1 week Ago
Topline A new fire broke out near Los Angeles’ Bel Air neighborhood early on Thursday as the Hughes fire which was first reported a day earlier in northern Los Angeles County grew rapidly to set ablaze more than 10,000 acres, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders and warnings to more than 50,000 people. Timeline Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here .
How Big Is The Palisades Fire? The Palisades Fire began Tuesday and burned 23,713 acres as of Tuesday morning, with about 68% of the fire’s perimeter contained, according to Cal Fire, which previously issued evacuation orders for parts of the Palisades, Brentwood and Encino neighborhoods and for those living along a long stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said Jan. 9 , “it is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.
” How Big Is The Eaton Fire? The second blaze, called the Eaton Fire, began in the evening on Jan. 7 in Eaton Canyon near the San Gabriel Mountains and grew rapidly, covering 14,021 acres with 91% contained as of Wednesday morning. The fire triggered a round of mandatory evacuations in the nearby areas of Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.
How Big Is The Hughes Fire? The Hughes Fire, which broke out on Jan. 22 north of Santa Clarita, covers about 9,400 acres and is 0% contained. At least 31,000 people in the area were under evacuation orders the day the fire broke out.
How Big Were The Other Fires: Sunset Fire In The Hollywood Hills, Hurst, Kenneth, Lidia And Woodley? Ranking California’s Most Destructive Wildfires Preliminary data from Cal Fire indicates the Palisades and Eaton fires rank among California’s most destructive wildfires in state history: Where Are Red Flag Warnings And Other Fire Advisories In Place? A red flag warning is in effect for most of Los Angeles County and the neighboring Ventura County through 10 a.m. Friday, signaling a risk of dangerous fire conditions.
The NWS forecasted dry conditions and peak wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph over much of the two counties, “with local gusts of 50 to 65 mph in the favored mountains.” The agency also warned fires can grow out of control even if winds are not strong. How Much Will The Wildfires Cost? JPMorgan analysts led by Jimmy Bhullar estimated in a note Jan.
9 there could be $50 billion in total damages, including $20 billion in insured losses, though they noted “estimates of potential economic and insured losses are likely to increase.” Those estimates would place the fires as the costliest in U.S.
history. Jasper Cooper, vice president-senior credit officer at Moody’s Ratings, said the credit rating business expects “insured losses to run in the billions of dollars given the high value of homes and businesses in the impacted areas,” adding “commercial property losses could be significant.” How Did The California Fires Start—and Why Are They Spreading? A mix of extremely gusty winds, drought conditions and low humidity created conditions conducive for fires to quickly spread.
The appearance of weather conditions suggestive of La Niña , a climate phenomenon linked to drier conditions and drought in southern parts of the U.S., likely played a large part in priming southern California for extreme fire conditions.
Los Angeles in particular has seen an underwhelming amount of rain in the last eight months alongside a dry winter. The last time the city recorded over a tenth of an inch of rainfall was last May, according to the Los Angeles Times , contributing to drought. The dry conditions paired with historically strong winds gave way to this week’s fires.
Wind gusts of up to 99 mph were reported near Altadena and other nearby areas early Wednesday. The National Weather Service forecast wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph in parts of southern California and up to 100 mph gusts in mountains and foothills last week. The conditions are the result of a wind pattern called the Santa Ana winds or “devil winds,” which are often fast-moving, dry and warm winds that originate inland, around Nevada and Utah, and blow toward the coastal regions of Southern California.
Cal Fire is still investigating the specific causes for each of the fires blazing in Los Angeles County. What Do We Know About The Fire Victims? The Los Angeles County medical examiner confirmed 27 people had died as of Friday, including 17 from the Eaton Fire and 10 from the Palisades Fire, though the number could climb. At least 16 others were reported missing to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, but that number could also climb.
What Celebrities Are Affected By The Fires—like James Woods And Mark Hamill? See a full list here . Paris Hilton, who wrote she had evacuated her home, reportedly lost her Malibu home to the fire. Billy Crystal and his wife Janice said they lost their Pacific Palisades home to the fire, after first moving to the location in 1979.
Jamie Lee Curtis said she likely lost her home to the fire and wrote on Instagram calling for people to “reach out to anyone who lives in Los Angeles” to offer assistance. Eugene Levy , the Pacific Palisades’ honorary mayor, told the Los Angeles Times he fled his home and said the “smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon.” Meanwhile, actor Mark Hamill wrote on Instagram he evacuated his Malibu home, while Vice President Kamala Harris ’ home in Los Angeles was put under an evacuation order, though no one was in the home at the time the order was placed, spokesperson Ernesto Apreza said.
Which Celebrities Have Donated To Relief Efforts? Curtis, who advocated in a “Tonight Show” appearance for people to donate to relief efforts, said she was donating $1 million to start a support fund for the city and people impacted by the fire. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly made monetary donations to relief efforts, and donated clothing, children's items and other supplies. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, the third-wealthiest person in the world, said he and his wife Priscilla are personally donating to relief efforts, and Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman tapped by Trump to serve as the next administrator of NASA, has said he will match the first $1 million donated to his company's relief campaign.
The NFL is donating $5 million to relief efforts. Is The Hollywood Sign On Fire? No—despite social media rumors and AI-generated images. Read more here .
Which Schools Are Closed Due To The Wildfires? Most Los Angeles Unified Schools were reopened Jan. 13 after being shut down on Jan. 9 and Jan.
10. Schools in areas most impacted by the fires or accompanying evacuation orders were temporarily moved to alternate sites ( list here ). Pepperdine University announced its Malibu campus will resume in-person classes on Jan.
21. How Will Wildfires Affect The Oscars, Grammys And Other Big Events? The voting deadline for the Academy Awards was pushed back to Jan. 19, with the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominees also delayed to Jan.
23 at 5:30 a.m. PST.
The award show is set to take place in early March. The Grammys are reportedly still scheduled for the first weekend of February, though organizers say this year’s show will focus on fundraising for relief efforts. The Critics Choice Awards—slated for Sunday—were postponed due to the fires, while the Screen Actors Guild cancelled its in-person awards nomination ceremony last week.
Several TV shows—from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to “NCIS”—paused production last week but reportedly plan to resume this week ( see here for a list). What Sports Events Were Impacted By Wildfires? An NFL wild card playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings took place in Arizona instead of SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area. The Rams secured 750 spots on 15 buses to take fans from Los Angeles to Phoenix and back.
Several other sporting events in the L.A. area were postponed, including an NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames, an NBA matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets and a women’s college basketball game featuring Pepperdine University and the University of Portland.
Has The Fire Impacted Flights From Lax And Other Airports? Los Angeles International Airport, located about 19 miles south of the Pacific Palisades, has not experienced significant flight cancellations, according to FlightAware . What Has Trump Said About The Fires? Trump and one of his key advisers, Elon Musk, have been critical of the local government’s response to the fire since they broke out. In a Jan.
9 post on X , formerly known as Twitter, Musk claimed “the immense loss of homes in LA is primarily due to” bad governance leading to a shortage of water and “nonsensical overregulation that prevented creating fire breaks and doing brush clearing.” Trump has also taken aim at Bass and Newsom, saying on Truth Social Jan. 9 “nobody has ever seen such failed numbers before!” (referring to the Palisades Fire’s zero containment at the time) and blamed it on “gross incompetence” by Newsom and Bass.
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