Winds and dry conditions across SoCal driving new fires
Firefighters work to prevent the spread of the Hughes fire in Castaic, which has grown to more than 10,000 acres. More photos
Southern California’s fire season refuses to quit, even with rain on the horizon.
In the last day, hundreds of weary firefighters have battled multiple fires in the hills around Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including a massive blaze near Castaic, an early morning fire in the Sepulveda Pass that threatened the tony communities of Brentwood and Bel-Air, and another that pushed into Ventura County farmland Thursday morning.
Milestone in search for fire victims: All those missing in Pacific Palisades accounted for, LAPD says
In a milestone in the grim search for victims of the Jan. 7 firestorms, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Thursday that all those reported missing in the Palisades fire within its jurisdiction had been accounted for.
However, the work is not yet over. The search is still underway for missing people in Malibu, which was also hit by the Palisades fire, and in areas of Altadena ravaged by the Eaton fire.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday that 22 people remained unaccounted for in the areas it patrols, including 17 in the Eaton fire and five in the Palisades fire.
The overall death toll from the two fires stands at 28.
Gilman fire ignites in La Jolla as fast-moving Border fire erupts in south San Diego County
A fast-moving brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon within the Otay Mountain Wilderness area of San Diego County.
The Border fire was reported around 2:30 p.m. west of Doghouse Junction and quickly grew to 20 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Cal Fire wrote on X that the fire was spreading quickly and had the potential to grow up to 200 acres.
Another brush fire, which began just after 2 p.m., was burning in La Jolla just south of UC San Diego.
The Gilman fire, which had burned about 1 acre near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante, prompted the evacuation of nearby homes. Firefighting hand crews were at the scene, and helicopters were making water drops, according to live footage on KNSD-TV.
Evacuation orders were in place east of Torrey Pines Road, north of La Jolla Parkway, west of Interstate 5 and Gilman Drive, and south of La Jolla Village Drive. The evacuation order area includes Torrey Pines Elementary School.
Brush fire breaks out along 405 Freeway in Seal Beach
A small brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon along the northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Seal Beach, snarling traffic and prompting lane closures.
The blaze was reported about 1:30 p.m. Two lanes on the northbound 405 Freeway and the transition road from the 405 to the 605 Freeway were closed as firefighters worked in the area, said California Highway Patrol Officer Duane Graham.
Firefighters were able to stop forward progress of the fire within 45 minutes, holding it to about 1 acre. No structures were threatened.
It was not clear when the lanes would reopen. Orange County fire officials did not have immediate details about the size of the blaze or how it started.
Worst of the fire weather danger will continue through Thursday
A farmworker is pummeled by high winds blowing across the Oxnard Plain near a brush fire in the hills behind the campus of Cal State Channel Islands.
Red flag warnings, which warn of critical fire weather and rapid spread of fire should ignition occur, are set to continue in much of Southern California through Friday morning.
The time of greatest danger will be through Thursday at 6 p.m., with the risk gradually lowering through Friday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Kittell.
Gusts over Los Angeles and Ventura counties could reach 25 mph to 40 mph over the course of Thursday night, then will weaken to gusts between 15 and 30 mph for early Friday morning, Kittell said.
“The moral of the story is that the worst of it is through today [Thursday],” Kittell said. “but there’ll still be some lingering winds that, if a fire were to get started in one of those windier areas, it could still cause an issue and grow fairly fast, all the way into tomorrow [Friday] morning.”
The air will still be very dry, with relative humidity below 10% through that time period, keeping the risk of fire spread significant. Red flag warnings are set to end at 10 a.m. Friday for much of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
Rain is forecast to start as early as Saturday and last as late as Monday night, but the exact timing of the rain is uncertain. Rain has the highest chance of falling between Saturday night and Sunday.
Over a three-day period, downtown L.A., Long Beach and Santa Clarita could get three-fifths of an inch of rain, while Thousand Oaks and Redondo Beach could get a little more than a half an inch of rain. Rainfall could be higher or lower than anticipated, depending on the path of the low-pressure system as it drops in Southern California — if it shifts to the west, it could be wetter; if it shifts to the east, it could be drier, Kittell said.
Most likely, the rainfall will be of a light intensity, spread out over many hours.
But there is a 10% to 20% chance of thunderstorms across the region, which could happen at any time, and could bring isolated, brief heavy rainfall at rates of half an inch an hour. As a result, there is a 5% to 10% chance of damaging debris flow in recently burned areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Kittell said.
