More than 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been damaged or destroyed and at least five people are dead in wildfires scorching communities across Los Angeles County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.
The five bodies were found in three structures in Altadena, where the Eaton fire exploded Tuesday night, giving residents little time to flee. It is estimated that more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the Palisades fire and another 1,000 either damaged or destroyed in the Eaton fire, according to the L.A. County Fire Department.
Firefighting resources were strained further when the Sunset fire erupted in the Hollywood Hills area around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, prompting evacuations in the Runyon Canyon area.
In Pacific Palisades, the Palisades fire had charred more than 15,800 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, burning down to Pacific Coast Highway, where it engulfed multimillion-dollar homes along the iconic stretch.
L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said that although there had been no fatalities in the Palisades fire, officials had seen “a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire line.”
The Eaton fire, which broke out Tuesday night, had burned 10,600 acres as of Wednesday evening near Altadena and Pasadena, whipped by wind gusts of up to 99 mph, Angeles National Forest staff wrote on X.
The causes of death for the five bodies found in the Eaton fire have not been determined, Marrone said at a Wednesday evening news conference. The agency has requested K-9s that specialize in human-remains detection, which will be used to ensure no other people are unaccounted for in the blaze, Marrone said.
The Hurst fire, which spread quickly amid high winds overnight in Sylmar, had burned 700 acres as of Wednesday evening.
The causes of the fires are under investigation, and all remained 0% contained.
“What we saw here in the last 24 hours is unprecedented,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
On Wednesday, the roughly 2,500 firefighters assigned to the Eaton and Palisades blazes endured another challenging day of fire fueled by extreme winds, bone-dry brush and low humidity. As the large fires raged, crews across the region rushed to contain small blazes that popped up in Fontana, Sun Valley and Brentwood.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna that said 70,000 residents were under evacuation orders or warnings in the Eaton fire area and that 60,000 residents were under evacuation orders or warnings in the Palisades fire region. Three people had been arrested on suspicion of looting in the evacuation zones, he said.
“That is 100% unacceptable,” he said. “These people have gone through so much. Don’t put them through more than they have to go through.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
BDST: 1045 HRS, JAN 09, 2025
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