California fires live: five people killed and landmarks threatened as wildfires rage across Los Angeles | Los Angeles
California fires: what we know so far …
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Raging wildfires that have blazed around Los Angeles for two days have killed at least five people, destroyed almost 2,000 homes and buildings, and forced the evacuation of more than 130,000 people
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CAL Fire said it was still dealing with five major fires, covering more than 29,000 acres
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The disaster began on Tuesday afternoon, when a powerful windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the scenic Pacific Palisades neighborhood, quickly forcing thousands to flee
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Although winds had begun to ease by Wednesday evening, and firefighters from across the state were relieving exhausted crews, the danger was far from over. As officials provided an update on the fires, a new blaze broke out in the Hollywood Hills, and evacuation orders were also extended to Santa Monica. The US National Weather Service continued to warn “critical risk of fire weather over parts of Southern California on Thursday”
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The Los Angeles department of water and power has issued a notice warning residents of the Pacific Palisades that they should only be using boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking, due to low water pressure and potential contamination of the supply. A similar notice has been issued in Pasadena
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Three people have been arrested for looting, according to law enforcement officials
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Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton and Eugene Levy are among celebrities who have lost their homes
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The White House announced that Joe Biden had cancelled Thursday’s planned visit to Italy – the final overseas trip of his presidency – to focus on directing the federal response to the fires
Key events
This clip of aerial footage shows the Sunset fire sweeping across Hollywood Hills in California.
NBC News reports that all schools in Los Angeles County will remain closed for in-person teaching today. UCLA has moved undergraduate classes online. Authorities yesterday said that three schools in the Palisades had suffered significant damage during the fire.
California fires: what we know so far …
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Raging wildfires that have blazed around Los Angeles for two days have killed at least five people, destroyed almost 2,000 homes and buildings, and forced the evacuation of more than 130,000 people
-
CAL Fire said it was still dealing with five major fires, covering more than 29,000 acres
-
The disaster began on Tuesday afternoon, when a powerful windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the scenic Pacific Palisades neighborhood, quickly forcing thousands to flee
-
Although winds had begun to ease by Wednesday evening, and firefighters from across the state were relieving exhausted crews, the danger was far from over. As officials provided an update on the fires, a new blaze broke out in the Hollywood Hills, and evacuation orders were also extended to Santa Monica. The US National Weather Service continued to warn “critical risk of fire weather over parts of Southern California on Thursday”
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The Los Angeles department of water and power has issued a notice warning residents of the Pacific Palisades that they should only be using boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking, due to low water pressure and potential contamination of the supply. A similar notice has been issued in Pasadena
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Three people have been arrested for looting, according to law enforcement officials
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Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton and Eugene Levy are among celebrities who have lost their homes
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The White House announced that Joe Biden had cancelled Thursday’s planned visit to Italy – the final overseas trip of his presidency – to focus on directing the federal response to the fires
Eric Holthaus, an American meteorologist and climate journalist, writes for the Guardian today, arguing that the Los Angeles wildfires are climate disasters compounded:
The ingredients for these infernos in the Los Angeles area, near-hurricane strength winds and drought, foretell an emerging era of compound events – simultaneous types of historic weather conditions, happening at unusual times of the year, resulting in situations that overwhelm our ability to respond.
These fires are a watershed moment, not just for residents of LA, but emblematic of a new era of complex, compound climate disaster. Conditions for a January firestorm in Los Angeles have never existed in all of known history, until they now do.
The greenhouse gases humans continue to emit are fueling the climate crisis and making big fires more common in California. As the atmosphere warms, hotter air evaporates water and can intensify drought more quickly.
Melting Arctic ice creates changes in the jetstream’s behavior that make wind-driven large wildfires in California more likely. Recent studies have found that Santa Ana wind events could get less frequent but perhaps more intense in the winter months due to the climate crisis.
