Wildfires plague Los Angeles area

Post Reply New Topic

What to know about the California wildfires and windstorm
Four fires burning in Los Angeles County Wednesday prompted multiple evacuation orders and warnings amid a windstorm that officials said was expected to worsen through the morning. More than 1,000 structures have been destroyed, and two people are dead, Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Anthony Marrone said.

The Palisades Fire exploded in size as powerful winds hit northwest Los Angeles, forcing the evacuation of at least 30,000 residents in the affluent community of Pacific Palisades. The Eaton, Hurst and Woodley fires are also burning.

The Palisades Fire was first reported at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time Tuesday and has grown to at least 2,921 acres with zero containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire.

More than 10,300 homes were threatened by the blaze, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The number of structures damaged or destroyed was unclear. L.A. fire officials said they had reports of multiple burn victims.

Several major L.A. roadways were jammed as residents attempted to flee the area, with many being forced to abandon their vehicles in the road and walk.

A second wildfire, the Eaton Fire, broke out Tuesday night in the hills above Altadena, a community in northern Los Angeles County, also prompting evacuation orders. It's burned at least 1,000 acres, CalFire says.

A third fire, the Hurst Fire, erupted in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles late Tuesday night and quickly consumed hundreds of acres, CalFire said, forcing some evacuations.
The Woodley Fire started early Wednesday morning.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency amid the fires.

70,000 residents ordered to evacuate, 28,000 structures threatened
At least 70,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires threaten several areas across Los Angeles County, officials said Wednesday. That figure includes 30,000 residents ordered to evacuate near the Palisades Fire.

The fires threaten at least 28,000 structures.

2 arrested for looting amid wildfires, sheriff says
Two arrests have been made for looting amid the raging wildfires in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said at a news briefing Wednesday.

Luna did not give any more information on the arrests, such as when they were made and if the two people were arrested together or in separate locations.

Winds blow fire embers more than a mile
CBS News' Jonathan Vigliotti reports that embers from the fire flames were being blown more than a mile. Those embers could spark new spotfires, Vigliotti reports.

"Simply put, this is a hellscape," Vigliotti said. "There are so many homes on fire it's unusual to see a home that is not." Watch his report:

While the fires blazing in Los Angeles are not unusually large for the region, their specific locations, as well as strong winds, make them a threat.

CBS News live updates


Personal Note:
The synagogue where my Uncle was a Rabbi burned to the ground. He may have to be evacuated from his assisted living facility.

I'm sorry to know about your Uncle's synagogue burning down even though it's good to know that your Uncle may have been evacuated from where he lived.

What we know about the California wildfires
At least five people have been killed as fast-moving wildfires engulf the Los Angeles area, prompting mandatory evacuations of more than 100,000 people.

There are at least six fires, sparked by dry conditions and powerful winds. The newest, the Sunset Fire, started shortly before 6 p.m. in the Hollywood Hills. It quickly grew to 20 acres.

The Palisades Fire has already burned through more than 15,800 acres, the Eaton Fire has exploded to 10,600 acres, and the Hurst Fire has affected more than 700 acres. The smaller Woodley Fire was under control, and the Lidia Fire was around 80 acres, at 30% containment.

Some firefighters are hindered by low water pressure and out-of-service hydrants. Some aerial water drops are underway.

The Palisades Fire has destroyed 1,000 structures, officials said. More than 450,000 customers were without electricity in Southern California.

Officials told people in evacuation zones to leave immediately. People near the blazes should pack go-bags, plan on places to meet other household members and know how to flee safely.

L.A. city firefighters battle large house fire in Studio City
A new blaze in the hills of the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles is drawing on firefighters already spread thin as L.A. is in the midst of multiple wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds.

The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that the focus of the fire was a four-story home on or near Sunswept Drive, but the fire has since expanded and is now called the Sunswept Fire.

