2:40 pm PT
Resources for people looking for missing loved ones in LA-area fires
Paris Barraza
People who are looking for missing loved ones in connection to the wildfires in Los Angeles County can visit family assistance centers in Los Angeles and Pasadena Friday and Saturday for help.
The family assistance centers will “provide information” for people searching for missing family and friends, Los Angeles County posted on X. The centers are located at the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center at 2551 Motor Ave., Los Angeles, and the Pasadena Convention Center Visitor’s Bureau at 300 E. Green St., Pasadena.
Both locations will be open until 6 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The American Red Cross is also offering its assistance in helping people locate their missing loved ones. Visit the Red Cross’s website to access the California Wildfires Reunification form, in which people can provide information about the person they are seeking in an online form. The Red Cross asks that people do not submit duplicate requests.
2:29 pm PT
More celebrities return to Pacific Palisades and other wildfire-affected communities
Ernesto Centeno Araujo
With people returning to Pacific Palisades and other fire-devastated areas throughout Southern California, more celebrities have posted on social media about the loss of their homes and the destruction of entire communities.
Paris Hilton shared a video through her Instagram page of her walking through the rubble of her Pacific Palisades home on Thursday, writing in the caption, “I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.”
“What breaks my heart even more is knowing that this isn’t just my story. So many people have lost everything,” Hilton’s post read, acknowledging the devastation felt by her neighbors.
Neighbors, such as country music artist Brad Paisley, also took to Instagram to share about losing his longtime home in the same area.
Harvey Guillen, known for his role as Guillermo de la Cruz in FX’s comedy series “What We Do In The Shadows” posted on Instagram Wednesday: “Thank u everyone who has reached out, the flames reached my back yard early this morning, thank you to the amazing firefighters and volunteers. And thank u to my family who is safe and sound. We’re not out of the woods yet, but keeping a positive attitude. Stay safe out there. Love you.”
He returned to his neighborhood the next day and chronicled walking through the rubble with his family in a post and through stories.
Rob McElhenny, star of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” posted on X to update that his family was safe from the fires and to thank first responders.
1:59 pm PT
Evacuation warning lifted in Archer Fire
Paris Barraza
The Los Angeles County Fire Department has lifted an evacuation warning related to the Archer Fire, which broke out earlier Friday in the Granada Hills area.
The fire was “swiftly” brought under control, and no structures were damaged or injuries were sustained from the blaze, according to spokesperson Margaret Stewart.
The evacuation warning — now lifted — was for the O’Melveny Park area. The size of the fire was 31 acres at 11:42 a.m. Friday, according to Stewart.
1:57 pm PT
Eaton Fire evacuees from Altadena want to return home to protect property
Jose Quintero
Todd Jones, carrying a small fire extinguisher, was at the intersection of Santa Rosa Avenue and Woodbury Road in Altadena, hoping to return to his Altadena home in the Eaton Fire evacuation area.
Under mandatory evacuation, Jones and several other Altadena residents were met by yellow caution tape and personnel from the National Guard and California Highway Patrol.
Frustrated and unable to reach his home, Jones said he believed the decision to close the area to residents was bad.
“They won’t let us go past and use something like this. I just want to go find any embers to put out. There are embers still flying. There are houses still catching fire,” Jones said. “If we could just get up there and put any little spot fires out next to our homes, then we could prevent more damage.”
Jones evacuated his home at about 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, shortly after the Eaton Fire ravished the community.
Not wanting to get stuck in a traffic jam, Jones didn’t give much thought of what to grab as he promptly evacuated his home.
“You really can’t tell think of much but hurrying out of when the winds is blowing 80 miles per hour,” Jones said.
Eaton Fire evacuee: ‘It was very surreal’
Jonathan Arevalo and his wife, Paulina, were among the residents under the mandatory evacuation orders. Their home is currently undamaged from the fire.
