You are not alone,” she said. “We are here to support you, and we will be here for the long road to rebuild.”
LA official apologizes for 'frustrating and scary' erroneous alerts
Los Angeles County officials are holding a news conference on the latest on the wildfires raging through the region.
Kevin McGowan, director of the LA county office of emergency management, said he “can’t express enough how sorry I am” for the erroneous emergency messages that have been sent out across LA County.
He said he was working “all hands on deck” with federal emergency management agencies to resolve the issue and to find the root cause.
“I implore everyone to not disable the messages on your phone,” McGowan said. “This is extremely frustrating, painful and scary, but these alert tools have saved lives during this emergency.”
He warned that not receiving an alert can be the “consequence of life and death”.
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Details emerge about LA wildfire victims
At least 10 people have been killed in the wildfires still surging across the Los Angeles area.
Victor Shaw, 66, was the first of the fatalities to be named, after he died in the Eaton fire raging to the north-east of LA while attempting to extinguish flames at his home of 55 years in Altadena.
His younger sister Shari Shaw reportedly tried to get him to evacuate as the Eaton fire spread through their neighborhood, but she was forced to leave him behind when he refused to come with her. She fled just as the blaze engulfed their home.
The local publication LAist reported it is believed that five of the deaths were due to the Eaton fire and two deaths were confirmed by the Palisades fire. It is unclear where the other deaths occurred.
Anthony Mitchell, 67, who was an amputee, and his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were identified as two of the wildfire victims, also in Altadena, named by Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, as they were waiting for an ambulance to rescue them.
“They didn’t make it out,” said White, the Associated Press reported. “He was not going to leave his son behind. No matter what,” added White, who lives in Arkansas.
Rodney Nickerson, 82, also of Altadena, died in his home, according to his daughter, Kimiko Nickerson, who said he thought he would be okay waiting the fire out in his house.
Erliene Kelley, a retired pharmacy technician in Altadena who lived very close to the victims Shaw and Nickerson, also died at home in the Eaton fire, the New York Times reported, citing relatives.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has urged California residents to continue checking their local air quality at airnow.gov or on their phone’s weather app.
Wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, and make it difficult to breath and lead to coughing or wheezing.
Children and people with respiratory issues, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or who are pregnant should be especially careful about breathing wildfire smoke.
The CDC warned people to stay inside if instructed by authorities, and to try to keep the smoke outside by choosing a room that can be closed off from outside air, setting up a portable air cleaner or filter, and avoid burning anything indoors.
LA county apologizes after evacuation alerts mistakenly sent to residents
Los Angeles county has apologized after reports that evacuation alerts were sent mistakenly to millions of residents across the county.
“We are working with Fema to investigate the issue,” it said in a post to X.
“For the most current status of evacuation orders and warnings please review the map of evacuations on Alertla.org”
The city of Beverly Hill said earlier today that an evacuation alert was sent mistakenly to residents.
It came after millions of people across LA received a text message warning them to evacuate, which was followed up by a second alert telling them to disregard the warning.
Updated
The fire in the Pacific Palisades has been described as the most destructive natural disaster. My colleague Gabrielle Canon has this dispatch from the community levelled by the fire:
Summary: latest key updates on LA fires
As California begins to wake up to another day of unprecedented fires, here is where things stand today:
The death toll from wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 10 from seven, Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner said. All cases are currently pending identification and legal next of kin notification.
There are five wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area. Palisades is the largest with nearly 20,000 acres burning and more than 5,000 structures destroyed. Eaton is at nearly 14,000 acres and still 0% contained. Officials are reporting some progress with the Hurst fire, which is now 37% contained. The Lidia fire in Acton spans about 400 acres and is 75% contained. The newest fire, Kenneth, burning nearly 1,000 acres in LA and Ventura counties, is 35% contained.
LA county sheriffs urged people to stay away from their homes a while longer while downed power lines, open gas lines and damaged structures still posed a threat-to-life risk.
Winds across Los Angeles county are expected to pick up again this evening local time. The National Weather Service said it expects moderate to strong Santa Ana winds. Winds on the Palisades fire are expected to gust up to 40-60 mph. Forecasters expect a short break in winds on Saturday before they pick up again on Sunday and into next week.
