More than 100K forced to evacuate as deadly Los Angeles fires burn out of control: Updates
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Pacific Palisades fire for Wednesday, Jan. 8. For the latest updates on the California wildfires, please read USA TODAY'S live updates for Thursday, Jan. 9.
PASADENA, Calif. − Wind-whipped wildfires ravaged the Los Angeles area Wednesday as crews struggled to contain the rapidly growing blazes that killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and forced evacuations for over 100,000 residents.
As crews battled infernos across the county, a new brush fire, dubbed the Sunset Fire, ignited in Hollywood Hills Wednesday evening, spurring mandatory evacuation orders and scorching 60 acres, according to CalFire and the Los Angeles Fire Department. Meanwhile, the Palisades Fire grew to 17,234 acres late Wednesday, an increase from 15,832 acres earlier in the day.
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration on Wednesday and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as firefighters struggled to control the fires, most still 0% contained. Winds were expected to ease overnight Wednesday, but forecasters warned conditions will remain critical through at least Thursday.
The governor's office said nearly 5,000 first responders were on the ground, including crews from Oregon, New Mexico, and Washington state. Later Wednesday, the governor's office said over 7,500 firefighting and emergency personnel were deployed to the region. The state also mobilized up to 140 2,500-gallon water tenders to assist with the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Meanwhile, Biden announced that the Defense Department is providing additional resources to battle the California blazes, including firefighting personnel and Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets. The White House also announced Biden’s decision to cancel an upcoming trip to Italy to "remain focused on directing the full federal response" for the wildfires.
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo confirmed the five deaths late Wednesday afternoon. More than 100,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, the mayor said.
The fires destroyed more than 1,000 homes, businesses, and other structures, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a briefing. There also were a "high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire line," he said.
"We're facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can't be stated strong enough," said Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County.
Get weather and fire alerts via text: Sign up to get current wildfire updates by location
Developments:
∎ NIGHTTIME CURFEW: The city of Santa Monica issued an emergency order in response to the impacts of the Palisades Fire on Wednesday night. Under the order, a curfew between sunset to sunrise will be implemented in areas where a mandatory evacuation order is in effect.
∎ UNSAFE WATER ALERTS: Pasadena Water and Power issued a Do-Not-Drink Water order for Pasadena and evacuated areas of the Eaton Fire on Wednesday, noting that the water system may have been impacted by "debris and elevated turbidity." The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also advised people in the Pacific Palisades, north of San Vicente Boulevard, to only use bottled or boiled water for drinking and cooking.
∎ POWER OUTAGES: The Southern California Edison utility said over 3.1 million customers were affected by outages. Another 1.1 million customers could be affected by additional scheduled shutoffs.
∎ FUNDRAISERS: The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe published a page of verified fundraisers to support those affected by the wildfires.
∎ FIRE SIZE: More than 27,000 acres of Los Angeles County are ablaze, according to Cal Fire, mostly from the Eaton and Palisades infernos. The agency is tracking four additional smaller fires in Los Angeles County.
∎ SCHOOL CLOSURES: The Los Angeles Unified School District announced all of its campuses will be closed Thursday due to the fires. According to federal data, it is the second-largest school district in the nation with nearly 436,000 students enrolled in 2021.
Altadena home catches fire hours after family flees
Beth Davis and her family left their Altadena home around 6 p.m. Tuesday. With two kids, along with three dogs and two guinea pigs, she and her husband decided it was best to leave sooner rather than later. The Eaton Fire destroyed their rented home sometime overnight.
"It looked like Armageddon from our driveway," she said, describing the approaching flames.
They took shelter at a Pasadena private school where a friend works, bedding down on preschool nap pads while comforting their youngest daughter, 12, who fled the fire with a favorite stuffed lemur and the clothes on her back. Davis said her husband learned Wednesday that many of the homes around theirs were also destroyed.
"At least I can say that everything that I love breathes and is safe," said Davis, an insurance attorney. "The hardest part is comforting our youngest. She's lost literally everything she's had."