"The Sunswept Fire is burning near Laurel Cyn/Mulholland/Coldwater Cyn/Ventura Blvd.," a city alert said tonight. "Those nearby should get set for a potential evacuation by gathering supplies and loved ones."

The fire department said in an update that the residential fire included "exposures and vegetation."

"Firefighters are in the defensive mode against the fire unit with priority of defending the exposures and preventing extension into the brush," the LAFD said.

The area is northwest of the Sunset Fire in Hollywood, north of Franklin Canyon and Beverly Hills, amid the high vistas on the San Fernando Valley side of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The range is also the focus of the Palisades Fire and the Sunset

Wildfires threaten urban Southern California's sense of security
Wildfires are supposed to be wild.

But the reach of this week's windstorm-driven blazes in Southern California has served as a reminder that flames don't stop at the wildland-urban interface. And if that's the case, few in this region of 25 million are truly safe from the ravages of such blazes.

Mandatory evacuations for the Palisades Fire yesterday and the Sunset Fire tonight spread into century-old rectangular street grids and well-worn Main Streets seemingly insulated from fire by miles of concrete and steel structures.

Authorities last night put the northern part of Santa Monica's North of Montana neighborhood under mandatory evacuation orders. The area included the city from San Vicente to the border with Los Angeles and its Pacific Palisades community.

It's not in the hills, and it's not amid woods or brush. It's part of a larger Santa Monica neighborhood known for its expensive homes and Rodeo Drive-style boutiques.

"This is staggering," Los Angeles Times reporter Julia Wick said on X last night, commenting on the Santa Monica part of the Palisades Fire evacuations. "For those unfamiliar with L.A. geography, the area in the evacuation warning is not in the hills."

Likewise, evacuations tonight covered the western part of the Hollywood Hills, west of the 101 Freeway, from Mulholland Drive — which twists along the top of the mountains — to Hollywood Boulevard, a flatlands thoroughfare to the south that takes tourists to the El Capitan Entertainment Center, TCL Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Madame Tussauds Hollywood and Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Some of the city's oldest multifamily structures line the boulevard in one of its densest neighborhoods.

Just east of the boulevard's evacuation zone are Thai Town and its critically acclaimed eateries and Little Armenia, a location celebrating Armenian settlement in East Hollywood.

The overlapping ethnic communities found life and commerce in the boulevard's vintage buildings. It's generally not a place where children learn how to hunt or fish or even about preparing for wildfires.

But the lesson of wildfire crushing urban development is one told previously, when the Camp Fire in 2018 destroyed 85% of Paradise, California, 470 miles north of L.A. in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

A National Institute of Standards and Technology analysis of the Paradise Fire found that the density of the town actually made the fire worse and accelerated flames.

"Propelling the Camp Fire’s structure-destroying spree were fires that spread within and between plots of land, or parcels, rather than from the fire front," said the analysis, published in 2021. "Sources such as burning sheds, plants, vehicles and neighboring houses caused many buildings to catch fire, either through direct contact with flames or embers generated in parcels."

Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News today that the rapid devastation of the last two days in Southern California was something he could compare only to the Paradise Fire.

"It's stunning," he said. "Nothing comes close

When will the dangerous fire weather abate?
Although the ferocious winds that have fueled the Los Angeles-area fires should gradually diminish tonight, dangerous fire conditions are expected to persist through at least Friday.

A high wind warning remains in effect until 10 p.m. PT for parts of greater Los Angeles, including the Malibu coast and the Santa Monica Mountains, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasts suggest wind speeds up to 40 mph in the affected areas, with gusts up to 60 mph.

Red flag warnings will remain in effect across parts of Southern California through at least 6 p.m. Friday. Such warnings refer to an expected combination of warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds that raises the risk of fire danger.

Humidity levels are expected to stay low, and they could dip into single digits in some areas into Friday.

“Prolonged elevated to critical fire weather is expected,” according to the fire weather outlook from the NWS Storm Prediction Center.

