LA fires as it happened: California fires kill five people; thousands ordered to flee; multiple blazes burn out of control

It’s 1am in Los Angeles as the city battles the most destructive fires in its history, with five blazes now burning out of control and spreading by the minute.

Five people have died, tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate and thousands of properties have been destroyed. The exact number of homes lost is unclear as the fires continue to burn near some of the city’s areas. As Los Angeles braces for another night of destruction, we’ll keep you updated throughout Friday.

That’s the end of our live coverage for this evening, here’s what we know so far:

• The Palisades fire, burning between Santa Monica and Malibu, is 6974 hectares (17,234 acres) and is zero per cent contained.
• The Eaton fire, burning through Altadena, near Pasadena, is 4289 hectares (10,600 acres) and is zero per cent contained.
• The Hurst fire, burning in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley, is 346 hectares (855 acres) and 10 per cent contained.
• The Lidia fire, burning in the Angeles National Forest, is 140 hectares (348 acres) and 40 per cent contained.
• The Sunset fire, which had threatened iconic Hollywood landmarks, is 17 hectares (43 acres) and zero per cent contained.
• More than 150,000 people are still without power across the city, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
• Winds are expected to ease on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, but firefighters will still be battling challenging conditions in the coming days.

Thanks for joining us throughout the day. We’ll be back in the morning with more live coverage of this major US disaster.

The majority of the evacuation zone set up for the Sunset fire has been lifted, according to the LA fire department. 

Shortly before midnight, local time, the LAFD issued a statement to say the evacuation zone had been lifted, except for one area.

The TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. Credit: Bloomberg

The area will be closed overnight due to LAFD operations ensuring no flare-ups in the vegetation surrounding these streets, it said.

“Residents are asked to be cautious when returning to their homes because firefighters are continuing to work in their neighbourhoods.”

The evacuation zone had included some iconic LA landmarks, such as the TCL Chinese Theatre.

The Santa Monica council has imposed a sunset-to-sunrise curfew in a bid to keep roads and public areas clear for emergency services personnel.

City manager David White said in a statement the measure was rolled out to support law enforcement efforts in the mandatory evacuation zones.

“The Palisades fire is currently impacting neighbourhoods in the northern part of Santa Monica with approximately 2472 households under a mandatory evacuation order within the city of Santa Monica and 8338 under a voluntary evacuation warning,” mayor Lana Negrete said.

“This emergency order further assists our first responders and further protects residents as we weather this regional crisis and, ultimately, begin and support recovery efforts.”

People play on the beach as smoke from a wildfire blows over the Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday. Credit: AP

As it passes midnight in Los Angeles, here’s where we stand on the size and containment of the fires.

• The Palisades fire is 6974 hectares (17,234 acres) and is zero per cent contained.
• The Eaton fire is 4289 hectares (10,600 acres) and is zero per cent contained.
• The Hurst fire is 346 hectares (855 acres) and 10 per cent contained.
• The Lidia fire is 140 hectares (348 acres) and 40 per cent contained.
• The Sunset fire is 17 hectares (43 acres) and zero per cent contained.

The wildfires have scorched more than 11,000 hectares, upending life in America’s second-largest city. Homes and businesses have burnt down, schools and roads closed, air quality plummeted, and thousands of displaced residents searched for hotel space or sought shelter from friends and family.

The intense winds that have fuelled the LA wildfires are easing overnight, but firefighters will still face challenging conditions in the days ahead.

The National Weather Service said winds over the Eaton fire would ease Wednesday night through to Thursday morning (Friday AEDT) but could increase again on Thursday afternoon and evening into Friday morning (Saturday AEDT).

“Winds will likely vary significantly between higher terrain and the lower elevations of the fire, as the area is sheltered from the northeast,” the service said.

Gusts of up to 80km/h could “sporadically” affect some valleys, the service said, while dry conditions would continue over the coming days. Winds on Wednesday morning local time were gusting between 95 and 130km/h.

When a series of dangerous, wind-driven fires broke out on Tuesday in the Los Angeles area, Mayor Karen Bass was on the other side of the globe, part of a delegation sent by President Joe Biden to Ghana for the inauguration of its new president.

Bass, a former Democratic congress member who became mayor in late 2022, did not return to Los Angeles until Wednesday afternoon, by which point more than 1000 homes had burnt and 100,000 people across the region had been forced to flee from their homes.

LA mayor Karen Bass in 2020. Credit: AP

The mayor’s absence has drawn criticism from some Angelenos. Many said there was insufficient warning from officials about the likelihood of devastating fires, even as weather forecasts predicted extreme danger this week.

