Death toll from Los Angeles fires rises to five
The death toll from wildfires in the Los Angeles area has risen to five, according to the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department. The Associated Press reported the news, confirming earlier reports from ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
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As the Palisades fire grew to 15,832 acres this afternoon, photographers across the Los Angeles area captured the devastation.
The Academy Awards has extended its deadline for members to vote for the upcoming Oscars due to the fires blazing across Los Angeles.
The deadline for Oscar nomination voting, which was set to close on Sunday 12 January, has been extended to 14 January.
In an email announcing the extension, Academy CEO Bill Kramer wrote, “So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you.”
The movie industry – which brought fame to Los Angeles’ Hollywood and other neighborhoods – has cancelled film premiers and postponed awards shows as six wildfires rage in southern California.
Here’s more from Gabrielle Canon in Los Angeles:
I am at the beach now, it’s rough over here. Sending this while I have service: very thick smoke. Santa Monica is being quickly evacuated. Driving through from Brentwood you can see the aftermath of the wind even in areas that haven’t burned. Large trees buckled across roads, piles of palm fronds, and cars smashed by fallen debris.
Another loud “evacuate now” siren is sounding from phones as the evacuation area continues to grow. Authorities have issued an evacuation order in Santa Monica for all areas north of Montana Avenue from the beach to 11th Street.
But there are still private security guards standing in the affluent neighborhoods or positioned in vehicles, there to monitor the abandoned homes.
Law enforcement have blocked off several streets in the north of Santa Monica, saying homes are burning, reports my colleague Gabrielle Canon.
Death toll from Los Angeles fires rises to five
The death toll from wildfires in the Los Angeles area has risen to five, according to the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department. The Associated Press reported the news, confirming earlier reports from ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
Five wildfires blaze in LA county
Five wildfires are now raging across Los Angeles county, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. They include the 15,832 acre Palisades fire and the 10,600 acre Eaton fire, as well as the smaller Hurst (at 505 acres), Lidia (at 50 acres) and Woodley (at 30 acres) fires.
In neighboring Ventura county, firefighters are also responding to a blaze named the Olivas fire.
Here’s my colleague Gabrielle Canon:
Two enormous plumes billowing out from mountains to the north east and the west side of Los Angeles had joined in an immense grey haze on Wednesday afternoon, as the fires producing them continued to rage.
The Palisades fire, mapped at more than 15,800 acres, pushed deeper into the densely covered dry hillsides, closing in on communities and homes that dot the picturesque area overlooking the Pacific.
By that time, many residents in Topanga Canyon, the artistic and rural enclave that has grown accustomed to navigating chaotic fire disasters, had already evacuated. The roads winding through the canyon were empty save for the remaining few that chose to stay and those on their way out. Small groups paused at overlooks to watch as the fire ripped through the area they had just fled from.
Among them, Matt and Joseph Brown, father and son, who’d collectively spent several decades living in this part of southern California. They marveled at the last 24 hours. Joseph had been part of a frantic and chaotic evacuation out of the Palisades when the fire first erupted. He then helped Matt and his family as they rushed to gather up animals – horses, dogs, and mini donkey – before the flames reached them. Chickens and bunnies in a coop, Matt said with sadness, had to be left behind.
Neighbors who stayed, protected by privately hired fire crews, gave him the news shortly after that the coop and its inhabitants along with their guest house was consumed by the fire.
Further down the road, Jane Connelly was still working to save her horse Louie who had been so frightened in the chaos he’d refused to get into a trailer. She decided to walk him out on a lead instead. “I had to get the dogs, cats, and child out first,” she said, breathing heavily as she quickly walked along the side of the sloping road. After 15 years living in this area, this was a sad first.
Death toll in Eaton fire rises to five – report
Five people have died in the Eaton fire in Altadena, an increase from the two reported deaths earlier today, Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna told ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
Here are some of the latest images from the newswires from the wildfires raging though Los Angeles County.
More than 20 patients were treated at UCLA Health hospitals for fire-related injuries as of Wednesday 11am local time, NBC is reporting, citing officials.