What we know about the California wildfires
Five devastating wind-fed fires have killed at least 13 people and swept through 39,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area, destroying entire communities and more than 12,000 structures.

Another 13 people are missing, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said today. It's unclear if the missing persons reports are related to the fires, he said.

Evacuation orders for the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, have expanded as it sweeps east and threatens Brentwood and Encino. It is 11% contained.

At least 153,000 L.A. residents were under evacuation orders overnight.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.

Los Angeles County declared a public health emergency, warning that smoke and particulate matter could pose immediate and long-term threats. The full warning and list of recommendations can be found here.

Mexican firefighters arrive to battle California’s blazes
Firefighters from Mexico have arrived in Los Angeles to help battle the deadly blazes scorching Southern California.

The Mexican crews will join more than 14,000 personnel deployed to fight the fires, California Gov. Gavin Newsom — who met with a delegation from Mexico today at Los Angeles International Airport — said in a post on X.

In a statement, the governor said more than 70 firefighters and disaster relief workers from Mexico's defense ministry and National Forestry Commission will form handcrews to help with the firefight.

“Emergencies have no borders — we are deeply grateful to our neighbors in Mexico for their unwavering support during one of our greatest times of need," Newsom said. "Thank you to President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo for lending the best of the best."

It’s not the first time California has received help from its southern neighbor during fires, with Mexico regularly sending crews to help fight raging infernos in the Golden State.

“I feel very happy,” one of the Mexican firefighters said as he stood alongside his colleagues on a tarmac while readying to deploy. “It’s a pleasure to be able to help all our countrymen and also our neighboring country.”

The Palisades Fire 'is a monster with a lot of different heads'
The Palisades Fire exploded into the Mandeville Canyon today, David Ortiz, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, told NBC Los Angeles, noting that the area has seen a lot of activity due to strong Santa Ana winds fueling the blaze.

Ortiz said the winds have calmed enough to allow helicopters to fly over the canyon, which will allow fire crews to douse the fires from helicopters into the evening.

"As long as we can fly, we're going to look for every window of opportunity to take advantage of cooperating winds to be able to put in some work," Ortiz told NBC LA.

The Palisades Fire "is a monster with a lot of different heads, with a lot of potential for growth in a different directions," Ortiz said.

Contributing to that is the area's thick and dense vegetation, in addition to areas that haven't seen a fire in 50 years, making it easier to burn. Ortiz also noted that he has seen the Palisades up in flames without the threat of winds.

Ortiz said fire crews have been working "diligently day and night" to improve containment and that the numbers don't always demonstrate the work being done. As of Saturday, the Palisades Fire is 11% contained.

The fire department has had enough resources to hit the fires hard and prevent too much growth into additional canyons, which run all the way to the ocean from Mandeville, Ortiz said.

The next biggest concern is an area beyond the I-405 Freeway, according to Ortiz. The LAFD has a contingency plan for if that does happen, but Ortiz said they are feeling optimistic that it won't. He said crews are confident that they don't think the fire will jump, but that they are prepared if the fires expand.

"Pacific Palisades was a 1 in 100 fire that you go to in your career," Ortiz. said. "Everything that could go wrong did. I'm just thankful that more people did not die."

Drone incidents over Los Angeles County fire zones 'well into the double digits'
The number of unauthorized drone incidents over the Los Angeles County fire zones are now “well into the double digits” Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, told NBC News Saturday.

The most serious of those incidents was a civilian drone that ripped a hole in a Super Scooper plane Thursday morning as the water-dropping aircraft was flying over the Palisades Fire zone. The incident temporarily ground other firefighting aircraft and put the specialized plane, provided by Canada, out of commission until Monday, at the earliest.

Investigators have recovered pieces of the drone, which are being examined by the FBI and partner agencies. Thus far, there have been no arrests or charges in any of the cases as the investigations continue.