There is also a moderate risk of small hail.
Snow levels could fall to an elevation of 3,500 to 4,500 feet above sea level. There could be 5 to 10 inches of snow in the San Gabriel Mountains, with a potential for 1 to 2 inches on the Tejon Pass, also known as the Grapevine section of Interstate 5.
Smoke advisory in place for areas near Hughes fire
A smoke advisory will remain in effect for areas of western and northwestern Los Angeles County until at least tonight, as crews continue their work to contain the Hughes fire near Castaic.
The advisory is valid until 10 p.m. Thursday, and warns that smoke is expected to most heavily affect areas “near and to the southwest” of the fire, including Santa Clarita, the Interstate 5 corridor near Castaic Lake and the San Gabriel Mountains.
Smoke could also affect the western L.A. County coast, “primarily west of Malibu,” according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The district has also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory, cautioning that blustery conditions could disperse ash from recent burn areas — including the Palisades and Eaton fires. That advisory is in effect until 6 p.m.
“Predicting where ash or soot from a fire will travel, or how winds will impact air quality, is difficult, so it’s important for everyone to stay aware of the air quality in your area, make plans and take action to protect your health and your family’s health,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, L.A. County’s health officer, in a statement. “Smoke and ash can harm everyone, even those who are healthy.”
Those at higher risk include children or older adults, those who are pregnant and those who have lung/heart conditions or weakened immune systems, Davis said.
Dangerous winds prompt Southern California Edison to shut off power to thousands of customers. Here’s where
A Super Scooper plane drops water on the Palisades fire Tuesday in Pacific Palisades.
Strong winds in Southern California have brought severe fire danger and widespread power outages across Southern California.
California banks and credit unions offer mortgage relief to fire victims, Newsom announces
Residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the Los Angeles firestorms are being offered mortgage relief by nearly 270 state-chartered banks, credit unions and other financial companies, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
The announcement follows a decision by five major banks last week to offer mortgage relief to the fire victims.
Rents rise as refugees from the fires squeeze into L.A.’s tight housing market
Emily Allen, left, and Ria Cousineau. The couple lost their housing in the Eaton fire and moved into a Pasadena rental.
When the flames destroyed Ria Cousineau’s Altadena house and damaged the home of her partner, Emily Allen, a horrific situation gave way to what felt like an impossible task.
In an effort to find a semi-permanent home while they rebuild, Cousineau estimated the couple toured about 10 houses over four or five days, with one house seeing at least 30 families stroll through in just 10 minutes. Under pressure, they offered to pay $250 more than the asking price on a Pasadena rental.
Laguna fire: Evacuations, road closures, shelters
View from an AlertCalifornia camera shows the start of the Laguna fire burning near Cal State Channel Islands on Thursday.
The Laguna fire broke out about 9:40 a.m. Thursday and was burning near Camarillo and the campus of Cal State Channel Islands. The fire burned 50 acres over roughly two hours before firefighters were able to stop it from spreading.
Evacuation orders for Cal State Channel Islands and University Glen were downgraded to warnings around noon.
Hughes fire rages on, fire in Bel-Air pops up, firefighters make progress with both overnight
California revamps its website for L.A. County fire recovery
The state unveiled its revamped fire relief website on Thursday, offering a one-stop shop to help Los Angeles County firestorm survivors access vital services.
Fire victims can use the website to find information on how to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief, file insurance claims, replace documents and return to their homes safely. It also offers assistance with accessing food, expense reimbursements and shelter, and provides real-time updates via fire maps, air quality information and road closure maps as well.
Rep. Chu demands investigation into slow evacuations in Altadena
Wearing protective gear, Eaton fire victims Liz Oh, and Ray Ahn, search for keepsakes and valuables amid the rubble of their burned out home of 6 years on W. Marigold Street, as residents return to their burned out homes in Altadena Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.
Rep. Judy Chu has called for an independent investigation into why it took so long to evacuate parts of Altadena during the Jan. 7 Eaton Fire.
A Times investigation reported earlier this week that residents of Altadena living west of Lake Avenue did not get evacuation warnings until many hours after the fire started. All of the 17 confirmed deaths from the fire occurred in that part of Altadena.
Chu said in a statement she was “dismayed and deeply concerned that evacuation warnings and orders were significantly delayed.”