One patient remained hospitalized in critical condition, it said.
Patients suffering from asthma and heart attacks are showing up in emergency rooms at a time when hospitals are already full because of flu season, Dr Puneet Gupta, assistant medical director for the Los Angeles County fire department, said.
“We have a number of hospitals threatened, and if they have to be evacuated, it could become a crisis,” said Gupta, Associated Press reported.
The Hurst fire, which began last night in the San Fernando valley, has now grown to more than 700 acres, according to the Angeles National Forest.
The fire is 0% contained. At least 3,000 residents have been evacuated, according to fire officials.
Even in a state that’s become grimly accustomed to severe conflagrations, the rapid surge of wildfire that has torched the Los Angeles area has been shocking, triggering mass evacuations that have left behind charred suburban homes.
Along with strong winds reaching up to 100mph (161 km/h), recent conditions in southern California have added literal fuel to the fire.
This winter has been exceptionally dry, with much of southern California locked in drought. This means that there are plenty of trees, grasses and shrubs to catch fire and most of them are parched of water, meaning they combust more readily.
LA mayor says impact of fires 'devastating'
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, described the impact of the fires and winds affecting the area as “devastating”.
In a statement posted to X, Bass said she spoke to the president, Joe Biden, where they discussed an “urgent path forward towards recovery for the thousands of families impacted”.
Bass has come under criticism for being out of the country as wildfires tear through parts of southern California.
She was part of a US delegation to Accra for the inauguration of the president of Ghana, John Mahama.
The Los Angeles metro has suspended fares for the remainder of the day.
In an update posted a short while ago, LA County supervisor Janice Hahn said metro services have been impacted by evacuation orders near the Easton fire.
“Given the extraordinary demands on the power grid and sporadic outages in numerous areas, we recognize it is difficult for many customers to buy and load their TAP cards at stations,” she said.
Residents of Los Angeles fled deadly wildfires engulfing the city’s suburbs, as firefighters struggled to contain the flames overnight amid fears they would worsen.
Tanner Charles posted this footage to X, saying it showed “the moment my friend and I abandoned his house after we tried to save what we could”.
“Please be praying for him and his family,” Charles wrote.
More than 1.5m homes without power in California
About 1.5 million residents are without power in California, with nearly a million of them in Los Angeles county, according to PowerOutage.us, as wildfires continue to rage across the region.
Palisades fire grows to more than 15,000 acres
The Palisades fire, which is the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles’ history, has increased in size yet again – now encompassing 15,832 acres.
The fire is confirmed to have destroyed 300 structures thus far, according to CalFire.
It is one of a number of fires raging in the Los Angeles area – stretching the resources of firefighting teams.
The US president, Joe Biden, has approved a major disaster declaration for California – directing the Department of Defense to deploy extra firefighting personnel to tackle the life-threatening blazes.
Here’s a recap of what else has happened today so far:
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At least two people were killed in the Eaton fire, north of Pasadena which has grown to 10,600 acres and has destroyed more than 100 structures. There have also been “a number of significant injuries”, fire officials said, and “tens of thousands of homes” are affected. About 32,500 residents were under evacuation orders, a drop from the more than 50,000 residents evacuated overnight.
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The Hurst fire, in the San Fernando Valley, is close to 500 acres after erupting on Tuesday night. More than 3,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate the area in Sylmar.
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All Los Angeles fire department air operations in the Palisades have resumed after being grounded due to extreme weather conditions. LAFD helicopters are back to dropping water and hundreds of firefighters continue to be on the scene to help respond to the Palisades fire and Hurst fire, said LA’s mayor, Karen Bass.
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Officials are urging residents across the region to conserve water so there is enough for firefighters to use. Demand was so high that three tanks emptied by Wednesday morning, causing some fire hydrants to dry out.
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California governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. President Joe Biden warned the recovery “is going to take time” as he attended a briefing with Newsom at a Santa Monica fire station. President-elect Donald Trump blamed Newsom’s environmental policies for the fires.
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