Davis would not detail the location and number of counter drone personnel or the mitigation equipment they employ.

Law enforcement officials have said that drone operators who run afoul of the rules typically fall into one of three categories the “clueless, criminal and careless.”

The key to identifying the cause of the still-raging Palisades Fire lies on a brush-covered hilltop where the blaze broke out just after 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Fire investigators are still working to determine what sparked the inferno, but experts say it’s easy to rule out one common cause of wildfires: lightning. The region was free of stormy weather this week. The area near the Temescal Ridge Trail also appears to be free of power lines or transformers, which rules out another potential cause.

That leaves the source of most wildfires: people. But was it a result of arson? Four experts interviewed by NBC News said it was a possibility, but they thought the fires were more likely not set on purpose.

“This is what we call inaccessible, rugged terrain,” said Rick Crawford, former battalion chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department. “Arsonists usually aren’t going to go 500 feet off a trailhead through trees and brush, set a fire and then run away.”

Fires break out in the wooded areas on the edges of Los Angeles all the time — many of them caused unintentionally by homeless people. The fires almost never grow into a destructive blaze due to the lack of high winds. The combination of ferocious winds and a parched landscape created ideal conditions for the fast-moving fires that have consumed large swaths of Los Angeles this week.

“You don’t need a gang of arsonists to go out there and be starting fires because nature is taking care of that for you,” said Scott Fischer, a retired federal law enforcement arson investigator.

“There are arsonists out there,” he added, “but are there a band of arsonists running around Los Angeles right now? Not likely.”

Copycat arson is a known phenomenon, however. The experts said they wouldn’t be surprised if one of the smaller fires that broke out after the Palisades blaze was intentionally set.

“When you get a large fire event like this being experienced in Los Angeles, you sometimes trigger people to go out and light a fire,” said Terry Taylor, a retired wildland fire investigator who now works as an instructor. “It’s a copycat thing. ... It happens from time to time.”

Taylor and the other experts said it’s unlikely those answers will come anytime soon, as determining arson tends to require a lengthy investigation.

Eaton Fire
The Eaton Fire, the second largest to wreak havoc in Los Angeles, is not one of those likely to have been started by an arsonist, the experts say. It erupted Tuesday evening in an area east of Altadena where an array of high-voltage transmission lines hovers overhead.

Given the area and weather conditions, the fire experts said their first thought was power lines. Whipping winds can cause the lines to slap together, shedding small balls of superhot molten metal.

“If the ground is really dry and the wind is blowing and poof — you have a fire,” said Ed Nordskog, a retired detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who spent his career investigating arsonists.

But that’s just one potential scenario. It’s also possible that it was started by a person operating a camping stove or a car or lawn mower that ejected a hot spark onto dry grass, Nordskog said.

As for the possibility it was intentionally set, Nordskog said it was unlikely.

“Most of the time, these fires are not arson,” he said. “There is no data supporting winds bringing out arsonists.”

‘Inch by inch’
Identifying the cause of a fire is a highly specialized and painstaking endeavor, experts say.

The first step is pinpointing where it began. Things like burn patterns and charred debris can provide crucial clues.

Then comes the most detailed and labor-intensive part of the process. The investigators will lay out a grid at the scene, typically with string, and literally crawl around on their hands and knees in search of footprints or other clues.

The investigators often use metal detectors and magnifying glasses or even binoculars to help with their search.

“They’ll go inch by inch by inch, and it will take hours,” said Nordskog. “It’s not fun.”

In the case of the Eaton Fire, the investigators are likely to use magnets to help them hunt for the tiny, melted pieces of metal that could have been shed by power lines if they slapped together. But the existence of the metal doesn’t necessarily indicate that’s how the fire started, Nordskog said.

“You still have to figure out if the power lines’ spark was because things were already on fire or what started the fire,” he said. “There’s so much stuff going on with an investigation, so many factors. Anybody tells you right away what caused the fire, they had to have seen it.”

