Pacific Palisades wildfire rages as tens of thousands forced to evacuate: Updates
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Pacific Palisades fire for Tuesday, Jan. 7. For the latest updates on the California wildfires, please read USA TODAY'S live updates for Wednesday, Jan. 8.
LOS ANGELES — A fast-moving wildfire fueled by dangerously high-speed Santa Ana winds threatened homes in some of California's most exclusive neighborhoods on Tuesday, destroying homes and creating traffic jams as 30,000 people evacuated beneath huge plumes of smoke that covered much of Los Angeles.
Officials, who had already warned of extreme fire danger from powerful winds that arrived following extended dry weather in the region, said the Palisades Fire charred 2,921 acres of the Pacific Palisades area between the coastal California cities of Santa Monica and Malibu. There was no containment as of 12:30 a.m. local time.
The fire spread as officials warned the worst wind conditions were expected to come overnight, leading to concerns that more neighborhoods could be forced to flee. The city of Santa Monica later ordered evacuations in the northern fringe of town.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters that several structures have been damaged. The chief said over 10,000 households and 13,000 structures are threatened.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency Tuesday, urged residents to heed evacuation orders after he witnessed several buildings already destroyed by the blaze.
"By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods," said Newsom, who later added that the state positioned personnel, firetrucks, and aircraft elsewhere in Southern California because of the fire danger to the wider region.
In a statement Tuesday evening, President Joe Biden said he was briefed on the fires and that FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to support areas impacted and help reimburse the state for immediate firefighting costs.
Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, has 9,400 homes with 27,000 residents, according to the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce. The area has been touted by real estate brokers as an oasis of tranquility and understated elegance and home to numerous A-list celebrities.
Late Tuesday, officials confirmed another fire ignited in Altadena, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. By 12:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, the blaze, dubbed the Eaton Fire, had consumed 1,000 acres with no containment. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Developments:
? High winds and power outages were impacting a Los Angeles Metro train line Tuesday night, the agency said on X. There was no rail service between Highland Park and South Pasadena stations, according to the agency.
? Newsom later announced on X that the state received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to combat the Eaton Fire near the community of Altadena.
? The Los Angeles Fire Department requested Tuesday evening that all current off-duty members call in with their availability for recall, according to a statement posted on social media.
? Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott said in a statement on X that a 25-year-old female firefighter sustained a serious head injury at around 8:30 p.m. She received treatment at the scene and was transported to a local hospital. Multiple burn victims were also reported “walking toward a nearby restaurant” at about 9 p.m., according to Scott. The number of victims and the extent of their injuries were not immediately known.
? Public safety power shutoffs affected nearly 4,200 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles County and another 400 in Ventura County, according to the utility. Additional shutoffs were being considered for more than 400,000 customers across Southern California.
? The Westwood Recreation Center opened its doors to evacuees seeking overnight shelter, along with their small pets. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center was sheltering large animals in need of evacuation.
California wildfire map: Track the Palisades Fire as evacuations ordered in Los Angeles
Evacuation orders issued for areas near Pacific Palisades, Eaton fires
Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders as two fires grew in parts of northern Los Angeles County.
About 30,000 residents near the Pacific Palisades area were under evacuation orders. Cal Fire warned residents that the fire was an "immediate threat to life" and that the area was lawfully closed to public access.
In Santa Monica — a coastal city just south of the Pacific Palisades — an evacuation order was issued between the northern border of the city and San Vicente Boulevard, between Ocean Boulevard and 26th Street, according to the city.
Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire erupted near Altadena and Pasadena in northeast Los Angeles County. Cal Fire initially reported that the blaze consumed about 200 acres Tuesday evening before exploding to an estimated 400 acres.
Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for parts of Altadena and Pasadena, according to Cal Fire.
"High winds are driving rapid fire growth, posing a significant threat to nearby communities and making containment efforts challenging," Cal Fire said. "Firefighters are working aggressively to slow the spread and protect critical infrastructure under extreme conditions."
President Biden briefed on California wildfires
According to the White House, Biden has been briefed on the California wildfires and has been in contact with state and local officials.
"I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire," Biden said in a statement, noting that a federal grant had already been approved to help reimburse the state of California for its fire response.
“I urge the residents of the Pacific Palisades and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles to stay vigilant and listen to local officials," he added.
The powerful winds changed Biden's travel plans, grounding Air Force One in Los Angeles. He had planned to make a short flight inland to the Coachella Valley for a ceremony to create two new national monuments in California but the event was rescheduled for a later date at the White House.
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School closures announced in Los Angeles County
In response to the fire and weather conditions, the Pasadena Unified School District announced that all district schools will be closed on Wednesday “in an abundance of caution.” The district also noted that the city of Pasadena is assessing whether to declare a state of emergency due to the weather impacts.