The more complicated answer is that these fires are an especially acute example of something climate scientists have been warning about for decades: compound climate disasters that, when they occur simultaneously, produce much more damage than they would individually.
You can read more from Eric Holthaus here: The Los Angeles wildfires are climate disasters compounded
Some more detail on the emergency curfew order imposed in Santa Monica as the city deals with the impacts of the Palisades fire.
In a statement mayor Lana Negrete said:
The Palisades fire is currently impacting neighborhoods in the northern part of Santa Monica, with approximately 2,472 households under a mandatory evacuation order, and 8,338 under a voluntary evacuation warning. This emergency order further assists our first responders and further protects residents as we weather this regional crisis and, ultimately, begin and support recovery efforts.
City manager David White, who signed the order late on Wednesday, said:
Our first responders are out patrolling, staying vigilant and coordinating with our partners throughout this emergency on all fronts. The order helps us ensure nobody enters impacted areas who is not supposed to, particularly those with nefarious intentions attempting to take advantage of the mandatory evacuations.
This satellite image shows a view of burning homes during the Eaton fire in Altadena, California
On its incidents page, CAL Fire is giving these latest figures for the five major wildfires in California:
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Palisades fire, 17,234 acres, 0% containment
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Eaton fire, 10,600 acres, 0% containment
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Hurst fire, 855 acres, 10% containment
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Lidia fire, 348 acres, 40% containment
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Sunset fire, 43 acres, 0% containment
On top of that updated forecast from the US National Weather Service, one of its meteorologists, Ariel Cohen, has spoken to CNN, telling the news network:
Just because we’re not seeing the same strength of winds as we saw last night, I urge everyone to remain at a high state of vigilance, as we still have these fires growing and we still have the winds to create the rapid spread.
The US National Weather Service has issued an updated forecast, which includes this information on California:
There is a critical risk of fire weather over parts of Southern California on Thursday. Strong high pressure over parts of the Northern Intermountain Region and Great Basin will set up Santa Ana winds over Southern California. Therefore, the SPC has issued a critical risk of fire weather over parts of Southern California. Winds of 20 to 40mph, with stronger winds in the terrain, low relative humidity, and dry fuels have contributed to the dangerous conditions.
Yesterday the Guardian published this explainer on what Santa Ana winds are, and how they increase wildfire danger …
It is just approaching 1am in California, where authorities report five major wildfires are ongoing. Here are some of the latest pictures sent over the news wires:
The Los Angeles fire department has issued a statement saying the majority of the evacuation zone for the Sunset fire has been lifted, “with the exception of the area North of Franklin Ave from Camino Palmero St (East border) to N Sierra Bonita Ave (West border)”
The statement continued:
This area remains closed until tomorrow morning due to continued LAFD operations ensuring no flare ups in the vegetation surrounding these streets. Residents are asked to be cautious when returning to their homes because firefighters are continuing to work in their neighborhoods.
The Sunset fire has, according to CAL Fire, affected 42.8 acres.
The Los Angeles department of water and power has issued a notice warning residents of the Pacific Palisades that they should only be using boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking, due to low water pressure and potential contamination of the supply. A similar notice has been issued in Pasadena.
The Palisades fire is the largest of the five major fires burning in California, covering 17,234 acres (70km sq). In its latest bulletin, CAL Fire said that 300 buildings had been destroyed, and a further 13,306 were at risk. It said:
Extreme fire behavior, including short and long-range spotting, continues to challenge firefighting efforts for the Palisades Fire. Winds gusts up to 60mph are expected to continue through Thursday.
Tony Espinoza, who fled Pasadena on Wednesday, told CNN affiliate KSNV that he fled the fire with 13 other family members, but they only packed for three days. He said:
We had to evacuate. We left in a hurry. We only had a few hours to pack. My neighbors were still in their houses. We couldn’t breathe anymore. We packed our bags only for about three days. Because we all have jobs to go to. We have rent to pay. Bills are still due.
