State of emergency declared as rapidly spreading wildfires rage through Los Angeles County, California
Three wildfires broke out in southern California’s Los Angeles County, burning through nearly 1 600 ha (4,000 acres) in less than a day, prompting tens of thousands to evacuate and damaging multiple structures.
- Three wildfires — the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire, and the Hurst Fire broke out in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, January 7, burning through nearly 1 600 ha (4 000 acres).
- At least 30 000 people have been evacuated as the blazes threaten over 10 000 structures.
- A state of emergency has been declared for the region.
Three wildfires ignited in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, January 7, burning nearly 1 600 ha (4 000 acres) as Santa Ana Winds created critical fire weather conditions across much of southern California.
Palisades Fire
The largest of the three, the blaze was reported at approximately 10:30 local time (LT) on Tuesday and quickly spread, burning over 1 182 ha (2 921 acres) by 10:22 LT the same day. The cause remains under investigation, and the fire is currently at 0% containment.
Wind gusts of up to 60 mph (97 km/h) are forecast to persist through Thursday, January 9, complicating fire suppression efforts. Evacuation orders are in place for 19 zones, while 20 additional zones are under evacuation warnings.
The fire has forced 30 000 residents to evacuate and is threatening over 10 000 homes. Evacuation shelters have been set up at the Westwood Recreation Center and El Camino Real Charter High School. Multiple structures have reportedly been damaged by the blaze.
The fire has also led to several road closures. The southbound Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Coastline Drive are closed, along with the southbound PCH at Las Flores Canyon Road and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
A state of emergency has been declared due to the blaze while multiple firefighting units are actively working to contain the fire.
Eaton Fire
The Eaton Fire was reported at approximately 18:23 LT on Tuesday. It burned through 405 ha (1 000 acres) by 00:00 LT on Wednesday and remains uncontained. Multiple firefighting crews are actively battling the blaze. Some homes have reportedly been damaged by the blaze.
Evacuation shelters have been opened at El Camino Real Charter High School, the Pasadena Convention Center, and the Westwood Recreation Center. All schools in the Pasadena Unified School District are closed on Wednesday, January 8.
Hurst Fire
The Hurst Fire is the smallest of the three. It started at 22:29 LT on Tuesday and burned through over 40 ha (100 acres) by 22:30 LT.
A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for areas north of the 210 Freeway from Roxford to the Interstate 5 / 14 Freeway split. An evacuation warning is in effect for the area between the 5 Freeway, Woodley/Balboa, Lahey Street, and Zelzah Avenue.
Updates
08:14 UTC, January 10
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner said it has received notification of 10 fire-related deaths as of Thursday evening (LT). However, officials warn the actual toll remains unclear and might be higher.
As many as 10 000 structures have been destroyed in Palisades and Eaton fires.
The Palisades Fire is now the most destructive ever to hit Los Angeles County, with over 5 316 structures destroyed. As of 03:00 UTC on January 10, the fire has consumed 8 084 ha (19 978 acres) of land and is 6% contained. While the extreme winds have subsided, winds gusting from 40 – 90 km/h (25 – 55 mph) were still expected.
New updates will be posted here:
Reference:
1 Palisades Fire – Calfire – Accessed at 08:20 UTC on January 8, 2024
2 Hurst Fire – LAFD – January 7, 2024
3 Eaton Fire: New wildfire destroys homes near Altadena – KTLA – January 7, 2024
Featured image credit: LSM (stillshot)
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
There is nothing natural or wild about these fires. It’s targeted energy weapon wipe out for SMART LA 2028. Fire hydrants and reservoirs empty, de-funded fire brigade, many had their insurance cancelled in the last 6 months. This is as planned as Lahaina in Maui was. The Hollywood elite has been made redundant.
FYI — Deadly Eaton blaze explodes in size as fires burn Southern California —
– NPR – UPDATED JANUARY 8, 2025 2:41 PM ET –
— California fires live updates: 100,000 evacuated, at least 5 dead in ‘widespread disaster’ —
– Reuters –
Yep. Sodom and Gommorha.. Hopefully this is a come to Jesus moment for those people.. God will do what it takes, to bring you to him. It can be the easy way, or it can be the hard way… you choose, but you will be forced to choose someday… Insane footage.. Just insane.
This has nothing to do with God.