At least 5 dead in wildfires raging through L.A., destroying more than 1,000 structures
More than 130,000 people are under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area
Wildfires that ravaged some of the most picturesque neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area continued to grow on Wednesday as fire crews battled three major out-of-control blazes that killed at least five people.
Winds were easing and firefighters from across the state were relieving exhausted crews, but the danger was far from over. As officials provided an update on the fires, a new blaze broke out in the Hollywood Hills, and evacuation orders were also extended to Santa Monica, Calif.
More than 1,000 structures, mostly homes, have been destroyed, and more than 130,000 people are under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt.
A thick smoke wafted over many parts of Los Angeles. At least seven schools in the area were either damaged or destroyed, officials said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said firefighters from across California and elsewhere had arrived to help, along with air operations that were dousing flames. She warned they still faced "erratic winds," though not of hurricane force like on Tuesday evening, when much of the destruction occurred.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said between 200 and 500 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton Fire, which started Tuesday night when hurricane-force winds whipped up flames.
He said the water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire as embers ignited block after block as they flew through the air.
"We were not stopping that fire last night," Augustin said. "Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire."
On the Pacific Coast west of downtown Los Angeles, a major fire in the Pacific Palisades levelled entire blocks, reducing grocery stores and banks to rubble. More than 1,000 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, the most destructive in the modern history of the city. Many people were hurt, including first responders, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
Images of the devastation that emerged overnight showed luxury homes that had collapsed in a whirlwind of flaming embers. Swimming pools were blackened with soot, and sports cars were slumped on melted tires.
"This morning, we woke up to a dark cloud over all of Los Angeles. But it is darkest for those who are most intimately impacted by these fires. It has been an immensely painful 24 hours," L.A. County supervisor Lindsey Horvath said on Wednesday.
The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighbourhoods that are home to California's rich and famous. Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, were among those forced to flee.
'They were crying and screaming'
Jennie Girardo, a 39-year-old producer and director from Pasadena, said she was alarmed when her neighbour came to check on her. "When I opened my door, it smelled like I was living inside of a fireplace," she said. "Then I also started to see the ash. And I've never seen that in my life. Like raining ash."
Flames that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living centre had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. Residents — one as old as 102 — waited in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and construction vans arrived to take them to safety.
Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city's Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences. In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.
Sheriece Wallace was unaware there was a fire burning around her until her sister called at the moment a helicopter made a water drop over her house.
"I was like, 'It's raining,'" Wallace told The Associated Press. "She's like, 'No, it's not raining. Your neighbourhood is on fire. You need to get out.'"
A traffic jam prevented emergency vehicles from getting through, and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.
Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor told the AP the only road in and out of her neighbourhood was blocked. Ash fell all around while fires burned on both sides of the road.
"People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags," Trainor said. "They were crying and screaming."
A third wildfire started Tuesday evening and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighbourhood in Los Angeles.
January wildfires not unprecedented
California's wildfire season typically begins in June or July and runs through October, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, but January wildfires are not unprecedented. There was one in 2022 and 10 in 2021, according to Cal Fire.
The season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, the association said.
"This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen [since a] 2011 windstorm that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley," the weather service said in a red-flag warning issued early Wednesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden pledged on Wednesday to sign a federal emergency declaration after arriving at a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom posted on X that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. He also dispatched National Guard troops to help. Firefighters from neighbouring states also were being asked to assist.
Augustin, Pasadena's fire chief, said much of the city was under evacuation orders as his department waited for winds to die down so aircraft could start dousing the flames. Fire departments across California sent extra firefighters because crews in the Los Angeles area were stretched to the limit, he told KABC television, the ABC affiliate.
The premiere of The Last Showgirl starring Pamela Anderson was called off as severe conditions continued impacting parts of the city. It was originally scheduled to premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday.
The fire burned through Temescal Canyon, a popular hiking area surrounded by dense neighbourhoods of multimillion-dollar homes. Flames also jumped the famous Sunset Boulevard and burned parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie Carrie, as well as the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday and the TV series Teen Wolf.
Pacific Palisades fire most destructive in L.A. modern history
As it grew, the fire burning in the Pacific Palisades became the most destructive fire in the modern history of the city of Los Angeles. With an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed and the flames still growing Wednesday, it is far more destructive than the second-most destructive, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city's fire department and MySafe:LA. Structures refers to homes and other buildings.
The last most destructive fire was the Sayre fire in November 2008 that destroyed 604 structures in Sylmar, the northernmost suburb in the city. Before that, a 1961 Bel Air fire stood for nearly half a century as the most destructive fire in the city's history. It burned nearly 500 houses in the tony hillside enclave, including homes of actor Burt Lancaster, Zsa Zsa Gabor and other celebrities.
Residents were urged residents to limit water usage.
Some hydrants in the Pacific Palisades ran dry around 3 a.m., leaving firefighters without enough water to battle the flames.
"We pushed the system to the extreme," Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the city's water and power department, said at a press conference.
By mid-Wednesday, the Eaton Fire, which started the day before, had burned 40.5 square kilometres, according to fire officials. The Hurst Fire spread over two square kilometres, and the Palisades Fire had burned 48.6 square kilometres, according to Angeles National Forest. All fires were at zero per cent containment.
More than 100 schools were closed due to fire risk. Southern California Edison shut off service to thousands because of safety concerns related to high winds and fire risks. More than 500,000 could face shutoffs depending on weather conditions, the utility said.
Private forecaster AccuWeather said on Wednesday that estimated damage and economic loss from the California wildfire is between $52 billion US and $57 billion US at a preliminary level.
'It's everywhere,' longtime resident says
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there's been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn't seen more than 0.25 centimetres of rain since early May.
The winds increased to 129 km/h in some areas by early Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. They could top 160 km/h in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven't seen substantial rain in months.
Longtime Palisades resident Will Adams said embers flew into his wife's car as she tried to evacuate, so she jumped out and ran toward the ocean to get out of danger.
"It is crazy, it's everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home's safe, the other one's up in flames."
With files from CBC News and Reuters
