What to know about the wildfires spreading through Southern California
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The Eaton and Palisades fires, two of four major wildfires burning through communities in Southern California, exploded to more than 25,000 acres combined and growing — underscoring the fast-moving nature and extreme risk these fires pose to human life. At least five people have died in the Eaton inferno alone.
The Palisades fire has spread to more than 17,200 acres, while the Eaton fire now burns 10,600 acres, more than quintuple its size Wednesday morning.
Authorities have ordered increased evacuations for the impacted neighborhoods and warn of the "immediate threat to life."
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LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday night that a total of 130,000 people had been ordered to evacuate or be ready to evacuate from the two fires.
"This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW," according to the evacuation orders for residents in the zones of both the Eaton and Palisades fires.
"Firefighters are working aggressively to slow the spread and protect critical infrastructure under extreme conditions," the latest incident report said of the Eaton fire. "Multiple structures have been damaged or destroyed as the wind-driven brush fire continues."
At least five people have died and more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed, according to LA County officials. A significant number of serious injuries have also been reported, and the largest fires remain at 0% containment.
Residents who fled the areas reported seeing flames swirling across the usually-scenic canyon and mountain views, as they hurried to escape the imminent danger of the blazes.
"As soon as we saw a visible fire, we immediately started going through the neighborhood knocking on doors and getting people out of their houses because we knew it was going to spread extremely rapidly, which turned to be the case," Altadena resident Doug Hoffman told KCRW.
"We first started knocking on doors around 6:20 p.m. and by 6:30/6:45, the whole mountain was on fire."
Anthony Marrone, LA County fire chief, said there is "a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate." He said first responders have been injured too.
Fueled by powerful winds, the largest fires — the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst — continue to expand, while a fourth, Woodley, broke out early Wednesday, straining responders' capability and triggering a cascade of evacuation orders and school closures. On Wednesday evening, LA city fire chief Kristin Crowley said a new fire, the Sunset Fire, had just erupted in the Hollywood Hills.
Marrone and other local officials emphasized the unprecedented nature of this series of fires, which has stressed emergency responders' resources in just its first day.
"LA County, and all 29 fire departments in our county, are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster. There are not enough firefighters in the county to address four fires of this magnitude," Marrone said during a media briefing Wednesday morning. "LA County was prepared for one or two brush fires, but not four," especially with the strength of these sustained winds.
"This is not a normal red flag alert," he said. He added that requests have been made for more firefighters in California and out of state.
Despite strained personnel, firefighting teams battled winds up to 100 mph overnight. The work to blunt the wildfires' fury proved increasingly difficult as fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades area went dry around 3 a.m.
The CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Janisse Quiñones, says demand for water has been tremendous — "four times the normal demand." She said various storage tanks began running out of water, which affected the pressure of the system.
Here is what we know.
Officials beg residents to follow evacuation orders
Emergency response officials continued to call on residents to prepare for possible evacuations and to heed orders to leave their homes.
They urged residents not to leave their homes unnecessarily and to keep streets clear for emergency crews and evacuees. Smoke clouds are making visibility of more than a mile difficult anyway, said Marqueece Harris-Dawson, LA City Council president, at the media briefing.
An evacuation order signals the fire poses an "immediate threat to life" and mandates evacuations, while an evacuation warning carries a "potential threat to life and/or property" and suggests that those with pets and livestock, and those who would need more time to evacuate, do so, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, better known as Cal Fire.
➡️ Evacuation terms can be confusing. Here's what they mean and how to sign up for alerts
➡️ Trying to stay safe in a wildfire? There's an app that can help
The causes of all four fires are still being investigated.
School districts across Los Angeles County have announced full or partial closures due to threats of fire or air quality issues, according to the LA County Office of Education. That includes Los Angeles Unified School District, where all schools are closed effective immediately, according to superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Forecasters expect the winds to weaken gradually
Wildfire season in Southern California typically runs from the late spring to the fall, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.
"This time of year traditionally has not been fire season, but now we disabuse any notion that there is a season," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a video posted to X. "It's year-round in the state of California."
Fire danger will likely persist even as wind speeds drop off, according to the National Weather Service
The NWS has issued a red flag warning into Thursday, warning of extreme fire conditions and a "particularly dangerous situation."
"As we look toward the next few days, we'll see an uptick in the winds again later on Thursday into Friday," NWS meteorologist Adam Roser said on Wednesday.
The Santa Ana winds — dry, gusty winds that blow towards the coast and increase fire danger — are also expected to return early next week.
➡️ This is why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
Danger posed to neighboring counties and water
The damage already done from the deadly fires has led one leading climate scientist to predict this event could become the most expensive wildfire disaster in U.S. history, according to NPR member station KQED.
"These fires will likely be the costliest in history, not the deadliest, and that is the only silver lining right now," said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and UCLA.
The fires has not just threatened homes and businesses, but affected the area's water supply as well. The LA County Department of Water and Power issued a boil water advisory for the Pacific Palisades community after increased demand from firefighters resulted in lowered water pressure in the area.
"When the water pressure lowers, it can lead to bacteria becoming present in the water," the department said. The boil water notice may stay in place for two or more days while crews re-pressurize the system and test the water quality, it said.
Meanwhile, the number of residents without power continued to grow Wednesday. More than 1.5 million customers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Riverside and neighboring counties were without power Wednesday afternoon local time, according to poweroutage.us. Firefighting authorities will typically turn off power lines, as a downed line can cause sparks that escalate to flames.
More on how to stay safe
➡️ Trying to stay safe in a wildfire? There's an app that can help
➡️ LAist's very short guide to driving in high winds and fire danger
➡️ How to keep yourself safe from wildfire smoke
➡️ High winds and fires mean power outages. Here's how to prep
The California Newsroom is following the extreme weather from across the region. Click through to LAist's coverage for the latest.
NPR's Rachel Treisman contributed to this story.
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