If the investigators find evidence the fire was caused by a person, they must then work to determine whether it was the result of an accident, negligence or an intentional act.

John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at the University of California, Merced, examined 30 years’ worth of government fire occurrence data from Los Angeles County. It showed that the most common causes of wildfires from 1992 to 2020 were mishaps related to vehicles and other equipment.

“More than 95% of these are human-ignited fires,” he wrote in an email. “Arson is among the causes, but most human-caused fires are not intentional.”

‘The best players out there’
Identifying the cause of a fire is a highly specialized and painstaking endeavor, experts say.

The first step is pinpointing where it began. Things like burn patterns and charred debris can provide crucial clues.

Then comes the most detailed and labor-intensive part of the process. The investigators will lay out a grid at the scene, typically with string, and literally crawl around on their hands and knees in search of footprints or other clues.

The investigators often use metal detectors and magnifying glasses or even binoculars to help with their search.

“They’ll go inch by inch by inch, and it will take hours,” said Nordskog. “It’s not fun.”

In the case of the Eaton Fire, the investigators are likely to use magnets to help them hunt for the tiny, melted pieces of metal that could have been shed by power lines if they slapped together. But the existence of the metal doesn’t necessarily indicate that’s how the fire started, Nordskog said.

“You still have to figure out if the power lines’ spark was because things were already on fire or what started the fire,” he said. “There’s so much stuff going on with an investigation, so many factors. Anybody tells you right away what caused the fire, they had to have seen it.”

If the investigators find evidence the fire was caused by a person, they must then work to determine whether it was the result of an accident, negligence or an intentional act.

John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at the University of California, Merced, examined 30 years’ worth of government fire occurrence data from Los Angeles County. It showed that the most common causes of wildfires from 1992 to 2020 were mishaps related to vehicles and other equipment.

“More than 95% of these are human-ignited fires,” he wrote in an email. “Arson is among the causes, but most human-caused fires are not intentional.”

‘The best players out there’
The prospect of arsonists torching Los Angeles gained traction on social media Thursday when a group of people in Woodland Hills detained a man they suspected of setting a trash fire. The man was arrested, but there was not enough probable cause to charge him with arson, police officials said Friday. He was arrested on a felony probation violation instead.

In addition to the Palisades and Eaton fires, four others have burned across Los Angeles. The causes remain under investigation.

A law enforcement task force has been set up to uncover what caused the fires. The local agencies involved — the Los Angeles Fire Department, Police Department and county Sheriff’s Department, as well as Cal Fire — are considered to be among the most skilled in the country. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is leading the probe.

"Everything is absolutely on the table," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a Saturday press conference.

It could take several days for investigators to determine the causes of the fires. Determining whether a fire found to have been started by a person is a criminal act could take several months or even years, the experts said.

With the number of fire fatalities reaching 11, the effort to uncover the causes is expected to go on for as long as it takes.

Former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who was born blind and had cerebral palsy, died Wednesday in the California wildfires after his mother said she was unable to save him from their home which was engulfed by flames.

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heart broken,” Shelley Sykes wrote Thursday in a post on X, calling him “a wonderful son.”

Rory Sykes, 32, had difficulty walking because of the cerebral palsy, his mother said. The actor, who starred in the late-’90s British TV show “Kiddy Kapers,” was living in a cottage on his family’s 17-acre Malibu estate.

Shelley Sykes said it burned down Wednesday in the Palisades Fire when she “couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by @LVMWD Las Virgenes Municipal Water."

"Even the 50 brave fire fighters had no water all day! He will be incredibly missed," she posted.

A spokesperson for Las Virgenes Municipal Water denied her claims, saying the "water service did remain available and uninterrupted to her property and the entire surrounding community."

"Our water system remained operational and we did provide water to the firefighters throughout the emergency and without interruption," the spokesperson said.