In an area famous for natural disasters, survivors forest fires galore They described the apocalyptic scene in Los Angeles County and the fear of trying to outrun the flames fanned by hurricane-like winds.
At least five wildfires were still burning Wednesday evening, consuming more than 26,000 acres and destroying more than 1,000 homes, including multimillion-dollar mansions, in some of America’s most expensive enclaves. More than 100,000 people were under mandatory evacuation.
At least five people died in one of the fires, according to the authorities.
A pedestrian walks past the burning Altadena Community Church on January 8, 2025 in downtown Altadena, Pasadena, California.
Chris Pizzello/AP
“It’s amazing what’s going on,” President Joe Biden said at a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, announcing that he had signed an emergency disaster declaration.
5 fires burning at the same time
The fires started around 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, with the Palisades Fire and Hurst Fire within a mile of each other, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Palisades Fire — in the Pacific Palisades, 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles along the Pacific Ocean, had consumed nearly 16,000 acres by Wednesday evening, officials said. The Hurst Fire near San Fernando, 22 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, burned more than 500 acres.
The Eaton Fire, the area’s second-largest fire, broke out just after 6 p.m. Tuesday and was fanned by Santa Ana winds that reached 98 mph in some areas, spreading to 10,600 acres, burning homes in Pasadena and Altadena, both . Five residents died in the Eaton fire, about 11 miles east of downtown LA, but officials did not release details of how. they died
People use garden hoses to protect their roof from embers near the Eaton wildfire in Altadena, California, on January 8, 2025.
Caroline Brehman/epa-efe/shutter/CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutter
The fourth wildfire in Los Angeles County, the Woodley Fire, broke out at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday near Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley and quickly spread to 30 acres.
On Wednesday afternoon, a fifth fire broke out in Los Angeles County near Palmdale, about 40 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The Lydia fire quickly spread to 80 acres, according to Cal Fire.
All five fires in Los Angeles County were 0 percent contained Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said.
The Palisades fire also spread to Malibu Beach, where a lifeguard station was engulfed in flames and homes along the Pacific Coast Highway were ablaze like a chain of Roman candles.
“He’s not prepared for this kind of disaster”
In the tony business district of Pacific Palisades, store after store was ablaze, including the community’s largest supermarket. The Getty Villa, a museum filled with more than 125,000 priceless artifacts, was also threatened as flames engulfed the hillside on which it sits.
ABC News reporters describe scenes of massive destruction and chaos as everything went up in flames at the same time, including luxury homes, trash cans, rows of palm trees and numerous vehicles. The fires were accompanied by an eerie soundtrack of blazes, broken gas lines hissing, buildings collapsing and winds howling.
A person uses a garden hose to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton fire on January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
The disaster came even as area firefighters prepared for potential wildfires over the weekend, placing equipment and personnel in areas vulnerable to wildfires, when the National Weather Service announced a high fire danger following a wind event in Santa Ana, which was at its worst. more than a decade
Malibu, California, Jan. 8, 2025, The remains of homes burned by the Palisades fire on the Pacific Ocean.
Caroline Brehman/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“No, L.A. County and all 29 fire departments in our country are not prepared for this type of disaster,” said Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, adding that there were not enough firefighters to deal with all the fires in L.A. County
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristine Crowl said in her 25 years as a firefighter she had never seen a disaster like the one now engulfing one of the nation’s most densely populated areas. 10 million people
Because of the lack of rain in the area, the wind, fire and land filled with bone-dry vegetation created the perfect storm for the disaster, Crowl said.
A fire broke out of a window at the Altadena Community Church on January 8, 2025 in the Altadena section of Pasadena, California.
Chris Pizzello/AP
“The fire is being fueled by a combination of strong winds and the surrounding topography, which makes it very difficult for the crews assigned to this event,” Crowl said.
In-law officials closed several iconic landmarks around Los Angeles, including access to the Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park and the Griffith Observatory.
‘Everything was on fire’
Nearly 1.2 million customers were also without power because trees that fell on power lines burned or Southern California Edison shut off power to prevent the fires from spreading, utility company officials said.
After signing the emergency declaration, Biden said he was sending federal aid to help fight the fires, including 10 Navy helicopters.
The president also said that firefighters from Oregon, Washington, Arizona and elsewhere rushed to Los Angeles County to help.
Actor Steve Guttenberg told ABC’s “Good morning America“at 9 a.m. Tuesday, it was a typical beautiful, sunny Southern California day. But 90 minutes later, he said, “Everything was black and the fire was on.”
“Everything was on fire on both sides,” Guttenberg said of the route to safety. “I couldn’t see more than three feet in front of my car. The smoke was so thick. It looked like there was a volcano on the sides of the hills, and suddenly people were running away. It was two miles. full of cars.”
People hug as they evacuate the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2025, after strong winds fueled wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
David Swanson/Reuters
Los Angeles County’s famous Sunset Boulevard, which runs through the Pacific Palisades, was lined with cars Wednesday as desperate residents rushed to escape the damage. But firefighters said people, apparently afraid of being caught in the flames as they sat in traffic, abandoned their cars on Sunset Boulevard, prompting fire crews to use a bulldozer to move the vehicles off the road and clear the way for first responders.
Pacific Palisades resident Tricia Rakusin told ABC News on Wednesday that when the fire broke out, her home and nearby trees and shrubs began to be blown down, but she soon realized she and her family needed to evacuate after seeing flames rising into her residence.
He said he fled down Sunset Boulevard only to get stuck in traffic.
“I’ve never been so petrified,” Rakusin said. “It’s completely unreal. We’ve never experienced anything like this in this area.”
Rakusin’s husband, Kenny, said the home’s insurance carrier recently dropped them and other nearby residents because of fire hazards.
“We don’t know if our house is standing or not, but if it’s not standing, I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said.
