The largest Los Angeles fires are still out of control, even as gentle winds are helping to extinguish the flames
Firefighters began to slow the spread of deadly and destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles area on Thursday, but strong winds driving the fast-moving blazes have eased, although the largest blazes are still out of control.
Crews were able to clear a major threat Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, near the heart of the entertainment industry, and lifted an evacuation order for the area by early morning.
“While we still face significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide will turn,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a press conference Thursday morning.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said water from the plane helped fire crews control fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City. Much of the destruction around the city occurred after those planes crashed due to strong winds.
Strong winds were still a threat on Thursday, but the weather forecast may represent an opportunity for firefighters to make progress in battling the fires that have killed at least seven people and ravaged communities from the Pacific coast to Pasadena, California. causing thousands to flee their homes in a frenzy.
Nadia Williamson, a Canadian living in Los Angeles, fled her home as a powerful wildfire approached. “Before I knew it, the whole Palisades was gone.”
The number of fires is still being counted. Along the coast, the Palisades Fire has burned thousands of buildings, Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley said.
“It’s safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most devastating natural disasters in Los Angeles history,” he said.
Flames from the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills engulfed densely populated neighborhoods Wednesday night. A few kilometers away, the streets around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theater and Madame Tussauds were abuzz, with some onlookers using their phones to film the flaming hills.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the death toll is expected to rise as cadaver dogs and search teams begin searching the wreckage. On Thursday, officials updated the death toll from five to seven.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Eric Scott said firefighters were able to get the fire under control because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us today.”
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which coordinates cross-border wildfire responses with the US, said it was working to send a pair of CL-415 water bombers on Thursday to help fight it.
Hurricane force causes fan fires
On Wednesday, hurricane-force winds of 129 km/h blew embers, igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and the nearby community of Altadena.
Called the Palisades and Eaton fires, thousands of homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed, and the number is expected to rise.
The two fires already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, having so far burned nearly 125 square kilometers—an area the size of Disney World—and reduced entire neighborhoods to ashes.
Both were kept at zero percent, officials said, although they were no longer significantly prevalent.
County Sheriff Luna said the Eaton fire alone damaged or destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures. Officials say the Palisades fire has destroyed another 5,300 structures, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Aerial footage collected by KNBC early Thursday shows the Palisades fire, one of five major fires in the Los Angeles area.
Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city’s water main was stretched and crews were further hampered by the power outage. But even without those problems, firefighters would not have been able to contain the fast-moving blaze, he said.
“These erratic winds were blowing embers several miles ahead of the fire,” he said.
Still, questions were raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to buckle when it was needed most.
Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s emergency preparedness minister, said he had contacted FEMA in the US to offer support in X.
“The Canadian team with Ontario, Quebec and Alberta is ready to deploy 250 firefighters, aircraft equipment and other resources as of tonight,” he wrote, adding that the Canadian Forces were standing by to transport personnel and equipment.
Canada also sent water bombers from Alberta.
“To our American neighbours: Canada is here to help,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at X.
180,000 people were ordered to evacuate
In Pacific Palisades, a hillside area dotted with blocks of celebrity homes, California Mission-style homes and bungalows along the waterfront was reduced to smoldering ruins. An ornate iron railing wrapped around the flaming frame of a house.
About 180,000 people are under evacuation orders and the fires have burned about 117 square kilometers – an area about the size of San Francisco.
Jose Velasquez sprayed water like embers on the roof of his family’s home in Altadena. He managed to save the structure, which also houses the family business that sells food. Many of his neighbors were at work as the fire spread to their homes.
“We had to call a few people and then people texted asking if their house was still standing,” she said. “We had to tell them it wasn’t.”
About 250 houses were destroyed in Altadena. According to satellite images from Maxar Technologies, only a few houses were left, some still in flames. Few of Malibu’s 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean appeared intact.
Actors lost their homes
The fire tore through the affluent neighborhoods of California’s rich and famous.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton were among the stars who lost their homes. Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades fire.
Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged $1 million to create a “support fund” for bushfire victims.
In Palisades Village, the public library, two large grocery stores, a pair of banks and several boutiques were destroyed.
“It’s so weird to come back to a place that doesn’t exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who said his elementary school burned down.
Hollywood studios stopped production, and Universal Studios closed the theme park.
A longer fire season
The main fires grew rapidly in diverse areas with two things in common: densely packed houses in places choked with dry vegetation primed for burning.
The fire moved so fast that many people barely had time to escape, some abandoned their cars and set off on foot. The police sought shelter inside their cars.
California’s wildfire season is starting earlier and ending later due to climate change-related increased temperatures and decreased rainfall, according to recent data. According to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, the rains that normally end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn into the winter months.
Dry winds, including the infamous Santa Anas, caused warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which hasn’t seen more than 2.5 millimeters of rain since early May.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, pointing to a difficult recovery and increased homeowners’ insurance costs.
In all, there are five wildfires in Los Angeles County, including a fast-growing blaze that crossed the border from Ventura County. The sky was buzzing with retardant and water-dropping planes on the flaming hills.
County Supervisor Janice Hahn said Los Angeles County mistakenly issued evacuation notices to 9.6 million residents, but a correction was quickly issued.
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