Davis said she's not sure what the family will do now for housing. With pets and kids, they were already paying $6,200 a month for a rental in a neighborhood where homes routinely sell for $2 million. She said they already couldn't afford a $200,000 down payment to buy their own house, and are struggling with whether to move elsewhere temporarily or battle for local house.
"You go onto Zillow right now and before you even plug in 'dog' … I think there were 21 choices and the least expensive was $4,500 a month. And that would be cramming five people into 1,200 square feet," she said. "We're circling the wagons and trying to figure out what our best options are. California is our home."
Hollywood Hills fire
Another fast-moving brush fire erupted in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, this time in the iconic Hollywood Hills, forcing more evacuations and adding strain to firefighting efforts in Southern California.
The new blaze, dubbed the Sunset Fire, sparked Wednesday evening just west of the Hollywood Bowl music venue and about 10 miles southwest of the world-famous Hollywood Sign. Images and videos shared on social media appeared to show the fire spreading uphill while a large plume of smoke moved toward the Hollywood area.
Gary Baseman, 64, of Los Angeles, is about one of two dozen people who gathered at the top of an eight-story parking structure at The Grove, an upscale outdoor mall in Los Angeles, to watch the brush fires in Hollywood Hills. "I just needed to see for myself what’s going on," said Baseman, an artist.
– Josh Peter and Thao Nguyen
Sunset Fire: Iconic Hollywood Hills erupts in fire, prompting more evacuation orders in Los Angeles
Firefighters extinguish Studio City structure fire
Amid several bushfires, including the nearby Sunset Fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported a structure fire involving a four-story residence in Studio City shortly after 9 p.m. local time. It was unclear what sparked the blaze.
The department said firefighters were in defensive mode and prioritized preventing exposures to surrounding vegetation. About an hour later, the department said over 50 firefighters extinguished the fire and no injuries were reported.
"The fire extended into the surrounding vegetation, created small spot fires, and caused some (extent not known at this time) damage to exposed buildings," the department said in a statement.
Studio City is a neighborhood just north of the Hollywood Hills, where the Sunset Fire erupted on Wednesday evening. The neighborhood borders the popular film studio and theme park, Universal Studios Hollywood, which closed earlier Wednesday due to the dangerous fire conditions.
— Thao Nguyen
'Where was the water?' Residents question fire response
Ash irritated the eyes as hundreds of disaster victims piled into the Pasadena Convention Center. The count is about 700, plus pets. Chick-fil-A made the rounds handing out breakfast sandwiches and rations of water, Gatorade and coffee are available for free at resource tables.
Many evacuees, such as Osbee Sangster, 73, had been there for hours. Sangster left her home at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday at the first sight of her neighborhood engulfed in flames. She says that she’s “disappointed in how today was handled by the fire department.” She remembers seeing fire trucks mandating evacuations, “but where was the water?”
Sangster said her home is probably nothing more than a pile of ashes, although she can’t be certain. WiFi was slow at the convention center and her flip-phone screen was frozen on the fire evacuation warning. She found her Altadena neighbor volunteering at an information table with news that his home has completely burned.
Barbara Roberson was adamant that she will not be staying the night and was hopeful she could return home Wednesday night. Roberson reiterated the rumors of poor fire prevention, and questioned “where was the water?” and “did the fire department run out of water?”
− McKenna Mobley, USA TODAY Network
Pacific Palisades wildfire rages: Tens of thousands forced to evacuate: Updates
Are hospitals, clinics affected by the wildfires?
Fires across Southern California have prompted closures and evacuations at clinics and health systems in the region.
The Hurst fire, ignited Tuesday night, began near the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. Images provided to USA TODAY showed the mountainside aflame.
The medical center, which is operated by Los Angeles County, was still open and fully functional, as were nearly all other county medical centers and patient care facilities, the Department of Health Services said in a statement. The West Valley Health Center, in the San Fernando Valley, was closed due to an outage, though it wasn't clear if this was related to the fires.