Arevalo and his family of six, including his elderly in-laws, evacuated around 5 a.m. on Jan. 9. They are currently staying with other family members in Glendora.
12:03 pm PT
Evacuation warning in the Granada Hills area due to Archer Fire
Paris Barraza
A new fire, called the Archer Fire, broke out just before 10:30 a.m. in the 17200 block of West Sesnon Boulevard in the Granada Hills/Porter Ranch area near O’Melveny Park. The fire has grown to 31 acres, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Margaret Stewart.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has downgraded its evacuation order to an evacuation warning as of 11:42 a.m. Friday. The evacuation warning is in the area of O’Melveny Park, with Interstate-5 and Balboa Boulevard on the east, Sesnon Boulevard to the park’s south, and Aliso Canyon Wash to the west.
11:06 am PT
Containment of the 5 active fires throughout Southern California has progressed
Ernesto Centeno Araujo
Five wildfires have sprouted up over the last three days since Tuesday throughout Southern California amidst the red flag warning and strong Santa Ana winds. With thousands of fire personnel battling fires throughout the region, containment has varied, according to data from CalFire.
Here are the five active fires throughout the region:
- The Palisades Fire was the first of the fires and ignited in the Pacific Palisades area around 10:10 a.m. Tuesday. It has burned through approximately 20,438 acres and currently sits at 8% containment. Evacuation orders and warnings have remained for a large portion of the area south of Highway 101 spanning East of Malibu Canyon Road and stretching as far as Highway 405.
- The Eaton Fire was reported around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in Altadena and has burned through 13,956 acres and sits at 3% containment. Evacuation orders and warnings have remained in place for a large stretch of area North of Highway 210 from La Crescenta to Bradbury. The blaze has also destroyed around 4,000 structures.
- The Hurst Fire started just before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday near Diamond Road in Sylmar. The blaze has burned through 771 acres and sits at 37% containment. Evacuation orders for the affected areas have been lifted, but evacuation warnings remain for the area nestled east of Highway 5 and North of Highway 210, as well as a parallel area West of Highway 5.
- The Lidia Fire started at approximately 2:07 p.m. on Wednesday near the 5700 block of Soledad Canyon Road near Acton. The wildfire has burned through around 394 acres and sits at 75% containment. Road closures remain for Soledad Canyon Road between Agua Dulce Canyon Road and Crown Valley Road.
10:10 am PT
Some evacuation warnings still in effect for Kenneth Fire
James Ward
The Kenneth Fire sparked Thursday afternoon and quickly spread to nearly 1,000 acres in a matter of hours, Cal Fire reported.
As of Friday morning, the fire was 35% contained.
Mandatory evacuation orders had been lifted as of Friday for the Kenneth Fire affecting both Los Angeles and Ventura counties. They were previously in place for the Kenneth Fire for areas including from just east of Palo Comado Canyon Road and Hidden Hills on the west, according to Cal Fire.
But evacuation warnings for the Kenneth Fire were in effect for Vanowen south to Burbank Boulevard County Lane Road east to East Valley Circle Boulevard.
The Kenneth Fire triggered evacuation orders that have since been lifted as forward progress of the fire stopped, Cal Fire reported.
View an interactive map of Kenneth Fire evacuation warnings on the Cal Fire website.
9:55 am PT
Palisades Fire evacuees: ‘We thought we would come back’
Isaiah Murtaugh
In the neighborhood north of Pacific Palisades city’s center — a pocket of single-family houses lining alphabetically arranged streets — only a few homes stood, visible from blocks above the wreckage.
Sarah and Ben Treger rode borrowed electric bicycles through the neighborhood Thursday evening, checking on a list of addresses from a neighborhood group chat.
Near the end of the list was their own home, which they found collapsed in a pile of rubble. Ben Treger shoveled through the debris with gloved hands, hunting for the box where he’d stashed a collection of family watches.
The couple had evacuated quickly, taking their two small children — 6 months and 21 months — to Santa Monica, where Ben’s parents live.
