Deadly Wildfires Continue to Rage Across Los Angeles

More Than 30,000 Evacuated in LA

At least 30,000 residents were under an evacuation order due to a series of wildfires around the Los Angeles area on Wednesday morning, authorities say.

A rapidly growing wildfire raged across an upscale section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, destroying numerous buildings and creating traffic jams as more than 30,000 people evacuated. Meanwhile, a second blaze doubled in size some 30 miles inland.

Nearly 3,000 acres of the Pacific Palisades area between the coastal towns of Santa Monica and Malibu had been burned by the Palisades Fire as of Wednesday morning, officials said, after they had already warned of extreme fire danger from powerful winds that arrived following extended dry weather.

The second blaze dubbed the Eaton Fire broke out some 30 miles inland near Pasadena and doubled in size to 400 acres (162 hectares) in a few hours. A map shows that as of Wednesday morning, more than 2,000 acres have burned.

A list of evacuation orders for localities due to the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire is provided on Cal Fire’s website.

Fire officials said a third blaze named the Hurst Fire had started in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, prompting evacuations of some nearby residents. About 500 acres have been burned so far.

At the same time, some 160,000 residential or commercial customers are without power in the Los Angeles area, likely due to the fires and high winds, according to Poweroutage.us.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency, said the state positioned personnel, firetrucks, and aircraft elsewhere in Southern California because of the fire’s danger to the wider region.

Newsom said that “a highly dangerous windstorm” is creating an “extreme fire risk, and we’re not out of the woods.” He added, “We’re already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes.”

“I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” President Joe Biden said in a Tuesday night statement in response to the fires. A federal grant had already been approved to help reimburse the state of California for its fire response, Biden said.

The City of Santa Monica, in a statement, said that “an evacuation order has been issued between the northern border of the city and San Vicente Boulevard, between Ocean Avenue and 26th Street.” As of 5 a.m. local time on Wednesday, that order had not been changed, it said in an update.

Nearby, the City of Malibu said in a 6:30 a.m. update that the Palisades Fire is still “uncontained,” adding that “even if your area is not under evacuation orders, all residents should prepare to evacuate if conditions worsen.” The fire is now “likely moving towards the Franklin Fire scar,” officials said.

The National Weather Service said it had been receiving reports of winds up to 80 mph on Thursday morning. They could top 100 mph in mountains and foothills and include areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months as red flag warnings are highlighting extremely critical fire weather conditions.

Those include exceptionally dry relative humidity levels, according to Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the weather service. He says the winds are expected to continue into Thursday, “providing very little in terms of any relief.”

Red flag warnings, which denote the risk of a fire due to winds and dry conditions, were issued around the foothills above Los Angeles, near Lompoc and Santa Maria as well as Oxnard, according to the weather service.

A number of Hollywood celebrities have indicated in media interviews and on social media that they’ve been affected by the fires. Actor Steve Guttenberg told KTLA television that friends of his were impeded from evacuating because others had abandoned their cars on the road.

Longtime actor and conservative commentator James Woods said on X he was able to evacuate his Pacific Palisades house but he added: “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”

“Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill said on Instagram Tuesday that he, too, was evacuated due to the wildfires. Describing the move as “last-minute,” Hamill said he spotted “small fires on both sides of the road as we approached [the Pacific Coast Highway].”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.