Another evacuee, Patrice Winter, who fled Topanga Canyon, told the Los Angeles Times:
It’s like Armageddon. That’s all I can say. What they’re showing on the news is really real; they’re not sensationalizing any of this. It’s what I saw with my own eyes. It rocks your world.
The Los Angeles Times reports that authorities in Santa Monica have issued a curfew order, that will apply from sunset to sunrise in areas where the mandatory evacuation order is in place.
Archie Bland
My colleague Archie Bland has spoken to Gabrielle Canon, extreme weather correspondent for Guardian US, about the wildfires for today’s First Edition newsletter. He writes:
Wildfires are common in California – but rarely in densely populated metropolitan areas like these. And they have become significantly more dangerous in recent years because of the climate crisis.
Gabrielle Canon spent yesterday reporting near Pacific Palisades, where even people who have lived through many previous fires were stunned by the gravity of the situation. You can read her dispatch here. “It’s utter devastation here,” she said. “The iconic stretch of the Pacific Coast highway between Santa Monica and Malibu is unrecognisable.”
“People aren’t strangers to the risks,” she added. “But this fire is just laying siege to these communities, and we’re seeing major structural loss in places we haven’t for a very long time. This is going to be a catastrophic event.”
Gabrielle spoke to firefighters who said that in the Pacific Palisades area, about four out of five houses they had seen had been destroyed, even though many residents have invested in protecting their homes to meet insurance requirements.
“A lot of it came down to luck but construction also played a big part,” she said. “The firefighters saw a lot of properties where vegetation management hadn’t been done and that helped the fire spread.”
You can read more of their conversation here: Thursday briefing – What’s behind the growing danger and destruction of California’s wildfires
California fires: what we know so far …
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Firefighters in California are battling at least five major wildfires which have killed at least five people, destroyed nearly 1,900 structures, and which are threatening famous landmarks
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CAL fire lists five active fires which between them have burnt nearly 28,000 acres of land. Of the five, the Hurst fire and the Lidia fire have been partially contained
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The fires have put 130,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena. The Sunset fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile (1.6km) from the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the destructive blazes. The California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) said on Wednesday that it had deployed 395 prisoners who have been trained as firefighters while in prison across 29 crews
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In Pasadena, fire chief Chad Augustin said the city’s water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds fanning the flames
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Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton and Eugene Levy are among celebrities who have lost their homes
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The disaster began on Tuesday afternoon, when a powerful windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the scenic Pacific Palisades neighborhood, quickly forcing thousands to flee
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Satellite images showed the scale of the destruction from the Pacific Palisades fire, which burned more than 15,000 acres and left the coastline along the famous Malibu neighbourhood scorched black and buildings along the water burned to the ground
AFP reports that new fires appeared to be spotting as embers were thrown up to 2.5 miles (four kilometres) including one that razed a large property late on Wednesday in the densely populated Studio City area.
Adam Vangerpen of Los Angeles County Fire Department said crews were fighting to stop this new fire from spreading.
“It’s a four-storey home… we did just have the winds pick up again, so we are seeing some ember casting,” he said.
“Our hope is to hit it hard and make sure that we’re trying to keep it out of the brush right now, because with the winds picking up there in the hills, that is a concern of ours.”
Victim died trying to protect his home, sister says
One of the five people killed in fires tearing across Los Angeles died trying to protect his home from the flames, his sister said on Wednesday, describing the moment she had to leave him behind.
Victor Shaw ignored firefighters’ pleas to flee as fire began tearing through the Altadena area, Shari Shaw told local broadcaster KTLA.
The 66-year-old, who lived with his sister and had serious health issues, told her he wanted to stay behind and fight the flames as she made the heartbreaking decision to leave their family home.
“I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm,” she said. “I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave.”
Al Tanner, a friend of Shaw’s, later found his body in the driveway of the burned property.
“It looked like he was trying to save the home that his parents had had for almost 55 years,” he told KTLA.
