Risk of ‘rapid fire spread’ as near hurricane-force winds forecast in some areas
Forecasters have warned of another “particularly dangerous weather situation” across northern Los Angeles where residents are braced for new wildfire evacuation orders.
Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to the north, faced “extreme fire risk” warnings through Wednesday, with officials warning of “significant risk of rapid fire spread” due to the Santa Ana winds – which have gusts of up to 75mph.
The “particularly dangerous weather situation” designation is used very rarely, and was designed by meteorologists to signal “the extreme of the extremes”. The winds were predicted to reach near hurricane-force in some areas.
This is the fourth time in recent months that Los Angeles has faced a “particularly dangerous weather situation”, and the three previous warnings all resulted in major wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“I don’t want people to start thinking everything’s OK now. Everything’s not OK yet,” the Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, said in a Tuesday morning press conference. “It is still very dangerous for the next 24 hours.”
Meanwhile, the official death toll from last week’s fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is expected to rise.
Here is the latest on the evolving situation in southern California:
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As of Tuesday morning, 84,800 people had been warned they might be ordered to evacuate because of fire risk, while another 88,000 people remained under current evacuation orders.
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On Tuesday afternoon, officials said at least 25 people had died from the fires, but this number is expected to rise. At least two dozen people have been reported missing, 18 of them in the Eaton fire in north-east Los Angeles, and six around the Pacific Palisades.
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More than 12,000 structures had been destroyed. Estimates put the cost of damage at about $250bn, which could make it the costliest fire in American history.
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Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, and other officials – who have faced criticism over their initial response to the fires – expressed confidence that the region was ready to face the new threat with scores of additional firefighters brought in from around the US, as well as from Canada and Mexico. At a press conference, Bass described the level of destruction across parts of the city as the aftermath of a “dry hurricane”, and pledged that city officials would work hard to reduce the bureaucracy residents may face as they start to recover from the fires.
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More than 75,000 households, most of them in Los Angeles county, were without power on Tuesday morning, but Southern California Edison had warned nearly half a million customers on Monday that their power may be shut off temporarily because of the expected high winds on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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As of midday on Tuesday:
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The Palisades fire, at 23,700 acres and 17% containment.
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The Eaton fire, at 14,100 acres and 35% containment.
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The Hurst fire, at nearly 800 acres and 97% containment.
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The new Auto fire, which broke out on Monday night in Ventura, is now fully contained, and no evacuation orders remain in effect.
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Key events
The Altadena post office was damaged from the Eaton Fire and the Pacific Palisades post office was damaged from the Palisades fire.
A full list of relocated post offices can be found on the USPS’s website here.
Many aspects of life have been impacted by the California fires, including the ability to send and receive mail.
The United States postal service issued a statement on the critical situation: “The wildfires burning in Southern California are a catastrophic disaster, disrupting services and operations for many organizations – including the Postal Service’s ability to deliver mail and packages – across the Los Angeles region. During this time, the Postal Service’s primary focus is to maintain the safety and security of our employees, while ensuring that customers affected by the ‘California Wildfires’ receive their mail and packages as swiftly as possible.”
USPS said it is working around the clock to restore operations wherever safely possible, but adding that “the full recovery of service to the impacted areas may stretch forward for some time.”
California state and local leadership and the Los Angeles fire department have been criticised for not preparing enough for these wildfires. The fires, while unprecedented, were not a total surprise.
Despite extraordinary warnings of life-threatening winds, fire officials did not order firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift last Tuesday as the winds were building and deployed just five of more than 40 available engines, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The department, the LA Times reports, sent more firefighters and engines only after the Palisades fire was burning out of control.
Newsom’s executive order accomplishes two things:
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Makes unsolicited undervalued offers to purchase property from property owners in specified zip codes of Los Angeles County unlawful for a period of three months from the date of this Order.
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Directs the Department of Real Estate, along with other state agencies, to provide notice to the public of their rights under the law, resources for more information, and contact information for law enforcement agencies, such as the Attorney General’s Office and District Attorney, with the power to enforce the prohibition.
Those violating Newsom’s order can be reported to the state attorney general’s office and may be charged with a misdemeanor, which could be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or by imprisonment for up to six months, or both.
California governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Tuesday to protect homeowners affected by the Los Angeles fires from predatory behavior, like land speculators making aggressive and unsolicited cash offers to purchase their property.
