LA fires: Weather service issues most severe fire warning as winds pick up

Increasing winds bring potential for explosive fire growth across LA County this week as officials issue the most severe warning possible. Follow live updates.

The warning for those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfire catastrophe has been raised to its most severe category: Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS).

This warning “is one of the loudest ways that we can shout,” Rose Schoenfeld, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist told The LA Times.

“This is a continued extreme fire weather and wind scenario,” Ms Schoenfeld said.

Peak wind gusts could reach 112 km per hour, and the air will be dry, with relative humidity as low as 5 per cent.

The NWS predicts a higher risk of power outages, rapid fire spread and extreme fire behaviour, with embers flying at high speeds.

“Do NOT do anything that could spark a fire,” the NWS said.

The extreme warning will go into effect at 4 a.m. Tuesday, local time, and continue through noon Wednesday.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said that fire crews had made extensive preparations in advance of this latest extreme weather event.

Inmate firefighters in their orange firefighting gear gather equipment beside a Cal Fire firetruck in the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Picture: AFP

“I want to reassure you that your LAFD, all of our regional partners, every single agency that has come from up and down this state and outside of the state — we are ready,” she said.

“We’ve pre-positioned additional engines, fire crews, helicopters, bulldozers and water tenders across all of Southern California,” said Nancy Ward, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

A cadaver dog, from the Los Angeles County Sheriff, sniffs through the rubble of beachfront properties destroyed by the Palisades Fire along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 12, 2025. Picture: AFP

A building that once housed restaurants and coffee shops among other businesses is seen destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California. Picture: AFP

LA County Fire Battalion Chief Christian Litz said crews are also preparing for a worst-case scenario where high winds prevent the use of firefighting aircraft.

Sustained winds are forecast on the coast and in valleys, mountains and foothills.

There will be a higher risk of downed trees and power lines.

The entrance to a fire-ravaged home destroyed in the Palisades Fire remains standing in Pacific Palisades, Californi. Picture: AFP

This wind event will be a more conventional Santa Ana wind, with winds coming out of the east and spreading fires to the west, according to the LA Times.

The PDS forecast came as the number of confirmed deaths from the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires reached 24 and is expected to climb.

Eight of the fire victims died in the Palisades fire and 16 in the Eaton fire in Altadena, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Search and recovery operations are underway in both the Eaton and Palisades fire zones using cadaver dogs and grid searches, said LA County Sheriff Robert Luna.

At least 29 people have been arrested for fire-zone related offences, including a burglar who pretended to be a firefighter.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES BELOW

Originally published as LA fires: Weather service issues most severe fire warning as winds pick up