National Guard troops were patrolling the streets of Altadena before dawn on Friday after being called in to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone. Troops in camouflage were posted at intersections in the city hard-hit by the Eaton Fire near Jeeps, Humvees and other military vehicles.
California lawmakers are working on legislation to expedite insurance claims. The LA Times reports that Los Angeles assembly speaker Robert Rivas vowed to back a law to help homeowners speed up insurance claims.
National Guard troops were patrolling the streets of Altadena before dawn on Friday after being called in to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone.
Troops in camouflage were posted at intersections in the city hard-hit by the Eaton Fire near Jeeps, Humvees and other military vehicles, AP reports.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting and other thefts in areas where the fire raged.
Los Angeles county officials say they plan to put an overnight curfew in place that would make it easier to make arrests.
And the LA county sheriff’s office repeated warnings that anyone caught looting would be arrested.
The LA county sheriff’s office has warned residents against returning to their homes too soon.
In a statement on X, officials warned downed power lines, open gas lines and damaged structures still posed a risk to people’s lives.
The statement said: “There are still downed power lines, open gas lines and unpredictable damaged structures that can cause serious injury or death. Please help us avoid using our resources to conduct rescue missions, as our focus is to maintain a high patrol visibility and prevent looters from entering the affected areas.”
A firefighting plane had to be grounded Thursday after it was struck by a drone flown by a civilian, the Los Angeles county fire department said. Nobody was injured. It’s a federal crime to fly a drone during firefighting.
Firefighters made significant gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.
The Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
To the west, the fire in Pacific Palisades, the largest burning in the LA area, has destroyed over 5,300 structures. The blaze is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation order to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.
Updated
Los Angeles officials expect the death toll from the wildfires in the county to continue to rise, as workers comb through incinerated neighbourhoods with cadaver dogs.
Nearly 180,000 people have been evacuated and at least 10 have been killed in the fast-moving fires that have torn through the county, propelled by hurricane-force winds. The burnt areas now cover more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres), with about 10,000 structures charred by the two biggest blazes. Meanwhile, Santa Monica declared a curfew because of looting, officials said, with at least 20 arrests made.
After briefly easing on Thursday, the gales were expected to intensify again in the evening and into Friday. Even as officials expressed cautious optimism that the Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills was now under control, a new fire, the Kenneth fire, erupted on Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando valley, triggering evacuation orders.
Firefighters are hoping for a break from fierce winds that have fueled massive blazes in the Los Angeles area.
Fire danger warnings are in place through Friday afternoon, but winds have died down from earlier in the week, when hurricane-force gusts blew embers that ignited hillsides. That could give firefighters a chance to make more progress, but meteorologist Rich Thompson warned the break could be short-lived, reports the Associated Press (AP).
“We’re looking for a little respite on Friday and Saturday from the Santa Ana winds but then they’re going to pick up again Sunday through most of next week,” he said at a fire briefing on Thursday evening.
Here are some more images coming in from California:
As wildfires devastate LA, Republicans point fingers at Democratic California leaders
If ever a situation cried out for elevating national unity over political divisions, the dystopian scenes emanating from the Los Angeles fires surely qualified.
The catastrophe that has left at least five people dead, more than 1,000 structures destroyed and forced thousands fleeing their homes would – in an ideal and less polarised America – spur humane empathy and solidarity in place of tribal partisanship.
Instead, amid nightmarish images eerily evocative of Cormac McCarthy’s dark post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, a political firestorm has sparked from Donald Trump and his supporters that seems as scorched earth in its characteristics as the blazes ravaging neighborhoods across Los Angeles.
Far from calling a temporary truce, the president-elect and his Maga (make America great again) acolytes have used the fires to attack the Democratic political ruling establishment in Los Angeles and California – possibly foretelling power struggles ahead over a range of issues after Trump assumes office this month.
The attacks have used disinformation, wild claims, conspiracy theories and extremist culture war tropes. But absent from their critique has been any acknowledgement that climate change has played any role in igniting the catastrophic fires – despite a consensus among experts that they have been caused by exceptional environmental conditions, including near hurricane-strength winds, low rainfall and unseasonably high temperatures.
