Timeline: How the LA fires erupted into the worst natural disaster in California history
For a ninth consecutive day, thousands of firefighters are still battling the wildfires that are ravaging Los Angeles County.
The Palisades and Eaton fires, along with other smaller blazes, have spread more than 40,000 acres (larger than the land area of Washington, DC), with the flames being fanned by a fierce windstorm known as the Santa Ana winds.
As of Wednesday morning, at least 25 lives had been lost, more than 12,000 homes and structures destroyed and hundreds of thousands of residents still placed under evacuation orders. The economic losses from the fires may reach $275 billion, according to estimates.
With slowing wind speeds earlier this week offering some respite, later on Tuesday, the National Weather Service warned that Angelenos are “not out of the woods yet”.
Firefighters are bracing for the return of bruising winds as the agency again declared a “particularly dangerous situation” – the most extreme advance warning – with local gusts expected to reach 65mph before sunrise up until noon on Wednesday.
Below is a timeline of key events from before the first blaze broke out.
Early warning signs
With the luxury of hindsight, the warning signs seem clear: a fire broke out northeast of the Pacific Palisades on January 1; the National Weather Service warned of potential “rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior” in parts of Los Angeles if ignition occurred.
Despite the warnings, senior Los Angeles Fire Department officials allegedly decided not to assign 1,000 extra firefighters and dozens of fire engines for emergency deployment the day the wildfires broke out, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
By the time the first blaze erupted at 10:30 a.m. on January 7, it took the LAPD 45 minutes to respond to reports of smoke pluming from a wooded area near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, according to the Washington Post.
And while LA was burning, the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, flew to Ghana on diplomatic duties. She was captured posing for pictures at a cocktail party in celebration of the inauguration of Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama when the first fire broke out last week.
January 7
The first – and ultimately the most devastating fire – was burning in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent coastal neighborhood west of LA. Since the morning of January 7, it has engulfed more than 23,000 acres and, as of Wednesday morning, is 18 percent contained.
By 7.30pm that evening, the fire spread to almost 3,000 acres before reaching the center of Pacific Palisades.
At around 6:30 p.m., the Eaton Fire erupted in the Altadena area, north of Pasadena, and has now churned through more than 14,000 acres and has been 35 percent contained.
At 10.29, the Hurst fire ignited near San Fernando. It has since burned nearly 800 acres and is 97 percent contained.
January 8
The death toll had climbed to five people, as the fast-moving wildfires continued to sweep across the LA area.
The Palisades fire had burned more than 17,200 acres, while the Eaton fire has scorched some 10,600 acres. The Sunset fire was sparked in the Hollywood Hills and had engulfed 43 acres. All three fires were at zero percent containment.
More than 2,000 buildings had been scorched and tens of thousands of residents forced to evacuate, including more than 60,000 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. More than 330,000 people were without power throughout the region, according to PowerOutage.us.
Fire chiefs also confirmed they were faced with a new challenge: depleted water supplies and low water pressure.
January 9
Another conflagration, the Kenneth fire, ignited in the afternoon and burned more than 1,000 acres near the Los Angeles-Ventura County line. It was at 100 percent containment as of Sunday morning.
California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed that more than 7,500 firefighting personnel and almost 1,200 fire trucks have been deployed across Southern California. President Joe Biden, announced the approval of a major disaster declaration and ordered federal assistance to bolster response efforts.
The Department of Medical Examiner announced it had received notification of 10 fire-related fatalities.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the nation with 500,000 students, closed all of its campuses.
January 10
The Palisades Fire was at six percent containment and had scorched 19,978 acres, while the Altadena and Pasadena-based Eaton fire had burned 13,690 acres and three prercent contained.
Fire crews were still battling the Kenneth Fire that broke out north of the Palisades fire hours, threatening homes near Calabasas and Hidden Hills. The blaze was believed to have been started intentionally, the LAPD announced.
Winds picked up, topping out at 70mph in southern California’s mountainous regions after sunrise, according to the NWS.
January 11
More than 100,000 residents remained under evacuation orders, as the Eaton fire in Altadena and other blazes in the county continued to burn.
Officials confirmed that at least 16 people had died in the wildfires.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced it would take the lead on a new investigative task force probing the origin of the Palisades fire.
Search and rescue efforts for missing persons related to the fires, which including personnel sifting through the rubble and debris of scorched buldings, began in the morning.
January 12
The death toll climbed to 24 by Sunday and more than 12,000 structures destroyed, according to officials.
The NWS warned of a “particularly dangerous situation” by the evening and, although peak winds would be weaker than the rest of the week, they were “strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth”. Gusts reached of up to 70mph in mountainous regions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the agency said.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy has vowed to dispatch 150 firefighting personnel from Ukraine to bolster response efforts to the wildfires raging through southern California. Billionaire Elon Musk also vowed to deploy a fleet of Tesla Cybetrucks equipped with Starlink terminals.
January 13
A new blaze, named the Auto Fire, broke out late Monday in Ventura County, and scorched about 56 acres, prompting a swift response from fire crews.
As of Monday morning, the fires had scorched more than 40,000 acres. Only 13 percent of the more than 23,000-acre Palisades fire has been contained. The Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres in Altadena and Pasadena and is 27 percent contained.
After a week of bruising gusts, wind speeds dropped.
President Joe Biden approved a revised major disaster declaration this week, declaring that the federal government will fund 100 percent of debris removal and emergency protective measures.
January 14 and 15
Firefighters contined to brace for the return of bruising Santa Ana winds late on Tuesday into Wednesday morning as the death toll from the raging Los Angeles fires climbed to 25.
On Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service again declared a “particularly dangerous situation” – the most extreme advance warning – with local gusts expected to reach 65 mph before sunrise up until noon on Wednesday.