Firefighters on Friday hoped for relief from the high winds that fanned massive fires in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, destroying entire neighborhoods and putting the nation’s second-largest city on the brink.
The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other buildings since Tuesday, when they first began to emerge around a densely populated area 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles. No cause has been determined for the largest fires.
The level of destruction is jarring even in a state accustomed to massive wildfires. Dozens of blocks of the scenic Pacific Barrier were flattened into smoldering rubble. In nearby Malibu, all that remains are charred palm fronds atop the ruins where oceanfront homes once stood.
New fires continued to appear. On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire broke out in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved to neighboring Ventura County, but the large and aggressive response by firefighters prevented the fire from spreading.
Just hours before the fire roared to life, officials said they were encouraged after firefighters, aided by calm winds and assistance from out-of-state crews, saw the first signs of success in overcoming two devastating wildfires in the area.
Fire warnings remained in effect as of Friday afternoon, but winds were lower than they were earlier in the week, when hurricane-force gusts blew away embers that ignited the hillsides. This may give firefighters a chance to make more progress, but meteorologist Rich Thompson warned that the pause may be short-lived.
“We’re looking for a little respite on Friday and Saturday from the Santa Ana winds, but they will come back on Sunday through most of next week,” he said at a fire news conference Thursday evening.
A firefighting plane was forced to stop flying on Thursday after it collided with a drone piloted by a civilian, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. No one is hurt. It is a federal crime to fly a drone while fighting fires.
Firefighters made significant gains Thursday in slowing the spread of major fires, but containment remained elusive.
The Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
To the west, the Pacific Palisades Fire, the largest fire in the Los Angeles area, destroyed more than 5,300 structures. The fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.
A firefighter lights a fire in front of the Kenneth Advanced Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, January 9, 2025.
AP Photo/Ethan Swope
Crews were also able to extinguish a fire in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing the evacuation order to be lifted on Thursday. The fire that broke out late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the popular outdoor concert venue the Hollywood Bowl.
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At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, shops, bars, restaurants, banks, and grocery stores were burned. So do the Will Rogers Western Ranch House and the Topanga Ranch Motel, both local landmarks dating back to the 1920s.
The government has not yet published figures on the cost of the damage. AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday raised its estimate of damage and economic losses to between $135 billion and $150 billion.
California is experiencing a longer fire season
California’s wildfire season is starting earlier and ending later due to higher temperatures and lower precipitation linked to climate change, according to recent data. Several weather monitoring agencies announced on Friday that the Earth will record the hottest year on record in 2024.
The rains that usually end the fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn during the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anse, contributed to above-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) of rain since early May.
It shows the enormity of the destruction
Barbara Bruederlein, president of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, said it is currently impossible to quantify the extent of the devastation other than “total devastation and losses.”
“There are areas where everything is gone, and there’s not even a piece of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said.
Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley confirmed that there were two people in the Palisades fire. The Eaton fire killed five, county officials said. Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through the rubble to see if there are more victims.
Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills area of Los Angeles, Thursday, January 9, 2025.
AP Photo/Ethan Swope
Among the dead were Anthony Mitchell, 67, an amputee, and his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy. Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post that they were waiting for an ambulance to arrive and had not gotten to safety when the fire started.
Shari Shaw told KTLA she tried to convince her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. The crew found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, January 9, 2025.
AP Photo/Ethan Swope
There were evacuations, school closures and arrests
Evacuation orders were issued for at least 180,000 people, and the fires burned about 56 square miles (145 square kilometers), larger than the city of San Francisco.
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest, will be closed again Friday due to heavy smoke billowing from the city and ash falling in parts of it.
At least 20 people were arrested for looting. The city of Santa Monica, neighboring Pacific Palisades, declared a curfew due to the chaos, officials said.
National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. They will be stationed near fire-ravaged areas to protect property.
Actors are among those who lost their homes
Many celebrities live in the areas devastated by the fire. Among those who lost their homes were Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.
Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a “support fund” for those affected by the fires, which affected all economic levels, from the city’s wealthy to the working class.
Some losses seem greater than others
Robert Lara searched through the remains of his home in Altadena, next to Pasadena, on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a collection of earrings that once belonged to his great-grandmother.
“All our memories, all our emotional attachments, the things that we have given away from generation to generation, are now gone,” he said.
Sewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, and Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes, Eugene Garcia, Crista Fauria and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Ethan Swope in Pasadena, California; Haley Golden in Seattle; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Janie Haar in San Francisco; Brian Melley in London; Cathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; and Tammy Weber in Detroit contributed.