“As families mourn, the last thing they need is greedy speculators taking advantage of their pain,” Newsom said. “I have heard first-hand from community members and victims who have received unsolicited and predatory offers from speculators offering cash far below market value — some while their homes were burning. We will not allow greedy developers to rip off these working-class communities at a time when they need more support than ever before.”
Tom Perkins
In the year preceding the devastating Los Angeles county wildfires, big oil fiercely lobbied to kill a “polluter pay” bill that moved through the California senate and would have forced major fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate disasters.
Fossil-fuel industry lobbying in California spiked to record levels during the 2023-24 legislative session, and the polluter pay bill was among the most targeted pieces of legislation, a Guardian review of state lobby filings found.
The bill was included in about 76% of 74 filings last year from two top lobbying forces in the state – oil giant Chevron and the Western States Petroleum Association, the largest fossil-fuel trade group in California.
Chevron and Western States’ filings that included polluter pay totalled over $30m, although it is impossible to know spending levels for individual bills because lobbying laws do not require a breakdown. Others in the lobbying blitz included at least 34 of the world’s largest oil producers, industry trade groups, and a range of greenhouse gas-polluting companies such as Phillips 66 and Valero, records show.
The measure would have required the state’s largest carbon polluters to pay into a fund that would be used to prevent disasters or help cover cleanup efforts. The effort to thwart it leaves taxpayers for now shouldering much of the cost of catastrophes in part fueled by big oil’s pollution.
“The latest fire shows exactly how Californians are paying for climate destruction, not just with budget dollars, but with their lives, and it shows exactly why we need … to put the cost back on polluters” said Kassie Siegel, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, which has lobbied in support of the bill.
The legislation, called the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024, has new life in the wake of the Los Angeles catastrophe, its supporters say, but the industry is already mobilizing. On the day after the wildfires started, Western States launched an ad campaign implying such measures would force them to increase oil prices.
More than 6m people under critical fire threat in southern California
More than 6 million people are under a critical fire threat on Wednesday across several counties in southern California, reports CNN. This also includes cities outside Los Angeles county such as Anaheim, Riverside, San Bernardino and Oxnard.
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast north-east winds of 20-30mph, with gusts of 50mph possible. In its Wednesday national forecast chart, the NWS said:
Critical fire weather conditions will continue for coastal southern California through Wednesday due to moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds. Particularly dangerous situation red flag warnings remain in effect.
Much below average temperatures Wednesday from the midwest to the central Appalachians while a brief warm up moves into the central US.
Another surge of Arctic air will move over the central and eastern US beginning this weekend. Heavy lake effect snow will continue downwind of the Great Lakes with the heaviest forecast off Lakes Erie and Ontario into early Thursday.”
Wednesday’s National Forecast Chart:
Critical fire weather conditions will continue for coastal southern California through Wednesday due to moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds. Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warnings remain in effect.
Much below average… pic.twitter.com/lh47b78mWl
— National Weather Service (@NWS) January 15, 2025
About 88,000 people remain displaced due to the LA fires, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
For those whose homes survived, there is frustration about not being able to return, while for others, there is nothing left.
“We all left with the clothes on our back,” Sonja Jackson told the Los Angeles Times as she waited in line for government help. “We thought we’d be able to come back in the morning. We didn’t think the fires were gonna do what they did.”
The scale of the disaster was still difficult for many to grasp, with Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, saying it was only after flying over it that she had started to appreciate the immensity of the damage.
“It’s one thing to see it on television, it’s another thing to see it from air. The massive, massive destruction is unimaginable until you actually see it,” she said.
AccuWeather increased its assessment of the total cost of the tragedy to between $250bn and $275bn, a figure that would make it one of the most costly in US history.
Federal authorities said on Tuesday they have launched a probe into the causes of the fires, but warned it could take time.
“We know everyone wants answers, and the community deserves answers. ATF will give you those answers, but it will be once we complete a thorough investigation,” said Jose Medina of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
In the windblown dust and ash advisory, issued on Tuesday by the Los Angeles county public health department, there are some precautions to reduce exposure listed.
They are, per the department’s website:
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Stay inside: Keep windows and doors closed. Use an air purifier or run your air conditioning system on recirculate to keep indoor air clean.
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Wear a mask: If you must go outside, wear an N95 or P100 mask to protect your lungs.
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Secure loose items: Tie down or bring in items like chairs, trash cans, and other outdoor belongings to prevent them from becoming hazards.