In a Wednesday morning update, University of California, Los Angeles, Health said several clinics from the Pacific Palisades to Pasadena had been closed until further notice.
While Cedars-Sinai’s main medical center and its hospital in Marina del Rey, both on the west side of Los Angeles, were unaffected Wednesday, some outpatient offices in evacuated areas are closed, the health system said in an update.
In a statement, Huntington Hospital, which is located in Pasadena near the Eaton fire and affiliated with Cedars-Sinai, said it will continue to provide care but would provide updates as the situation evolves.
Kaiser Permanente, a managed care company headquartered in California, said most of its Southern California facilities were currently open and operating normally. Facilities in Thousand Oaks, Santa Monica, Pasadena and Sylmar were closed Wednesday, a Kaiser statement said.
– Eduardo Cuevas
Sheriff confirms 3 looting arrests
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned against looting homes amid mass evacuations and urged people to stay out of the area. Over 70,000 people are impacted by evacuation warnings or orders from the Eaton fire, he said, and another 60,000 from the Palisades fire.
The sheriff told reporters late Wednesday afternoon that three arrests for looting have been made so far.
“These people have gone through so much. Don’t put them through more than they have to go through,” Luna said.
The sheriff earlier said earlier that several department employees have lost their homes to the fires.
“We are prioritizing life over everything else.”
Evacuees left to wonder whether homes are still standing
When Sal Flores and his family decided to voluntarily leave their Altadena home late Tuesday night, they expected it to be completely fine by the time they returned. But a friend drove by the home Wednesday morning and discovered the devastation: The family house they’ve owned since 1985 was completely burned down.
“Devastating,” Flores said.
Flores and his family are among the hundreds that have made their way to the Pasadena Civic Center, which is being used as an evacuation center for the Eaton Fire.
Pasadena resident Toni Gustafson was with a friend in Altadena when the two decided to leave at about 2 a.m. and head to the center “because the fire was so close.” She learned that her neighborhood was later evacuated.
Gustafson doesn’t know the status of her home because a neighbor relayed to her there were downed power lines preventing them from going back to check on houses. However, her friend is pretty sure his Altadena home is gone.
“It didn't look good when we left,” Gustafson said.
Flores doesn’t know how long his family will be at the center and how they move forward after losing their home.
“We're thinking about what's the next step, what's going to happen?” Flores said. “Obviously, right now, we don't have all the answers, so we're just waiting to see once this fire is done, how do we start the rebuilding process?”
'Like a disaster movie': Residents describe treacherous escapes
When Kelsey Trainor and her wife grabbed their go bag and left their home about an hour after the Palisades Fire broke out, there were already hundreds of cars gridlocked on Palisades Drive. There was only one way out and nowhere to go.
Trainor, an attorney, recalled seeing plumes of smoke rising from the Pacific Highlands and massive flames on each side of the road as they slowly approached Sunset Boulevard. She watched people abandon their cars and flee toward the ocean as planes dropped water from above.
“It felt surreal, like a disaster movie in slow motion, with ash falling down around us, wind pelting the ash to your face,” Trainor said.
To the east, Karen Maezen Miller is a Zen Buddhist priest and teacher who’s been tending a 109-year-old Japanese garden in Sierra Madre for more almost three decades. Tuesday night she had her husband left in at a run as flames from the Eaton Fire danced behind them.
“We could see the fire in our rearview mirror,” Miller, 68, said. “I didn’t even want to look because it moved so fast. I just wanted my husband to drive, drive, drive.”
The winds had been extraordinary for two days, gusts of up to 100 miles per hour and for brief moment on Monday she’d imagined it would only clear things away, blow down the dead branches and empty the trees of leaves. The power went out in their area and they drove through darkness for what seemed like forever.
“There was debris everywhere, whole trees in the middle of the street. You’re trying to flee a fire, but you couldn’t drive on the road,” she said. “This was like nothing in our experience, it was on a whole other scale.”
