Despite a weekend of dangerously high winds that fanned wildfires in Los Angeles and surrounding California areas over the past week, officials say the winds are set to return this week and will jeopardize efforts to extinguish two massive fires that have already destroyed entire neighborhoods. At least twenty people were killed.
Dry Santa Ana winds of 80 to 112 kilometers per hour are expected to resume Monday and continue through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a warning. Red flag warning “particularly dangerous situation”.the agency’s most serious fire warning.
Drag the button to see before and after Maxar satellite images of the devastation in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
Fortunately, fire crews were able to control the fires Sunday night and into Monday, but officials say they are preparing for increased winds in the coming days.
“We are not safe,” Los Angeles City Fire Chief Christine Crowley said at a news conference Monday morning. “We must not let our guard down, as we now have extreme fiery behavior.”
Kevin Marshall inspects his mother’s belongings destroyed by fire in the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, January 11, 2025.
John Loescher/Associated Press
A general view of burned residential areas as wildfires continue to wreak havoc, reaching their fifth day and causing extensive damage in residential areas of Los Angeles on January 12, 2025.
Lukman Vural Ilibol/Anadolu via Getty Images
The state had previously deployed firefighting crews to at-risk areas, including around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest fires burning on either side of Los Angeles, officials said. More than 8,500 fire personnel were assigned to deal with these two fires.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said firefighters were “better prepared than ever” for this week’s high winds, after fires grew rapidly last week following similar dire warnings from meteorologists.
A firefighter works on a hillside following the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Sunday, January 12, 2025. At least two rounds of dry, vicious Santa Ana winds are expected to blow across Southern California early this year. Strong winds will pose a challenge to fire crews struggling to contain two devastating blazes and potentially force thousands more residents to evacuate.
Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Marquis Charter Elementary School in Pacific Palisades is destroyed by fire on Sunday, January 12, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Officials say more personnel have been added to crews on the ground, and more firefighting planes will be flying this week if the winds don’t stop them first.
Drag the button to see before and after Maxar satellite images of La Costa Beach, Malibu, Los Angeles.
A car drives past homes and vehicles destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates on Sunday, January 12, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Noah Berger/Associated Press
An inhibitor is dropped by an air tanker on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, January 11, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Eric Thayer/Associated Press
Marrone said nothing is guaranteed, given the unpredictable combination of fires and high winds.
“We’re never sure we’ll be able to control the next fire and keep it small,” he said. “They said 70 mph winds. It’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire.”
A view of abandoned and burned cars on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles on January 12, 2025.
Tayfun Coskun/Anatolia via Getty Images
Cars destroyed by the Eaton Fire remain parked in the parking lot of the Altadena Auto Center on January 13, 2025 in Altadena, California.
Nick Ut/Getty Images
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna described the situation in Altadena as “grim,” with crews finding human remains every day as they searched through burned debris left in the wake of the devastating fire, which destroyed much of the area.
“It is a very difficult task,” Luna said, adding that he expected the confirmed death toll to rise in the coming days.
Get breaking national news
For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up to get breaking news alerts delivered to you right as they happen.
Drag the button to see before and after Maxar satellite images of the devastation in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
A house stands among residences destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday, January 12, 2025.
Noah Berger/Associated Press
The fires turned entire neighborhoods into smoldering rubble, leaving a horrific scene. California Governor Gavin Newsom said that the firestorm could be classified as the most devastating natural disaster in US history. Private weather forecasting company AccuWeather estimated damage and economic losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion.
Possible setback
Over the weekend, air and ground firefighters were able to stop the Palisades Fire as it encroached on the upscale Brentwood section and advanced toward the densely populated San Fernando Valley to the north.
This fire on the western side of the city has consumed 96 square kilometers and is 14 percent contained, a number that represents the percentage of the fire’s perimeter that firefighters have controlled.
A spiral staircase is visible among burned structures on the Palisades section of the Pacific Coast Highway after the January 12, 2025, wildfires in Los Angeles.
Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images
The Eaton Fire, in the foothills east of Los Angeles, burned an area of 57 square kilometers, but firefighters increased its containment to 33 percent.
Together, the Palisades and Eaton fires burned an area roughly the size of Washington, D.C
North of the city, the Hearst Fire is 89 percent contained, and three other fires sweeping through other parts of the county are now 100 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said, although areas within Containment lines are still burning.
A view of the burned-out auditorium at Elliott Arts Magnet Academy destroyed by the Eaton Fire on January 10, 2025 in Altadena, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A person walks down a street following the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, January 11, 2025.
John Lusher/The Associated Press
But officials say that with winds returning this week, all 10 million people who call Los Angeles County home should be prepared to evacuate, if necessary.
Drag the button to see before and after Maxar satellite images of the devastation in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California.
Dozens were arrested
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said they were starting to see criminals emerge.
Nearly three dozen people have been arrested for looting since the fires began last week.
A sign reading “Looters will be shot” is seen at the mandatory evacuation zone at the Eaton Fire on January 12, 2025 in Altadena, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
A burned mailbox on January 10, 2025, following the Eaton Fire that began on January 7 in Altadena, California.
David Bachai/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Hochman added that price benchmarking occurs in hotels, short-term rentals and medical supplies. Scammers are also contacting people for fake GoFundMe efforts, though he said the official organization has done a good job of putting protections in place against that and recommends making such donations through that site.
“The criminals have decided this is an opportunity and I am here to tell you it is not an opportunity. You will get caught,” Hochman said.
—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
&Copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
