LOS ANGELES (NEXSTAR) — At least five people are dead, many have been hurt, and more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed by multiple massive wildfires tearing across the Los Angeles area, authorities said Wednesday.
Fire officials announced during a news conference just before 6 p.m. PDT that a new brushfire had started in Runyon Canyon in the Hollywood Hills. The fast-moving blaze prompted a mandatory evacuation order for a wide area of the historic Hollywood entertainment district.
Preliminary information from fire officials estimated the wildfire had charred at least 10 acres, burning between Runyon Canyon Park and Wattles Park.
Three major fires — the Eaton Fire, the Palisades Fire, and the Hurst Fire — continue to burn from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade. Combined, the fires have consumed about 22 square miles — about half the size of the entire city of San Francisco.
While battling the Palisades Fire, crews struggled with poor water pressure and, in some cases no water, coming from fire hydrants that “went dry” due to high demand on the city’s water infrastructure. It is unclear if firefighters are still dealing with the issue.
Thousands of firefighters have been attacking the flames, with the Los Angeles Fire Department calling for off-duty firefighters to help. Firefighters from Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Northern California, have also been called in to assist local teams battling the fires.
The water-dropping aircraft, previously grounded by high winds, have returned to the skies as of midday Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Defense sent 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets as well, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed.
"None of us know where the next one is going to be," Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said during a Wednesday morning press conference while encouraging residents to be vigilant as the fires spread rapidly.
Authorities confirmed that at least five civilians died in the Eaton Fire. He did not provide their causes of death. Authorities said three people have also been arrested for allegedly trying to loot abandoned homes in the area.
Here's what we know.
At least 100,000 residents, were ordered to evacuate as the fires marched toward highly-populated and affluent neighborhoods home to California’s rich and famous. Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, were among those forced to flee.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes, Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal are among the stars who lost their homes. Crystal and his wife Janice, who lived in their home for 45 years, released this statement:
“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this,” the Crystals wrote in the statement.
In an Instagram post Moore said she was "in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost."
“Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together," the actor-singer wrote. "Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control."
The home of Vice President Kamala Harris in Los Angeles was included in one of the evacuation zones, although no one was there, according to a spokesperson.
Images of the devastation that emerged overnight showed luxurious homes that had collapsed in a whirlwind of flaming embers. The tops of palm trees whipped against a glowing red sky.
As of late Wednesday morning, more than 2 million were without power in and around Southern California. Los Angeles County had the largest share of power outages by far, with 1.2 million customers impacted, KTLA reported, citing the California Office of Emergency Services.
Some of those impacted were part of a Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, in which utilities cut power as a preventative measure when fire risk is high out of fear that downed power lines could spark new blazes.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced that all LAUSD schools would be closed on Thursday, adding to schools closed in the Malibu, Santa Monica and Pasadena districts.
Nexstar’s KTLA reported over 100 structures have burned in the Eaton Fire as flames destroyed homes, medical centers, daycares, gyms and more throughout Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. KTLA crews captured homes going up in flames as the fire reached Pasadena late Wednesday morning.
The Eaton Fire is continuing to spread rapidly and has scorched 10,600 acres, according to CalFire. No containment has been reached and a cause has not been identified.
Flames that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. Residents — one as old as 102 — waited in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and construction vans arrived to take them to safety.
Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes. The Palisades Fire has burned more than 15,800 acres as of Wednesday afternoon and remains 0% contained.
During a Wednesday morning press conference, Marrone said an estimated 1,000 structures had been lost in the Palisades Fire. He also confirmed a “high number of people who didn’t evacuate” suffered serious injuries.
With flames still growing, the Palisades Fire is now considered more destructive than the 2008 Sayre Fire, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city’s fire department and MySafe:LA. That blaze destroyed 604 structures — including homes and other buildings — in Sylmar, the northernmost suburb of the city.
The Palisades Fire is also expected to be among the most expensive ever, if not the most expensive. Citing estimates from AccuWeather, KTLA reports the fire could cause between $52 billion and $57 billion, driven in part by Pacific Palisades being home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.
For reference, the catastrophic Camp Fire in 2018 racked up a record $16.5 billion in damage.
The fire burned down Temescal Canyon, a popular hiking area surrounded by dense neighborhoods of multimillion-dollar homes. Flames jumped the famous Sunset Boulevard and burned parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie,” the 2003 remake of “Freaky Friday” and the TV series “Teen Wolf.”
In the race to get to safety on Tuesday, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.
A traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through, and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path.
Several people in Malibu were treated for burns, and a firefighter had a serious head injury, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.
The Hurst Fire was the third to start Tuesday evening, quickly prompting evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that's the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles.
As of 7:50 p.m. PDT 850 acres had been burned and the blaze was 0% contained, according to CAL FIRE.
A fourth fire, the Tyler Fire, was reported early Wednesday in Coachella, in Riverside County. The causes were under investigation and, at last update, it was 50% contained.
Another fire, the Woodley Fire, also broke out on Wednesday. Located in the Sepulveda Basin, it quickly grew to 75 acres, KTLA reported.
Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph in some places Tuesday, and increasing to 80 mph by early Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service. They could top 100 mph in mountains and foothills.
“This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen (since a) 2011 windstorm that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley,” the weather service said in a red-flag warning early Wednesday.
California’s wildfire season typically begins in June or July and runs through October, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, but January wildfires are not unprecedented. There was one in 2022 and 10 in 2021, according to CalFire.
The season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, the association said.
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches of rain since early May.
Newsom posted on X early Wednesday that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. “Emergency officials, firefighters and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives,” Newsom said.
President Joe Biden canceled plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments. He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires.
Biden and Newsom were briefed on the situation by officials late Wednesday morning.
Longtime Palisades resident Will Adams said embers flew into his wife’s car as she tried to evacuate, so she jumped out and ran toward the ocean to get out of danger.
“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” he said.
The White House says the declaration allows for federal funding to be made available to impacted individuals in Los Angeles County for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs aimed at helping individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App.
The Associated Press and Nexstar's Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.