The Republicans have instead blamed Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, for supposedly failing to ensure enough water was available to douse the infernos – along with his fellow Democrat, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, who drew flak for not returning from a pre-planned trip to Ghana until after the fires began. Also targeted has been the head of LA’s fire department, Kristin Crowley, derided as a “DEI [diversity, equity and inclusiveness] hire” in reference to her being the first openly gay woman to hold the position.
Here is the latest Weather Tracker analysis, by Brendan Wood at Metdesk:
The rapid spread of one of the most destructive wildfires in the history of Los Angeles is believed to have been fuelled by strong Santa Ana winds and months of drought.
Santa Ana winds occur between September and May, when high pressure over the deserts of the south-western US and low pressure off the coast of California allow winds to flow east to west, through mountain passages in California towards the ocean. This week, a strong Santa Ana event brought gusts of 100mph (160km/h) to Los Angeles.
With wildfires raging in the path of Santa Ana winds, burning debris and embers were picked up and deposited downwind, allowing flames to spread across wide areas with ease. The Palisades fire, the largest of many burning simultaneously in the region, ballooned from 312 hectares to 6,900 on Tuesday.
The gusty nature of Santa Ana winds has made the fires particularly challenging to contain owing to their unpredictability. Southern California has not received much rain in eight months, causing vegetation to become dry and giving more fuel to the fires.
The winds have eased in recent days, allowing for the deployment of aerial support for fire crews on the ground, but conditions will remain blustery with gusts of up to 70mph possible in places. As a result, red flag warnings remain in effect until Friday, when calmer conditions are expected. Widespread smoke has led to very poor air quality across the region.
Paris Hilton has shared footage, which can be seen in the below video, of her beachfront home in Malibu after watching it burn down on live TV.
US property and casualty insurance stocks fell in premarket trading on Friday after wildfires in Los Angeles killed at least 10 people and destroyed nearly 10,000 structures, with five fires burning into a third night, reports Reuters.
The Palisades fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the Eaton fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history.
Insurers are expected to face catastrophe-related claims worth billions of dollars from the disaster, which analysts estimate will be the costliest ever in California.
“We expect insured losses to run well into the billions of dollars, given the high value of homes and businesses in the affected areas, and to cause large losses for P&C insurers with significant homeowners and commercial property market share in Los Angeles,” Moody’s Ratings said in a note seen by Reuters.
Analysts at Morningstar DBRS pegged insured losses in excess of $8bn, based on preliminary estimates. JP Morgan expects the losses to reach as high as $10bn. Sector bellwether Travelers fell 4% before the bell. Mercury General slumped 32%, while Allstate, Chubb and AIG dropped between 4% and 6%, reports Reuters.
European insurers also traded lower with Beazley, Lancashire and Hiscox all down about 3%, the three biggest losers across UK-listed large and midcaps. .
The Pacific Palisades area is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the US, home to Hollywood A-listers and multimillion dollar mansions. Ahead of this week’s disaster, its insurance costs were among the most affordable in the country, according to a Reuters analysis. But that is likely to change after the scale of losses anticipated in the wildfires now ringing Los Angeles, as well as regulatory changes enacted late last year, four analysts told Reuters earlier this week.
Updated
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As Los Angeles firefighters battle ongoing blazes, prominent rightwing figures are spreading bigoted criticism of the response and lies about who’s to blame, including that the fire is raging because of diversity within the fire department.
The misinformation echoes the claims that plagued the North Carolina hurricane response. Both disasters led to righteous outrage that partisan actors seize upon to advance their political goals, muddying the already confusing information ecosystem that comes along with a fast-moving news event.
In what has become a common theme, rightwing media and commentary have said that diversity within the Los Angeles fire department is to blame for the devastation.
“Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley,” X account Libs of TikTok, known for spreading anti-LBGTQ+ rhetoric, posted. “She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority. Does this make you feel safer?” In another tweet, the same account, which has nearly 4 million followers, wrote: “DEI will get people k*lled. DEI must DIE.”
Much of the misinformation also includes claims of mismanagement by the LA mayor Karen Bass and the California governor Gavin Newsom.
The spread of rumors, misinformation and lies can hinder the ability of emergency responders to do their jobs and confuses residents who need accurate, up-to-date information to make choices to keep themselves safe. It also makes it more difficult for people to assess whether accountability is needed for their public officials when lies are commingled with valid criticisms.
