Wildfires plague Los Angeles area

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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.