“We thought we would come back,” Sarah Treger said.
Ben Treger found the base of his office chair and a pair of singed but intact metal paintings — “The ones I hate,” she said.
A white ceramic vase remained intact, though it was still too hot to hold.
The small family doesn’t know where it will go next. Sarah Treger said she has been trying to find a nearby Airbnb, but they’re being booked so quickly the website’s calendars cannot keep up.
The emotions have come in waves for the couple. Their two children are still too young to know what is happening. The Tregers’ next stop might be on the East Coast, which doesn’t annually light on fire and where they can reset.
9:29 am PT
Erroneous evacuation orders are ‘top priority,’ LA county officials say
USA TODAY
Los Angeles County officials said they are working to address the erroneous evacuation orders that have incited panic and frustration across Los Angeles this week.
Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, on Friday apologized for the mistakenly issued alerts, saying, “I can’t express enough how sorry I am for this experience.”
He said that “every technical specialist is working to resolve this issue,” and urged people not to disable the alert messages on their phone.
“Not receiving an alert can be a consequence of life and death,” McGowan said.
8:50 am PT
‘Hazardous’ air quality levels in Southern California as wildfires rage
USA TODAY
Unhealthy and hazardous air quality levels have been detected in Pasadena as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.
At Jefferson Park in Pasadena, a quality monitor recorded an index of 526, a “hazardous” Code Maroon, which is the highest of six categories on the U.S. Air Quality Index.
“At this extreme, there’s a health warning of emergency conditions,” said IQAir. “The entire population is likely to be severely affected.”
Other portions of Pasadena and San Marino saw Code Purple air quality levels, indicating that the air quality is unhealthy for everyone, especially for vulnerable groups.
California smoke map:Track latest with real-time information
8:30 am PT
The Los Angeles fires are devastating. Do they compare to the worst in California history?
Paul Albani-Burgio
The wildfires currently rampaging through Los Angeles County seem poised to make California history – a grim feat in a state that has seen no shortage of serious blazes over the years.
Like with so many things in life, the old axiom “location, location, location” is relevant here: While the fires don’t seem poised to approach any records for raw size, their location in highly urbanized portions of Los Angeles County means they are already widely expected to be among the most destructive – and, possibly, the most deadly – in state history.
And with firefighters struggling to establish containment and windy conditions expected to persist, the known damage will only increase in the coming days.
Here is a look at how the ongoing fires could stack up among the worst fires in California history, according to Cal Fire data.
The five largest wildfires in California history
- August Complex fire (2020) in far northwest California: 1,032,648 acres
- Dixie fire (2021) in northern California: 963,309 acres
- Mendocino Complex fire (2018) in northern California: 459,123 acres
- Park fire (2024) in northern California: 429,603 acres
- SCU Lightning Complex fire (2020): 396,125 acres
How the current Los Angeles fires compare: The biggest of the current fires (the Palisades Fire) is only a tiny fraction of the size of the biggest blazes in state history. Even if the five fires currently burning around Los Angeles County were combined, their estimated 28,896 acres would be just a fraction of the acreage of the 20th largest fire in state history, the 2008 Klamath Theater Complex fire in Siskiyou County.
8:17 am PT
Here are the highway, freeway closures in Southern California due to fires
Paris Barraza
Caltrans District 7, which serves Los Angeles and Ventura counties, shared on X the various freeway and highway closures “due to fires or wind-related incidents” in the area it serves.
Here’s what is closed as of midnight due to wildfires and weather events, according to Caltrans.
Palisades Fire
- Southbound Pacific Coast Highway is closed from Malibu Canyon Road to Interstate-10.
- Northbound Pacific Coast Highway is closed from McClure Tunnel.
- Westbound I-10 is closed at Lincoln Boulevard.
- Westbound I-10 Fourth and Fifth Street on-ramps are closed.
