Firefighters hope for a break from fierce winds fuelling devastating blazes in Los Angeles area
Firefighters hoped for a break on Friday from fierce winds fuelling massive blazes in the Los Angeles area that have killed 10 people, obliterated whole neighbourhoods and set the nation’s second-largest city on edge.
The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday, when they first began popping up around a densely populated, 40-kilometre expanse north of downtown Los Angeles. No cause has been identified for the largest fires.
The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires.
The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dozens of blocks of scenic Pacific Palisades were flattened to smoldering rubble. In neighbouring Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
Metropolitan LA and its 13 million residents woke up on Friday to yet another day of fire-stoking winds and the threat of new flareups. But the gusts were expected to diminish by evening and already have died down from earlier in the week, when hurricane-force winds 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.
“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 on Thursday evening.
Two people ride bicycles amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)A VW van sits among burned out homes, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Malibu, Calif (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
New blazes have continued to crop up. On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire started in the San Fernando Valley just three kilometres from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire.
It moved into neighbouring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.
Only hours before the fire roared to life officials said they were encouraged after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from out-of-state crews saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s two devastating wildfires.
A firefighting plane had to be grounded on 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.
Residents start returning to homes reduced to rubble in LA wildfires
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Firefighters made gains on Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.
Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena, next to Pasadena, on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe with a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.
“All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone,” he said.
Robert Lara, left, looks for belongings along with his stepfather after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
The Eaton Fire burning in that area started on Tuesday night and has burned more than 5000 structures – a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
Firefighters for the first time have made progress containing the Eaton blaze, officials said on Friday.
To the west, the fire in Pacific Palisades, the largest burning in the LA area, has destroyed over 5300 structures.
Firefighters were able to establish the first bit of containment on Thursday, but the blaze is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
Homes bordering the Pacific Ocean are burned to the ground in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)Beach front properties are left destroyed by the Palisades Fire, in this aerial view, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft.
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.
At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries have been burned. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s.
The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage. 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-$150 billion ($218 – $242 billion).
Returning to what’s left
Bridget Berg, who watched her home in Altadena erupt in flames live on TV while she was at work, came back with her family on Thursday “just to make it real.”
They searched through charred debris of the house they bought 16 years ago, finding pieces of pottery, petrified wood and Japanese wood block prints handed down by a grandmother.
“It’s not like we just lost our house,” she said. “Everybody lost their house.”
Homes are seen burned while a few still stand, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The enormity of the destruction emerges
Right now, it’s 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.
Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire as it impacts a structure Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
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.
Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy. They were waiting for an ambulance to come and did not make it to safety when the flames roared through, 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 Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
Firefighters look out over the Kenneth Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in the West Hills section of Los Angeles (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
California is seeing a longer fire season
California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Several weather monitoring agencies announced Friday that Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024.
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 2.5 millimetres of rain since early May.
Evacuations, school closures and arrests
Roughly 150,000 people remained under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 145 square kilometers, larger than the size of San Francisco.
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, will be closed again Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts.
Ari Rivera, right, and Anderson Hao hold each other in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
California National Guard troops arrived on the streets of Altadena before dawn Friday to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone and evening curfews were set to begin in those areas to prevent looting after several earlier arrests.
Actors among those who lost homes
Many celebrities live in areas devastated by fire. Among those who lost their homes were Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.
Actor Steve Guttenberg said his Pacific Palisades home was miraculously spared but found his once-picturesque neighbourhood charred and unrecognisable.
He returned to help with relief efforts.
“There’s really a lot of pain going on right now,” he said.