“The closure will allow our crews time to evaluate and repair damages to ensure all campuses are safe for students and staff,” the district said in a statement Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said all Malibu schools will be closed on Wednesday. The district said Santa Monica schools will remain open but officials are monitoring the situation and conditions will be re-evaluated early Wednesday morning.
Five elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District will also be closed on Wednesday due to the fires and students will pivot to online classes, the school district said in a statement Tuesday night. The school district added that it will also prepare for the possibility of online learning on Thursday.
"This is a rapidly evolving situation compounded by high winds which are expected to sustain over the next 48 hours," the school district said.
The school district also noted that Palisades Charter High School, an independent charter high school, was reportedly impacted by the Pacific Palisades fire. But the high school is currently not in session, according to the school district.
Another elementary school, Topanga Elementary Charter School, will continue its relocation to Woodland Hills Academy, the school district said.
Reports: Vice President Harris' Los Angeles home in evacuation zone
NBC News and its local station reported Tuesday night that Vice President Kamala Harris' Los Angeles residence was in the eastern part of the evacuation zone for the Pacific Palisades fire.
Harris is in Washington, D.C., where she and other leaders eulogized former President Jimmy Carter during an hour-long service earlier Tuesday.
In a statement Tuesday, Harris said she was briefed on the fires and urged residents in affected areas to remain vigilant and listen to local officials.
“My heart goes out to all those being impacted by the devastating wildfires in Southern California,” Harris said. Doug and I are praying for our fellow Californians who have evacuated, and we are thinking of the families whose homes, businesses, and schools remain in harm’s way.”
California’s dry fall means 'plenty of fuel' for wildfire
With the explosive fire already blazing, and 80 to 90mph winds projected, UCLA Professor Alex Hall described the conditions as "one of the most powerful wind events of the season."
Hall, director of the university’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, said weather conditions in Southern California over the last year – including a hot summer and dry fall — have created "plenty of fuel for potential wildfires."
"These intense winds have the potential to turn a small spark into a conflagration that eats up thousands of acres with alarming speed — a dynamic that is only intensifying with the warmer temperatures of a changing climate," he said.
The worst of the conditions are likely Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, UCLA Climate Scientist Daniel Swain said.
"The atmospheric blow dryer is really going to dry things out even further," she said, suggesting that the longer the wind conditions last, the dryer vegetation will become.
"The reality is that there's going to be a very long period of high fire risk."
— Elizabeth Weise and Karissa Waddick
Fire threatens famous art museum
The Pacific Palisades fire threatened thousands of structures on Tuesday, including one of the most beloved educational centers and art museums in the world.
Aerial footage and images shared on social media showed smoke approaching the Getty Villa as the fast-growing fire impacted areas along the Pacific Coast Highway.
The villa site, which is already closed to the public on Tuesdays, was “swiftly closed” to non-emergency staff after the fire started earlier Tuesday, according to Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The villa will remain closed through at least Jan. 13.
"We, of course, are very concerned for our neighbors in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and the surrounding areas," Fleming said in a statement. "Fortunately, Getty had made extensive efforts to clear brush from the surrounding area as part of its fire mitigation efforts throughout the year."
Fleming noted that while some trees and vegetation at the site have burned, staff members and the Getty Villa collection remained safe. Additional fire prevention measures were in place at the villa site, including on-site water storage and irrigation was deployed throughout the grounds earlier Tuesday.
Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from the smoke by “state-of-the-art air handling systems” and double-walled construction also provided protection for the collections, according to Fleming.
Billionaire oilman and art patron J. Paul Getty opened the Getty Villa in 1974, according to the nonprofit Los Angeles Conservancy. The villa, which holds a large collection of Roman and Greek artifacts and antiquities, was modeled after a Roman country villa.
— Thao Nguyen
What to know about Pacific Palisades
Located in the western part of Los Angeles, the Pacific Palisades neighborhood is among the city’s most scenic, affluent, yet fire-prone communities where more than 27,000 residents live.
The Palisades are a few miles from Malibu, California, and stretch from the Pacific coast up into the mountains. Many homes have picturesque ocean views, and multimillion-dollar, hillside homes are common.
The neighborhood is renowned for its parkland, hiking trails, and the historic Will Rogers State Park and Beach, named after the famous Hollywood actor who starred in popular cowboy western films almost a century ago and the landmark Getty Villa founded by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.
— Terry Collins
Gridlock as residents try to evacuate
Officials shut down all traffic on Pacific Coast Highway at Topanga Canyon Boulevard due to the fire, according to the California Department of Transportation.
Traffic jams could be seen along the highway, a crucial artery, and on roads near the Pacific Palisades, video from NBC Los Angeles shows. The City of Santa Monica additionally closed a westbound portion of Interstate 10 to help smooth fire evacuations, officials said in a social media post.
Some people have abandoned their cars as they seek to flee the area. About 30 vehicles have been left on roadways, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, which cleared them to allow emergency response crews better access to the area.