By Thursday last week, the National Weather Service in Los Angeles had begun warning of “extreme fire weather conditions.” By Sunday, the warnings had become even more dire – “rapid fire growth and extreme behaviour with any fire starts.”

But Bass posted her first warning on social platform X about the windstorm on Monday, when she was already in Ghana. Her office did not send out a news release about fire risk until nearly 11am Tuesday morning, after the blaze in Pacific Palisades had already broken out.

“There was zero preparation. There was zero thought here,” said Michael Gonzales, 47, whose home burnt down in Pacific Palisades, a wealthy neighbourhood that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. His family of five was camped out in a hotel in Santa Monica on Wednesday as they began figuring out where they will live.

Gonzales, a lawyer, said he believed Bass made a poor decision to remain overseas despite forecasters warning of the most dangerous fire conditions in more than a decade.

Los Angeles City fire captain Frank Lima, greets Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, as she joins California Governor Gavin Newsom, right, and Senator Alex Padilla in the Palisades on Wednesday. Credit: AP

In her first news conference since returning to Los Angeles, Bass on Wednesday defended her administration when asked about criticisms of the city’s response to the fire. She said the disaster was the result of months of little rain and winds that had not been seen in the city for at least 14 years.

“We have to resist any, any effort to pull us apart,” she said.

Bass said that she returned home as quickly as she could after the fires tore through Pacific Palisades and other parts of Southern California.

“I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane,” she said.

The New York Times

An Australian man says he is “devastated” after his Malibu home was destroyed in LA’s wildfires.

James Willis tried in vain to save the beachfront property, which was razed by fire on Wednesday night local time, before escaping with his dog and a single bag of personal belongings.

Australian James Willis lost his Malibu home in the LA fires.

“It’s gone. I’ve lost everything,” he told Nine News.

“It’s my home. Everything I own is in there...that was out little slice of heaven on the beach and that was our community.”

Willis at his Malibu home.

Willis shared images of his destroyed home on social media after returning to the gutted property, saying he was in “complete shock”.

“I can’t comprehend...how devastated I am that I lost my home and everything I own in it,” he wrote alongside a photo of his home’s ruins.

Australian James Willis shares photos on Instagram of the home he lost in Malibu in the LA wildfires. Credit: instagram.com/jamowillo/

At 11pm Wednesday, local time (6pm AEDT) there are still more than 152,000 people still without power across the city, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

The city of Pasadena has warned its residents that tap water is not safe to drink while the Eaton fire is burning.

The city issued the notice on Wednesday night, local time, advising people in the evacuation zones not to drink the tap water, and to use bottled water for all drinking and washing purposes.

“Debris and elevated turbidity from the Eaton Fire potentially impacted PWP’s drinking water system in the Eaton Fire evacuated areas,” the warning read.

“We will inform you when tests show that the water is safe again. Expected timeframe for resolution is unknown and dependent on evolving fire, wind, and related conditions.”

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is also warning residents in some Pacific Palisades postcodes not to drink tap water.

Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades fire burns a beachfront property in Malibu.Credit: AP

A man rides a bike while flames burn a building on Sunset Boulevard.Credit: Getty Images

Helicopters are seen making water drops during the Sunset fire.Credit: GC Images

A resident hoses down hot spots in a fire-ravaged property in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles.Credit: AP

Earlier on Wednesday, local time, the iconic Hollywood sign surrounded by thick, heavy smoke. Credit: AP

Beachfront Malibu homes are destroyed by the Palisades fire in California.Credit: AP

Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic loss at more than $US50 billion ($80 billion).

“We’re facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can’t be stated strong enough,” Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a press conference.

Blazes burning around Santa Monica and Malibu are consuming some of the most pricey real estate in the US, affecting areas where the median home value is more than $US2 million ($3.2 million), according to AccuWeather.

A firefighter works as the Palisades fire burns a house in the hill next to the Getty Villa on Wednesday. Credit: AP

Fires fanned by hurricane-force wind gusts may spread flames deeper into these neighbourhoods destroying more homes.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is the most expensive US natural disaster, with an estimated cost of $US200 billion ($322 billion), according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data going back to 1980. Blazes across California in 2018, including the Camp Fire, caused an estimated $US30 billion ($48 billion) of damage.

The sun sets on Wednesday evening over the ruins of beachfront properties destroyed by the fire in Malibu. Credit: AP

In addition to the human costs and property damage in Los Angeles, there will likely be longer-lasting health impacts due to acrid smoke, as well as a dent in the region’s lucrative tourism business, AccuWeather said.

“This is already one of the worst wildfires in California history,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist.

“Should a large number of additional structures be burnt in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burnt and economic loss.”

Bloomberg