False claims of federal disaster relief funds being diverted to migrants have also resurfaced. Criticism of environmental practices, like allegedly protecting fish over people or limiting prescribed burns have been elevated. Unrelated donations to Ukraine became a scapegoat. Donald Trump Jr, the president’s oldest son, intimated that donations the Los Angeles fire department sent to Ukraine in 2022 somehow were related to the response.
People on varying parts of the political spectrum, including Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong, have claimed the fire department’s budget saw big cuts – it didn’t, Politico notes.
The year 2024 was the hottest on record, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation said ahead of the release later on Friday of a comprehensive report incorporating the findings of several regional climate monitoring institutes (see earlier post).
The findings, due to be released at 5pm Geneva time (2.50am PST/4pm GMT) will collate findings of meteorological observatories in Britain, China, the EU and the US, WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said.
“The WMO will later today confirm that 2024 was the hottest year on record,” she told a news conference in Geneva, reports Reuters.
“We saw extraordinary land and sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat, accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams,” she added.
Updated
The wildfires have burned the homes of several celebrities including Billy Crystal, Carey Elwes and Paris Hilton, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Actor Steve Guttenberg has spoken to the AP, telling the news agency that his property was miraculously spared when a wildfire that tore through the Pacific Palisades left his neighbourhood charred and unrecognizable.
Guttenberg told the AP that he never expected all of this to happen. “It’s like when someone dies suddenly,” he said. “It’s like when someone gets hit by a car. You never expect that to happen. That’s how shocking it was.”
“I’ve seen people scared, people in wheelchairs, mothers and fathers trying to find their kids, people having anxiety and panic attacks,” said Guttenberg, who returned to his neighbourhood to help others who stayed behind with relief efforts. He has helped move cars to clear the street, handed out food and assisted neighbours from out their homes.
“All these houses behind me burned to the ground where their families enjoyed wonderful times together with their friends and family,” said Guttenberg while pointing at one charred home before dropping his head in sadness. “There’s really a lot of pain going on right now. I’m doing whatever I can to help alleviate it.”
“Everybody’s gonna do what regular people do: Help each other, give each other food and water, help each other in their back yards, in their front yards,” he said. “Even though somebody’s an actor, producer, writer, director, we’re all just people … Maybe people can donate at one point to some sort of fund. But I just think, be a good neighbor right now.”
When asked by the AP about the timeline for his neighbourhood’s recovery, Guttenberg said it could take anywhere from five to 10 years to rebuild and fully heal. “It’s going to be a lot of work,” he said. “It’s going to be unbelievable to try to rebuild this. Rebuild all the beautiful trees, homes and retail shops and lifestyle. The psychology of it all, it’s going to take a long time.”
The American Red Cross said its dedicated disaster responders are on the ground in Southern California and have shared how those affected can get help.
Shelters are open in southern California providing food, health services and other support, the American Red Cross said. For those seeking shelter, they advise:
Call 1-800-RED CROSS
Visit redcross.org/shelters
Use the Red Cross Emergency app
It has also published evacuation advice on X:
Park your car facing the direction of your evacuation route.
Keep pets in one room so you can quickly grab them.
Leave a go-bag with emergency supplies by the door.
You can watch the Los Angeles fire department issue a mandatory evacuation order for the Kenneth fire in this video below:
These satellite pictures reveal the scale of destruction from the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles.
Southern California Edison said on Thursday it had received notices from insurance companies to preserve evidence related to the Eaton fire, but said no fire agencies have pointed to the utility’s connection to the fire.
Here are some recent photos coming in via the newswires:
Oscar-winning actor and director Mel Gibson has expressed frustration at the city’s response to the wildfires which has seen criticism aimed at governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, reports the Press Association (PA).
During a podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Gibson expressed frustration, saying Newsom “didn’t do anything” to help address underlying environmental issues which have remained a problem in southern California for many years.
“I think Newsom said ‘I’m going to take care of the forest and maintain the forest and do all that kind of stuff’ – he didn’t do anything,” Gibson told Rogan.
“I think all our tax dollars probably went for Gavin’s hair gel,” Gibson joked. “It’s sad, the place is just on fire.”