Cindy Festa, a Pacific Palisades resident, said that as she evacuated out of the canyon, fires were "this close to the cars," demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.
"People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees — everything is going," Festa said from her car.
Southern California braces for additional fires to ignite
Newsom said the state began moving fire resources from Northern California to Southern California on Sunday evening amid alarming wind forecasts.
“We are anticipating – hopefully we’re wrong – but we are anticipating other fires happening concurrently,” the governor said, citing past experience with similar high-intensity wind events.
Officials added that wind speeds Tuesday night will affect how much progress fire crews will be able to make in battling the blaze. The most intense winds are expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday, which could make aerial operations impossible.
Celebrities evacuate Pacific Palisades
While stuck in traffic, actor Eugene Levy told the Los Angeles Times that he evacuated along with other residents of the neighborhood.
"The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon,” said Levy, according to The Times. "I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark.”
Actor James Woods posted a video to X showing fire raging near his deck. He had posted video earlier of flames threatening his neighborhood as giant palm trees swayed from the wind and plumes of smoke filled the air.
“I’m standing in my driveway getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said, adding several planes had flown over the area and dropped water.
Actor Steve Guttenberg told KTLA-TV Tuesday he was helping residents evacuate, urging them to leave their car keys inside their vehicles so he and first responders could move them so fire crews could enter the very steep and hilly streets.
"In a crisis, always remember that you are, you're part of a community," the actor later told Entertainment Weekly in a phone interview. "And if you're able-bodied, you've got to help. You've got to help. You can't walk by somebody when they need something. You just can't walk by them. You have to help them.
A number of stars, including Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, and Michael Keaton, reportedly call the region home, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
— Terry Collins and Edward Segarra
Is it safe to drive in high winds?
Southern California residents have been advised to use extreme caution while driving this week amid high-speed winds. Much of the region has been placed under a high wind warning by the National Weather Service, with forecasters expecting “very strong Santa Ana winds” through Thursday.
Some areas are forecasted to experience winds between 30 to 50 mph and isolated gusts as high as 100 mph through Wednesday. The strongest winds are expected tonight and Wednesday morning, said Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the weather service’s San Diego office.
Winds blowing within a region placed under a high wind warning can knock over semi-trucks, interrupt power lines, damage light signals, and cause damage to homes, Tardy said.
“We're talking knocking over trees type of level of wind,” he said. “We're not talking about just windy or just nuisance wind or just usual wind. We're talking about an unusual level and a high impact of the wind.”
The strong winds are also creating extreme fire risks and portions of Southern California are under a red flag warning through Wednesday or Thursday, according to the weather service.
– Paris Barraza, Palm Springs Desert Sun
Biden cancels monuments event in Los Angeles because of fire
President Joe Biden canceled an event to dedicate two national monuments previously scheduled Tuesday for Box Canyon, California, because of the dangerously high-speed Santa Ana winds and wildfire.
Biden arrived in Los Angeles late Monday night to announce the creation of the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. He was set to fly to the Eastern Coachella Valley the next day for the event.
Biden remains in Los Angeles. The White House said the event will be rescheduled for next week at the White House.
The new monuments – announced two weeks before Biden’s White House term ends – is part of the president’s land conservation agenda. On Monday, he used executive authority to ban offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts including off the California coastline.
– Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
'Could smell the fire on me'
Karla Mendoza, 36, was driving for the food delivery company DoorDash in Santa Monica Tuesday when she noticed the fire around 10:20 a.m, she told USA TODAY. She didn’t realize how close it was to her route when she went to pick up an order at a cafe in Palisades Park.
When Mendoza arrived five minutes later, she said clouds of smoke were billowing and ash was raining down.
“As I’m driving, I was like ‘Oh my God, this is getting worse. The winds are really bad,” Mendoza said. “We had no idea how close it was and how fast it was going to move.”
Mendoza said she saw two firetrucks speed up the Pacific Coast Highway onto Sunset Boulevard – and then saw others from Los Angeles and Beverly Hills quickly follow.
As she evacuated, traffic began to pick up along the highway, but Mendoza was able to get out of the area before the roads became gridlocked.
“When I got back to Santa Monica, I could smell the fire on me,” she said. “That’s how fast it was.”
National Weather Service warns about extreme fire conditions
A high risk for dangerous fire weather conditions is present for most of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service said, adding that "widespread damaging winds and low humidities will likely cause fire starts to rapidly grow in size with extreme fire behavior."
The agency said damaging wind gusts between 50-80 mph, with isolated gusts between 80-100 mph for mountains and foothills are expected. Power outages are also expected Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, according to the NWS.
Forecasters urged residents to use extreme caution with any potential ignition sources.
Los Angeles fire map
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Saman Shafiq, and Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY; Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press; Cheri Carlson and Gretchen Wenner, Ventura County Star; Reuters
(This story was updated to correct an inaccuracy.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pacific Palisades fire in Los Angeles prompts mass evacuation orders