CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports from the Eaton fire on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.
Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day.
That could allow firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena .
Biden to be briefed on full federal response to Los Angeles wildfires
US President Joe Biden will gather senior White House and administration officials for the briefing after he returns from delivering the eulogy at the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter.
He was briefed earlier Thursday on the latest updates of the wildfires across Los Angeles.
Regional alert systems can help keep residents up to date
Many communities, including several in California , have warning alert systems that allow residents to sign up for push notifications to their mobile phones or email accounts.
FEMA has a downloadable app that provides real-time alerts on mobile phones, and public safety agencies can also push alerts to television, radio and wireless devices through the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System . The NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a nationwide network of radio stations that broadcast continuous weather information as well as official Weather Service warnings, forecasts and other hazard information.
A battery- or crank-operated portable radio can also be a critical tool for receiving emergency alerts, especially in areas where cellular service is unreliable or when regional cellular towers might be threatened by wind, fire or other hazards.
Fire in the Hollywood Hills held to under 1 square mile
The latest flames broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills , striking closer to the heart of the city and the roots of its entertainment industry and putting densely populated neighborhoods on edge during exceptionally windy and dry conditions.
Within a few hours, firefighters had made major progress on the Sunset Fire in the hills. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire in check because “we hit it hard and fast and mother nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”
Satellite imagery shows stark destruction of neighborhoods scorched by the fires
The dramatic level of destruction in some places was apparent in a comparison of satellite images before and after the fire.
A swath of about 250 homes in an Altadena neighborhood dotted with the green canopies of leafy trees and aquamarine swimming pools was reduced to rubble. Only a few homes were left standing and some were still in flames in the images by Maxar Technologies.
Along a stretch of about 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, fewer than 10 appeared to be intact.
Causes of the fires
Last year’s El Nino weather system brought heavy rains that fuelled excessive vegetation growth in the first half of 2024. Then in the second half of the year there was drought across southern California, with only 4 mm (0.15 inches) of rain in central LA.
Those dry conditions combined with strong winds, which fanned the five outbreaks ravaging Los Angeles.
In addition, the temperature — around 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) in the Californian megacity in the middle of the day — is high for the start of winter.
“We see these fires spread when it is hot and dry and windy, and right now all of those conditions are in place in southern California,” Kristina Dahl, vice president for science at Climate Central, told news agency AFP.
The toll so far
The fires have killed five people, but the city authorities fear they will find more bodies in the charred debris.
Compared to other fires that have ravaged California in recent years, which sometimes extended over several thousand square kilometres, the current outbreaks are small: nearly 120 square kilometres (close to 30 acres).
What sets them apart from previous wildfires is how destructive they have been, despite being located in residential areas.
They have around 2,000 houses or buildings since Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of more than 100,000 Los Angeles residents, including in the historic Hollywood district, whose famous Boulevard is threatened by flames.
The flames have destroyed a hundred luxury residences costing millions of dollars, which means it the fire could be the costliest ever recorded: damage was estimated at $57 billion (55 billion euros) by AccuWeather.
