Hollywood Boulevard has been evacuated with 100,000 people told to flee with six wildfires raging as the apocalyptic skies of Los Angeles continue to fill with smoke.
Two new blazes broke out overnight in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City – forcing first responders to redeploy their already-scarce resources to the burnt landscape.
The National Guard has been deployed and could send in military personnel to assist, amid revelations that heroic firefighters are ‘triaging’ homes and neighborhoods.
The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west – all iconic addresses in showbiz.
The latest fires mean huge swathes of iconic southern California real estate from Malibu to Santa Monica, and from Pacific Palisades to Runyon Canyon, are ablaze – impacting millions caught off guard by the unprecedented spread and carnage.
At least five people have lost their lives in the disaster so far – with 2,000 structures obliterated and thousands of people left with nothing but ash across the city.
More than 130,000 people are under evacuation orders while Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton are among the stars who said they had lost homes. Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades Fire.
And Gavin Newsom became emotional when asked about Donald Trump placing the blame on him for the disaster, after the president-elect referred to the California Governor as ‘Gavin Newscum’. The wildfires continued to burn as:
It comes as raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles spread to the Hollywood Hills last night after other fires in the area killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit.
A man walks in front of the burning Altadena Community Church, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in in Pasadena, Calif
A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Sunset Fire burns in the Hollywood Hills last night
Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles last night
A car burns as the Eaton Fire moves through the area of Altadena in California yesterday
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire while it burns homes at Pacific Coast Highway today
More than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate as dry, hurricane-force winds hindered firefighting operations and spread the fires, which have burned thousands of acres since they began yesterday.
‘This firestorm is the big one,’ Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference after rushing back to the city, cutting short an official trip to Ghana.
But furious residents have blasted their mayor for traveling to Africa while the city burns, despite having ample warning about ‘critical’ weather conditions in the days before.
She was cornered by journalist David Blevins from Sky News at the airport upon her return with an assistant, who both refused to answer his questions.
He asked: ‘Fire chiefs say that they’re really stretched to the limit and running out of water, what have you got to say to that? Have you no response to that?
‘Do you owe your citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor? Have you nothing to say today?’
A new fire broke out in the parched Hollywood Hills yesterday evening, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference, forcing more evacuations and raising the number of wildfires burning in Los Angeles County to at least six.
A person uses a garden hose in an effort to save a home from catching in Altadena yesterday
The remains of a home destroyed during the Palisades Fire in Malibu are pictured last night
Flames from the Palisades Fire burns a car and homes in Los Angeles yesterday
Sunset Boulevard is pictured yesterday during the wildfires sweeping across Los Angeles
Strong winds blow embers as the Palisades Fire destroys homes on the Pacific Coast Highway
A helicopter flies as smoke rises from the Sunset Fire in the hills over Hollywood yesterday
The sun is seen behind smoke above charred structures amid the Palisades Fire yesterday
The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west – all iconic addresses in showbiz
Four of them were 0 per cent contained according to state officials, including a pair of major conflagrations on the eastern and western flanks of the city that continued to grow as night fell yesterday.
In between, the so-called Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills scorched 50 acres yesterday, Cal Fire said. Helicopter crews and ground teams appeared to be making progress impeding its rapid advance.
The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west.
Within that area is the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars are held. Next week’s Oscar nominations announcement was already postponed by two days because of the fire, organisers said.
Though relatively small, the Sunset Fire burned just above Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame. It would need to cross the 101 Freeway to endanger the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory further up in the hills.
Nearby, a structure fire claimed at least two homes and spread to brush in Studio City, live television footage showed. More than 50 firefighters extinguished the fire with no injuries reported, the LA Fire Department said.
Residents embrace outside a burning property as the Eaton Fire swept through yesterday
Helicopters are seen making water drops during the Sunset Fire in Hollywood yesterday
The gate and postbox stand intact in front of a burned home in Pacific Palisades yesterday
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns during a storm on the west side of Los Angeles
Flames rise from the Sunset Fire in the hills overlooking the Hollywood area of Los Angeles
Fire was visible from Hollywood up in the hills of Runyon Canyon yesterday
On the west side of Los Angeles, the Palisades Fire consumed 15,832 acres and hundreds of structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean yesterday.