“We owe it to the victims, survivors, and their families to ensure that these evacuation notification delays and failures are not repeated. I urge Los Angeles County emergency officials to conduct an immediate, independent investigation into the handling of these emergency notifications to examine the timeline of alerts, the coordination between agencies, and changes needed to be made to strengthen our systems to save lives. Transparency and accountability are critical so that every community is treated equitably in future emergencies,” she added.
The Palisades fire burned their high school. Now students face COVID-style, remote learning
Fifteen days after fire ripped through Pacific Palisades, destroying his house on Iliff Street and reducing a good part of his school to rubble, Jonathan Fuhrman pulled up to the kitchen table of his temporary Brentwood home, logged into his laptop and launched Zoom.
“Here we go again,” said the Palisades Charter High School senior, who spent most of middle school in virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic and started out high school wearing a mask and taking weekly coronavirus tests. “I wonder if people will be on camera.”
Sepulveda fire: Evacuations, road closure
Firefighters were battling a brush fire off the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass late Wednesday evening.
Fires and windstorms caused at least $350 million in damage to L.A. public facilities, report says
The wildfires that have torn through Pacific Palisades and other parts of Los Angeles this month have damaged or destroyed about $350 million in public infrastructure, including streetlights, recreation centers and a library that burned down, according to a city report.
The initial cost estimate, which examined damage from the first four days of the fires, was presented Wednesday to the City Council as part of a larger discussion on the impact of the emergency on the city budget.
California attorney general charges L.A.-area real estate agent with price gouging in wake of wildfires
“May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything,” said California Atty, Gen. Rob Bonta in a release.
A real estate agent in La Cañada Flintridge is facing criminal charges for allegedly raising the price of a rental property by 38% after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Wednesday.
“May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything,” Bonta said in a release. “DOJ is aggressively and relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to make a quick buck off someone else’s pain.”
As the Hughes fire swells, some residents gather near the flames to witness the spectacle
As the sun began to set over Castaic Lake on Wednesday, the hills to the north and east were engulfed in flames, casting an eerie orange glow across the valley below.
The Hughes fire ignited earlier in the day north of Castaic and by evening had grown to more than 9,000 acres, forcing the evacuation of about 31,000 people.
Fire in Bel-Air frays nerves as red flag weather is set to peak Thursday in Los Angeles
A fire burns early Thursday morning in the Sepulveda Pass. More photos
A fire ignited late Wednesday in Bel-Air on the eastern side of the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass and burned into the early morning hours Thursday.
The fire, across the freeway and a mile north from the Getty Center, moved uphill amid wind gusts in the area that at one point reached 25 mph, according to Todd Hall, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Contributing to the fire conditions was extremely dry air; relative humidity was 3% to 8%.
I-5 reopens after fire closure, officials say
A stretch of Interstate 5 in northern Los Angeles County that was closed because of the nearby Hughes fire reopened Wednesday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, officials closed the freeway in both directions through the Grapevine, with northbound lanes shut down at the interchange with Highway 126 and southbound traffic closed at Grapevine Road on the southern edge of Kern County.
“For a variety of reasons, we will reopen the freeway so that people can go back and forth again,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said during a news conference.
🚧Traffic Update🚧I-5 NB is now open!Closures that will remain in place will be as follows.I-5 NB to Parker Rd off RampI-5 NB to Lake Hughes Rd off RampParker RD/Ridge Rd EB from The Old Rd
Lake Hughes Rd EB from The Old Rd pic.twitter.com/yxE60vHant
— CHP Southern (@CHPsouthern) January 23, 2025
However, Luna stressed that those who do not need to travel should still avoid the area.
“If you do not live in this area, if you’re following the smoke, if you want to go see what the firefighters are doing, turn on the television set,” he said. “Do not drive into these areas. You are impacting the ingress and the egress of emergency vehicles. We don’t need more traffic. We want less traffic.”
‘It’s hard to go to work when you’re worried your house could burn down.’ Fleeing flames in fire-weary SoCal
Moments after the Hughes fire exploded, L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami said he raced out of the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster and drove back to Santa Clarita, where his children and hundreds of others were being evacuated from West Creek Academy as the sky overhead darkened with smoke.
“You had some parents crying. You had younger kids … they were crying. You could see the smoke from the school, everybody is kind of on edge,” said Hatami, whose children are 8 and 10.