Gibson has also shared that his home was lost in the Los Angeles wildfires while he was away recording a podcast interview. Appearing on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports, Gibson said he returned from Austin, Texas, after recording the Joe Rogan Experience to find his Malibu home was “completely toasted”.
The Mad Max star, 69, described the loss as “emotional” and “devastating”, but attempted to remain upbeat as he said his family were “happy and healthy and out of harm’s way”.
“I was doing the Rogan podcast, I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking because I knew my neighbourhood was on fire, so I thought ‘I wonder if my place is still there’, but when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there,” he said.
Gibson added:
I’ve never seen such a complete burn, it is obviously devastating, it’s emotional. You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. I lived there for about 14, 15 years so it was home to me.
I had a lot of personal things there that I can’t get back – everything from photographs to files to just personal things that I had from over the years.
That can all be replaced. These are only things. And the good news is that those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way.”
Updated
Agence France-Presse have a report on the devastation of the Los Angeles fires as viewed from a helicopter on Thursday:
Flying south through smoky skies down the famous Malibu coast, at first the burnt-out mansions are the exception – solitary wrecks, smoldering away between rows of intact, gleaming beachfront villas.
But draw closer to Pacific Palisades and those small scorched ruins become sporadic clusters, and then endless rows of charred, crumpled homes.
From the air, the extent of the devastation from the Palisades fire on these two neighbourhods is starting to come into focus: whole streets in ruins, the remains of once-fabulous houses now nothing but ash and memories.
Access to this area of utter devastation has been largely closed to the public and even to evacuated residents since the fire began Tuesday.
The biggest among multiple blazes covering Los Angeles, the inferno has now ripped through more than 19,000 acres (7,700 hectares) of Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
A preliminary estimate of destroyed structures was “in the thousands,” city fire chief, Kristin Crowley, told Thursday’s conference. “It is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” said Crowley.
For AFP reporters surveying the scenes from a helicopter on Thursday, it was hard to argue with that view.
On some of these highly coveted Malibu oceanfront plots, beloved by celebrities, skeletal frames of buildings indicated the lavish scale of what has been destroyed.
Other multimillion dollar mansions have vanished entirely, seemingly swept into the Pacific Ocean by the force of the Palisades fire. And looming above Malibu, a thin sliver of luxurious waterfront property, is Pacific Palisades itself – an affluent plateau of expensive real estate, now deserted.
Not the entire hilltop is blackened. Several grand homes stand unscathed. Some streets have been spared entirely. But toward the southern end of the Palisades, grids of roads that were until Tuesday lined with stunning homes now resemble makeshift cemeteries.
Where row upon row of family homes once stood, all that remain are occasional chimneys, blackened tree stumps and charred timber.
At a press conference on Thursday, Los Angeles district attorney, Nathan Hochman, described walking through Pacific Palisades to the remains of his sister’s home as “apocalyptic.”
“Not since the 1990s when Los Angeles was hit with the fires, the flood, the earthquake and the riots, have I seen such disaster occur here in our city,” he said.
“This is crazy,” agreed Albert Azouz, a helicopter pilot who has flown these skies for almost a decade, observing the destruction from above on Thursday. “All these homes, gone.”
Updated
All schools in Los Angeles unified school district closed on Friday
At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, reports the Associated Press (AP) and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) – roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
All schools in the Los Angeles unified school district, the nation’s second largest, will be closed on Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts, and classes will not resume until the conditions improve, officials said.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said.
National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. The county sheriff said to protect properties they will be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6pm until 6am.
Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting the southern California hillsides.
It is impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.
“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire chief, Kristin Crowley, confirmed two were in the Palisades fire. County officials said the Eaton fire had killed five.
Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble, Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna said.
Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to come, but they did not make it out, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told the Washington Post.
Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate on Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from rubble of a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained, reports the AP.
AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150bn, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Firefighters made significant gains on Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.
Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation to be lifted on Thursday. The fire that sparked late on Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.
Fire officials do not yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.
LA area's two biggest blazes burn at least 10,000 structures
The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said on Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.
The fast-moving Kenneth fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and then moved into neighboring Ventura County by the evening.
Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed 10 people so far.