A home reportedly belonging to Hollywood actors Leighton Meester and Adam Brody was one of the buildings destroyed.
Aerial video by KTLA television showed block after block of smouldering homes in Pacific Palisades, the smoky grid occasionally punctuated by the orange blaze of another home still on fire.
To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire claimed another 10,600 acres, another 1,000 structures, and killed at least five people, officials said.
Three people had been arrested for looting, law enforcement officials said.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic loss at more than $50billion (£40billion).
The Hollywood Hills fire on Curson Avenue in Los Angeles burns yesterday
A home burns during the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, yesterday
A house on fire as residents try to escape the site in Pacific Palisades, California, yesterday
A vehicle burns during the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, yesterday
Megan Mantia and her boyfriend Thomas return to her destroyed home after the Eaton Fire
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows burning and destroyed houses
‘We’re facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can’t be stated strong enough,’ Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a press conference.
Even though forecasters said winds would subside briefly last night, so-called red flag conditions were expected to remain until tomorrow.
Horses and other large animals found shelter from the wildfires at a college equestrian centre that opened its doors to horses, alpacas, llamas and even pigs, whose owners were under evacuation orders.
‘I think they sense the fire and so I really had to lead them in a way that they understood that they were being taken somewhere safe,’ said Jaye Riedinger, 37, a creative director from Topanga, who left her home with her mustang horses.
Nearly 300,000 homes and businesses lost power in Los Angeles County, down from nearly 1 million earlier yesterday, according to PowerOutage.us. School was cancelled throughout Los Angeles County at least through today.
The Hollywood Sign is seen amid smoke from multiple wildfires in California yesterday
The Hollywood Hills area is now on fire, sparking fears for tourist hotspots in California
Raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles spread to the Hollywood Hills last night
A man walks past a fire-ravaged business after the Eaton Fire swept through yesterday
MANDATORY EVACUATIONS #SunsetFire at least 10 acres fast-moving fire near Runyon Canyon. Wattles, Curson, N Vista, Hillside @abc7chriscristi @ABC7 @KFIAM640 pic.twitter.com/u3jfncwVhC
— Tim Conway Jr Show (@ConwayShow) January 9, 2025
The scale and spread of the blazes stretched exhausted firefighting crews beyond their capacity.
Firefighters from six other states were being rushed to California, while an additional 250 engine companies with 1,000 personnel were being moved from Northern California to Southern California, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told a press conference.
Water shortages caused some hydrants to run dry in upscale Pacific Palisades, officials said.
‘We pushed the system to the extreme. We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems,’ Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told a press conference.
Pacific Palisades relies on three tanks that hold about a million gallons (3.78 million litres) each, and the demand for water to fight fires at lower elevations was making it difficult to refill water tanks at higher elevations, she said.
Burned vehicles are seen in Malibu as the Palisades fire burns during the windstorm
Homes damaged by the Palisades Fire are seen along the beach in Malibu yesterday
A drone photo of destruction on Lake Ave north of Altadena Ave, where no water is available
Fire-damaged vehicles are lined up at a dealership after the Eaton Fire swept through
A U.S flag flies as fire engulfs a structure while the Palisades Fire burns during a windstorm
Fire ravaged businesses are seen after the Palisades Fire swept though in Pacific Palisades
By yesterday afternoon, all three of those tanks and all 114 reservoirs throughout the city were refilled, Ms Quinones said in a later press conference.
The fires struck at an especially vulnerable time for Southern California, which has not seen significant rainfall for months.
Then came the powerful Santa Ana winds, bringing dry desert air from the east toward the coastal mountains, fanning wildfires while blowing over the hilltops and down through the canyons.
President Joe Biden, who declared the fires a major disaster, joined California Governor Gavin Newsom at a Santa Monica fire station to get a briefing on firefighting efforts.
In his final days as president before handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20, Biden cancelled an upcoming trip to Italy in order to focus on directing the federal response to the fires, the White House said.