− N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Beth Weise
Altadena residents lose home, memories
Among those who lost their homes to the Eaton Fire were Alexia Palomino and her mom, who had lived in their single-story Spanish-style house in Altadena for 15 years. They had begun packing up a little Tuesday evening, but grabbed photos and cash when they got an evacuation alert at about 3 a.m.
Palomino said as she pulled away in her Ford Bronco, she took one look back at the house just in case, then began her escape, driving over debris clogging the street.
"It was just jam-packed with cars everywhere," Palomino, 27, said. "It was just to the point where you couldn't see and couldn't breathe."
Palomino fled to her brother's house, texting with a neighbor who is a firefighter for updates.
"He said that our neighbor's house was going up and the houses across the street were already gone, five houses in a row," said Palomino, a Ph.D. student. "At that point I knew it was just a matter of time."
Palomino said she's now mourning the loss of the house and the memories it held, along with heirloom textiles from Mexico and her grandmother's jewelry.
"That's all gone," she said Wednesday. "Losing those memories, it's feeling like being violated. They could rebuild the house exactly as it was and it won't have the same sounds and the same smells. You can't put that into blueprints and build it all over again. And that's the part that's lost when we lose our home."
President Biden: Home of Hunter Biden under threat by California wildfires
Pacific Palisades homes among USA's most expensive
Residents driven from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood by the Palisades Fire were fleeing some of the nations most expensive homes. The median listing home price in the town of Pacific Palisades was $4.5M, and median home sold price was $3.5M, according to realtor.com. David Reed said he had to leave his Pacific Palisades home when police officers arrived.
"They laid down the law," Reed said.
Resident Cindy Festa said that as she evacuated, fires were "this close to the cars," demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.
"People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside," Festa said from her car. "The palm trees − everything is going."
'No one could move': Pacific Palisades evacuees describe harrowing escape
'Hellish' Santa Ana winds: Winds are fueling destructive fires around Los Angeles
How did the California wildfires near Los Angeles start?
Cal Fire has listed the causes of the three primary fires − Palisades, Eaton and Hurst − as "under investigation." But even before the fire started, the National Weather Service had issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles County. The culprits were low humidity, dry vegetation because of a lack of rain and powerful winds.
How did the fires start? What ignited the wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area?
Air quality could have impact on long-term health
Southern California − with sprawling cities, clogged freeways and heavy industry − is already known for some of the worst air quality in the nation. This week's wildfires are putting millions of people at risk for immediate health problems and longer-term issues.
When most people think about the dangers of fire, they think about burns, said Dr. Cedric “Jamie” Rutland, a national spokesperson for the American Lung Association and a pulmonologist in Orange County, near Los Angeles. But smoke is a major contributor to health problems, he said, and with such widespread fires “it’s going to affect the surrounding region.”
− Eduardo Cuevas
We've got you covered: Sign up for USA TODAY's Daily Briefing newsletter to start your day informed.
What landmarks are impacted? Which sites are affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles? Here's what we know.
Hollywood stars feel heat from fires
The raging fires in Los Angeles are disrupting Hollywood movie premieres, and some celebrities were being forced to evacuate. Oscar-nominated actor James Woods revealed on social media Tuesday that he was evacuated and shared a photo of a burning hillside. Steve Guttenberg, known for movies such as "Three Men and a Baby" and "Police Academy," took action Tuesday, helping move cars to allow access for emergency vehicles.
Tuesday's premiere of Jennifer Lopez's latest film, "Unstoppable," was canceled because of "safety concerns around heightened wind activity and fire outbreaks."
"As much as we were looking forward to celebrating this wonderful and inspiring film with you, safety is our first priority," a spokesperson for "Unstoppable," publicist Emily Teichner, said in a statement to USA TODAY.
− Edward Segarra
Palisades fire map
See map: Palisades Fire sets almost 3,000 acres ablaze, prompts thousands to evacuate
Contributing: Joel Shannon and Michelle Maltais, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California wildfire updates: Death toll rises and 100K evacuations