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Protect your eyes: If outside, wear goggles to shield your eyes from airborne ash and debris.
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Stay informed: Monitor updates from local news sources for the latest on weather conditions, air quality, and potential evacuation notices.
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Be prepared: Have a plan in place in case conditions worsen, including essential supplies and emergency contacts.
LA county public health department warn gusty winds may whip up toxic ash and advise people to wear masks
Gusting winds were also whipping up toxic ash, with health officials urging everyone to wear a mask, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Ash is not just dirt,” said Anish Mahajan of the Los Angeles county public health department. “It’s hazardous fine dust that can irritate or harm your respiratory system and other parts of your body where it lands.”
California governor, Gavin Newsom, on Tuesday ordered debris removal teams to be on standby, as emergency managers look ahead to possible winter rainstorms that could provoke mudslides.
Some Palisades locals have decided not to wait, working to remove scorched debris from roads and sidewalks themselves, reports AFP.
Contractor Chuck Hart and his crew were working on a construction site in his neighbourhood when the fire broke out. AFP reports that after they saved his mother’s house from encroaching flames, Hart said they began making rounds to clean debris from the streets.
“We just rock-and-rolled,” he said. “We’ve just been doing that non-stop ever since.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to get this place back up and running as quickly as possible.”
Fire-hit LA faces new peril as dangerous gusts forecast
Powerful winds forecast for Wednesday threatened to whip up massive fires still burning around Los Angeles, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A week after blazes erupted and spread uncontained, forecasters predicted “particularly dangerous” Santa Ana winds would spike.
“Stay aware of your surroundings. Be ready to evacuate. Avoid anything that can spark a fire,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said, warning of gusts up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) an hour between 3am (11am GMT) and 3pm (11pm GMT) on Wednesday.
Part of Los Angeles county and much of neighboring Ventura county were in a “particularly dangerous situation,” according to the NWS, a designation that was in effect before last week’s deadly blazes.
“All the plants and vegetation is really dry and ready to burn so … fires can grow pretty fast,” meteorologist Ryan Kittell told AFP on Tuesday.
The Palisades and Eaton fires – both of which are still burning in places – could flare up, and new ignitions could quickly turn problematic, Kittell said.
Officials insisted they were poised for any renewed threats, particularly around the existing burn sites, after hydrants ran dry in the initial firefight.
“We have checked the water system in the Eaton fire area, and it is operational, meaning that we have water and we have pressure,” fire chief Anthony Marrone said.
The renewed danger comes with 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares) of the upmarket Pacific Palisades in ruins and 14,000 acres (5,700 hectares) of the community of Altadena badly charred.
In case you missed it, here is a piece on the “convoy of incredible people” saving animals from California’s infernal fires:
Preston Martin figured the retro blue Volkswagen van he slept in for a year during college was a goner, given that he had parked it in a Malibu neighbourhood just before the Palisades fire ripped through, reducing homes and cars to rubble and charred metal.
So the surfboard maker was stunned to find that the vehicle had survived. Not only that, a photo of the vibrant bus taken by an Associated Press photographer was circulating widely on television and online, giving viewers a measure of joy.
“There is magic in that van,” Martin, 24, said Tuesday in an interview with AP. “It makes no sense why this happened. It should have been toasted, but here we are.”
Martin bought the 1977 Volkswagen Type 2 somewhat on a whim sometime around his junior year studying mechanical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His mother, Tracey Martin, of Irvine, yelled at him for blowing his money, Martin said, but he told her he’d save on rent by fixing up the inside and living in it his senior year, which he did. She came to love the bus, and sewed curtains for the windows.
Last summer, he sold the van to his friend and business partner, Megan Krystle Weinraub, 29, who designs surf- and skateboards under the Vibrant Boards brand. Martin makes carbon fiber surfboards under Starlite.
On 5 January, the friends went surfing with the van, which Weinraub calls Azul, Spanish for “blue”. Afterward, Martin parked it on a flat spot up the hill from her apartment by the Getty Villa, as she was still learning to drive the manual transmission.
Two days later, the Palisades fire erupted, and Weinraub fled with her dog, Bodi, and some dog food in her primary car. She felt sad about Azul, she said, but felt it was minor compared with those who had lost homes or even loved ones.
On Thursday, a neighbor sent her a photo. In the background was the bus, still blue and white and not at all damaged.