- State Route 27, or Topanga Canyon Boulevard, is fully closed between Pacific Coast Highway and Mulholland Drive.
Eaton Fire
- Eastbound state Route 2 is closed at the entrance of Angeles National Forrest to Upper Big Tujunga Road.
- Westbound and eastbound Interstate-210 Arroyo Boulevard off-ramp is closed.
Azusa: Preventive measure
- State Route 39, or San Gabriel Canyon Road, is closed as a preventive measure north of Azusa, and only residents are allowed to enter.
6:54 am PT
Amid Southern California fires, insurance commissioner seeks to protect coverage
USA TODAY
California’s insurance commissioner issued a one-year moratorium to prevent homeowners insurance companies from canceling or not renewing policies in areas devastated by the wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area.
Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s moratorium is aimed at helping those impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County, according to a state website. The department may issue “a supplemental bulletin” if additional areas are determined to be in need.
“My heart goes out to my fellow Angelenos. Our top priority is protecting Californians during this crisis and helping us recover,” Lara said in a statement. “I am working on all fronts to make sure wildfire victims get the benefits they are entitled to, and they get it as soon as possible.”
6:45 am PT
Water advisories issued for areas hit by Southern California wildfires
James Ward
Residents in Altadena, Malibu, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades and a northern section of the San Fernando Valley, including the Sylmar neighborhood, were under boil water advisories on Friday, with authorities asking residents to use bottled water.
6:44 am PT
Los Angeles schools still closed
James Ward
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced all of its campuses will be closed Friday due to the fires. It is the second-largest school district in the nation with nearly 436,000 students enrolled in 2021, according to federal data.
6:44 am PT
Drone collided with firefighting aircraft over Palisades Fire
Thao Nguyen
A firefighting aircraft was grounded on Thursday after it was struck by a drone while flying over the Palisades Fire near the Pacific Coast, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott said the incident occurred Thursday afternoon when a Super Scooper plane, Quebec 1, was hit by a civilian drone not assigned to fire operations. “Quebec 1 sustained wing damage and remains grounded and out of service,” Scott said in a statement on X. “There were no reported injuries.”
Firefighting “Super Scooper” planes refill by descending to the placid waters of bays and lakes and skimming the water’s surface to load their tanks, according to Reuters. They then release the water to douse a blaze and repeat the process until they refuel.
More:FAA says drone collided with firefighting aircraft flying over Palisades Fire
6:44 am PT
Powerful, inferno-fueling winds to persist into next week
USA TODAY
The gusty Santa Ana winds that have been one of the main factors in the explosive wildfire growth in Los Angeles will continue Friday morning, into the weekend and next week, forecasters said.
“Moderate to strong Santa Ana winds tonight, keeping the fire weather threat in the area focused on LA and Ventura Co into Fri morning,” read a statement from the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles. “The threat doesn’t end after Friday however. Offshore winds will continue into early next week, peaking Sun and Tues/Wed.”
Los Angeles remained under a red flag warning Friday morning, with expected winds of 30 to 45 mph and some gusts reaching up to 65 mph at higher elevations. The winds are expected to lessen in intensity Friday afternoon.
Read more:Southern California forecast warns of more fire danger from Santa Ana winds
6:43 am PT
Arson suspect arrested near Kenneth Fire
USA TODAY
The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested a possible arson suspect Thursday afternoon near the Kenneth Fire in the Woodland Hills neighborhood.
A statement released on the department’s X account said “a male was heard stating a suspect was ‘attempting to light a fire.'”
“The suspect is in custody and was transported to Topanga Station,” the department said, adding, “We are continuing our investigation, and we CANNOT confirm any connection to any fire by this suspect at this time.”
The Kenneth Fire erupted on Thursday and quickly spread to nearly 1,000 acres in a matter of hours, triggering evacuation orders that have since been lifted as forward progress of the fire stopped, officials said. As of Friday morning, the fire was 35% contained.