“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that the orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton fire near Pasadena that started on Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed more than 5,300 structures.
All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile (40-kilometer) band north of downtown.
Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood, reports the AP.
At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries burned. The Will Rogers’ western ranch house and Topanga Ranch motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s also burned. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.
Updated
20 people arrested since fires broke out, says LA county sheriff
Around 20 people have been arrested in disaster zones since the first fires broke out on Tuesday, Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna said, amid reports of looting.
Luna has pledged to beef up patrols and said his officers - who are soon to be backed up by California National Guard soldiers - will be proactively stopping anyone they see in an evacuation area.
“When we have an evacuation order by law, if you remain in that area, you are guilty of a misdemeanor. If you commit certain crimes, it could jump up to a felony,” he said.
“If you are in one of these areas and you do not belong there, you are going to be subject to arrest.”
Curfew planned amid reports of looting, says Los Angeles country sheriff
Amid reports of looting, Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, said a nighttime curfew was planned, and the state’s National Guard was on hand to patrol affected areas.
Governor Gavin Newsom said the service members were part of a thousands-strong deployment of state personnel.
“We’re throwing everything at our disposal - including our National Guard service members - to protect communities in the days to come,” he said.
“And to those who would seek to take advantage of evacuated communities, let me be clear: looting will not be tolerated.”
But with such a huge area scorched by the fires, some evacuees feared not enough was being done and some were taking matters into their own hands, according to a report from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Nicholas Norman mounted an armed vigil at his home after seeing suspicious characters in the middle of the night.
“I did the classic American thing: I went and got my shotgun and I sat out there, and put a light on so they knew people were there,” he told AFP.
The Los Angeles Animal Services has said its six shelters are “extremely full” looking after 1,500 animals, while the county’s animal control manager Christopher Valles told USA Today that all seven of its care centres are near capacity. The organisations are urging the public to foster if they can.
Animal shelter Pasadena Humane says it has provided aid to over 300 animals in less than 24 hours. The shelter wrote on social media that many animals were presenting with burns and injuries – including one dog was coated in ash, with ulcers in her eyes from smoke exposure.
A list of emergency animal shelters can be found here.
Stephane Eyes, a senior wildlife biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, noted in October 2022 that wildlife will avoid smoke and actively burning areas until its safe to return.
“Wildlife is incredibly resilient,” Eyes said, noting that “California has a long history with wildfire, and many species adapted to endure it.”
Updated
Palisades fire – pictures
Of five wildfires currently burning in Los Angeles, officials say the Palisades Fire is among the least contained.
Here is an aerial view of the area.
Officials say the fire is only 6% contained and is 19,978 acres.
Homes reduced to ash along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Updated
A summary of recent updates issued by authorities and California governor Gavin Newsom:
Palisades fire is 19,978 acres and 6% contained
Eaton fire is 13,690 acres and 0% contained
Kenneth fire is 1000 acres and 35% contained
Hurst fire is 771 acres and 37% contained
Lidia fire is 348 acres and 60% contained
Updated
The Kenneth fire is now 35% contained, according to a social media post by California governor Gavin Newsom:
The #KennethFire is 1,000 acres and now 35% contained. The forward rate of spread has been stopped.
Grateful for the heroic firefighters from Los Angeles and Ventura counties who are actively engaged on the scene, deploying both ground crews and aerial resources.
Some recent photos from the Eaton, Palisades and Kenneth fires.
Updated
An update on the Hurst fire from the US forest service has increased the acreage burned to 771 and is 37% contained.
477 personnel were assigned to the fire.
Death toll from wildfires rises to 10
The death toll from wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 10 from seven, Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner said. All cases are currently pending identification and legal next of kin notification.
Update on Eaton fire
Officials have issued an update on the Eaton fire, near Pasadena, which started on Tuesday evening and has burned through 13,690 acres and remained 0% contained.
Five civilian deaths have been confirmed in the incident.
The statement said 1,396 personnel were responding to the fire.
Damage assessments have now verified that 972 structures had been destroyed and a further 84 damaged. Although preliminary estimates suggest the number destroyed could be as high as 4000 - 5000 structures.
Critical fire weather conditions will continue across the area until at least Friday evening. Winds will likely vary significantly between higher terrain and the lower elevations of the fire, as the area is sheltered from the northeast. There is a chance of critical fire weather conditions developing this weekend and early next week.
Updated
Forward progress of the Kenneth fire halted
Forward progress of the Kenneth fire has been stopped, according to a social media post by the Ventura County fire department, and reported by NBC News.
The fire was sparked around 3:34pm and quickly ballooned to 960 acres
Forward progress of the Kenneth fire has been stopped, and the fire is currently holding at 960 acres with 0% containment.
Approximately 400 firefighters will remain on scene through the night, continuing to provide structure protection and knock down hot spots.
There are no reported structures damaged or destroyed. All evacuation orders in Los Angeles County have been reduced to evacuation warnings. Evacuation warnings issued in Ventura County have been lifted.
Updated
As wildfires spread across Los Angeles in the middle of winter, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirms global temperatures eclipsed the 1.5C warming barrier for the first time.
As Damian Carrington explains:
The average temperature in 2024 was 1.6C above preindustrial levels, data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows. That is a jump of 0.1C from 2023, which was also a record hot year and represents levels of heat never experienced by modern humans.
In Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, street after street is laden with carnage that tells part of the story of the ferocious firestorm that swept through the area over the last two days.
Buckled trees and telephone poles are strewn across roads, their piled branches and hanging wires a testimony to the winds that whipped the flames. Intersections are flooded with water, even after the loss of water pressure hampered efforts during the harrowing firefight. Mansions lining the yellow beaches hollowed out, homes in the neighborhoods’ canyons reduced to dust.
The Los Angeles Police Department said a man has been taken into custody on suspicion of arson, after receiving a radio call that the man was “attempting to light a fire” in the Woodlands Hills area, according to the LA Times. A spokesperson said:
We are continuing our investigation, and we CANNOT confirm any connection to any fire by this suspect at this time.
Before and after: satellite images of fires show devastation
Seven people were killed, more than 10,000 structures destroyed and at least 180,000 residents ordered to evacuate in California as fast-moving wildfires burned around Los Angeles, encircling the city.
On Tuesday, hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block and destroying an area of land about 45 square miles (117 sq km) over the following days. As of late Thursday, five fires were still raging around Los Angeles, three of them completely uncontrolled.
Satellite images showed the scale of the destruction from the Pacific Palisades fire, which left the coastline along the famous Malibu neighbourhood scorched black and buildings along the water burned to the ground.
Updated
More than 8,000 personnel and 600 members of the California National Guard were now battling the Los Angeles fires, according to California governor Gavin Newsom.
They were being assisted by 991 fire trucks and 40 helicopters.
Newsom also recently provided an update on the Hurst fire, which he said was now 37% contained, in a post to social media on Thursday evening.
Opening summary
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the wildfires in California, where some of the worst blazes in the region’s history have ravaged homes and reduced entire neighbourhoods to ash. I’m Petra Stock.
It’s approaching 8pm in Los Angeles and here is a recap of what you need to know.
There are five wildfires currently raging in Los Angeles county, they include:
The Palisades fire, at 19,978 acres and 6% containment
The Eaton fire, at 13,690 acres and 0% containment
The Kenneth fire, at 960 acres and 0% containment
The Hurst fire, at 671 acres and 10% containment
The Lidia fire, at 348 acres and 60% containment
As we settle in for the third night since wildfires broke out in southern California, here are the top developments of the day:
Seven people have died, and more than 10,000 structures have burned, in the Palisades and Eaton fires. Five deaths have been confirmed in the Eaton fire and two in the Palisades. The Palisades fire, which had remained 0% contained since it broke out Tuesday, was 6% contained by 6pm Thursday.
A new fire, now called the Kenneth fire, sparked around 3:34pm and quickly ballooned to 960 acres.
President Joe Biden has announced that the federal government would pay for 100% of the firefighting needs for the next 180 days.
Law enforcement officials are working to issue a curfew for affected burn zones in Los Angeles, in order to combat looting, though it is unclear when it will go into effect.
Vice-president Kamala Harris canceled a trip to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany shortly after President Biden canceled a trip to Italy in order to more closely monitor the fires.
The California prison system has now deployed nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters to fight the devastating blazes.
