Los Angeles wildfire live: Over 1,400 firefighters battling fast-moving blaze, says California Gov

Los Angeles wildfire live: Over 1,400 firefighters battling fast-moving blaze, says California Gov

LiveLos Angeles wildfire live: High speed winds toughen firefighters' battleBy HT News DeskJan 8, 2025 7:41 PM ISTLA Wildfire Live Updates: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned that the wildfire conditions across the city are “expected to worsen” amid the windstorm.Los Angeles wildfire live: Fire experts have warned people against taking a closer look at the blaze as its smoke is a 'toxic soup'.

Los Angeles Wildfire Live Updates: Massive wildfires tore across the United States' Los Angeles areas, resulting in tens of thousands of residents being forced to flee their homes and firefighters constantly battling with the flames. Officials are preparing for the situation to worsen, The Associated Press reported. The wildfire that broke out on Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the foothills northeast of LA spread even faster due to the windy atmosphere....Read More

Meanwhile, another fire which started hours earlier ripped through the city's Pacific Palisades area, a hillside region along the coast lining with celebrity residences.

Traffic snarls on the Palisades Drive proved as a blockade for emergency vehicles, who couldn't get through to their destination.

Visuals from across LA showed the destruction of nearly 3,000 acres of land in the area, with residents struggling to breath amid evacuation sounds in the region.

Additionally, officials in Malibu have also asked all the residents to prepare to evacuate their homes to escape from the rapidly spreading wildfire, the New York Times reported.

Los Angeles wildfire | Key points

• A wildfire ripped across an upscale section, Pacific Palisades, of Los Angeles amid a fierce windstorm in Southern California, destroying thousands of acres of land.
• Tens of thousands of residents fled their homes to save their lives from the fast-moving Palisades fire.
• Several expensive cars including models of BMWs, Tesla and Mercedes were destroyed in the fire as firefighters used bulldozers to make way.
• Los Angeles Fire department chief Kristin Crowley, according to AP, said that despite the chaotic evacuation, there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
• Hundreds of fighters rushed to the area, battling with the wild blaze from both the ground and the air.
• Acting Mayor and Los Angeles City Council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson announced that the American city has declared a state of emergency over the fire.

Eaton fire prompted the evacuation of the LA County Sheriff's Office station on Altadena Drive on Wednesday, the department said.

The personnel at the station were shifted to their sister station in Crescenta valley.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, responsible for developing and coordinating many of the space agency's unmanned exploration missions, is also included in the evacuation orders resulting from the Eaton fire, CNN reported.

As per LA County Sheriff's department, most of the JPL campus, managed by Caltech, is located in the neighbouring hillside city of La Canada Flintridge, which is also under a complete evacuation order.

Los Angeles' national weather service's official Ariel Cohen described the current wildfires blazing across the county to be "one of the worst situations that we have ever seen".

“Everyone needs to be thoughtful, thinking ahead, make sure you’re planning, … I’m pleading with you, if you get the evacuation order from emergency management, take it seriously and evacuate. Your life will depend on it," he told CNN.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass noted that hundreds of firefighters have been battling with the wildfires overnight, thanking them for "working tirelessly to respond and protect life and property".

California Professional Firefighters' union president Brian Rice has said that despite working round the clock firefighters have been unable to control the wildfires and this is because of the high speed wind.

With sustained winds of more than 40 mph and “gusts that are reported into the 60s, 70s and 80s, you’re not going to control that,” he was quoted as saying by CNN.

Rice further said that the firefighters are going to put in 24-48 hour shifts, but they are not going off the fire line anytime soon. “Everyone is at the mercy of the wind right now. And until we see a shift in the wind, or a drop in the wind, it’s just not going to let up," he added.

Brian Rice, head of California professional firefighters, has said that there have been no reported firefighter deaths after over 1,400 staff fought three separate blaze across Los Angeles.

“As far as firefighter injuries, we’re seeing the very typical things: strains, sprains, eye injuries, smoke inhalation," Rice was quoted as saying by CNN.

The union president of California Professional firefighters Brian Rice has urged tourists to not try and get a closer look at the wildfires across Southern California.

"If you don’t live in the area, don’t go sightseeing. The smoke is a toxic soup. It’s not just the brush that’s burning, but homes are burning. Homes contain plastics that are built from petrochemical compounds," Rice was quoted as saying by CNN.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has warned that the wildfire conditions across the city is expected to worsen amid the windstorm.

In a post on X, she said, "Our @LAFD and @LAPDHQ teams continue to work overnight to protect Angelenos affected by fires in L.A."

"Angelenos should be advised that the windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning and to heed local warnings, stay vigilant and stay safe. Red flag parking restrictions will remain in effect until further notice," she added.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education released a list of LA county schools that are closed for Wednesday, January 8.

California's Attorney General Rob Banta had earlier warned people against price gouging amid the state of emergency over the wildfire spreading rapidly across Los Angeles.

He urged people to file a complaint with his office immediately if they witness such an act.

The punishment for price gouging is criminal prosecution resulting in one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to $10,000.

According to the latest data on the website of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire), there are currently 35 wildfires and the blaze have burned 3,015 acres of land.

Additionally, a total of 8,587 emergency responses have been recorded by CAL Fire.

David Acuna, battalion chief and public information officer at CAL Fire told CNN, that new fires are constantly erupting across Southern California.

Acuna said that the battle against the fire in Palisades, Eaton and Hurst are only expected to intensify.

“Once the winds have died down and we’re able to secure some lines, and we have made sure that all the people are out of the way, then we can devote all of our resources towards containing –– and then eventually, completely extinguishing the fire," Acuna was quoted by CNN.

Fire chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Kristin Crowley, said that nearly 26,000 people in more than 10,000 households and more than 13,000 structures are under threat from the blaze.

Evacuation orders in the region are underway as scores of residents flee their homes on foot to protect themselves from the fast-moving wildfire.

The Rose Bowl sports stadium in Pasadena, Calif, has been picked as an evacuation site for large animals, offering shelter to pet owners seeking security of their horses and other livestock amid the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles, the LA county sheriff's department was cited by CNN.

According to local TV station KTLA, following are the areas of the Eaton Canyon that are under mandatory evacuation orders:

A new wildfire has erupted in the Eaton Canyon area near Altadena, prompting residents to evacuate as high winds added to the increased tensions in southern California, local LA television station KTLA reported.

David Acuna, battalion chief and public information officer with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire), told CNN that there is no possibility of containing the blaze because of the presence of high winds.

He said that CAL is "mostly concerned with ensuring that all people get out of the area because life safety is the most important part, and we're helping people to plan so that their pets and livestock also have a safe shelter."

Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for the Sylmar fire, also known as the Hurst fire, as two more fires erupted in the region, Los Angeles' local television station KTLA reported.

According to CAL Fire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), the Hurst fire has now grown to 500 acres, prompting evacuations in the nearby region of Santa Clarita. A CNN report said that seven areas are under evacuation order, while two others are under warning.

As the wildfire tore through Pacific Palisades area between the beach towns of Santa Monica and Malibu in Los Angeles, more than 30,000 people evacuated their homes, with the blaze spreading rapidly in the region.

Numerous homes and buildings have been destroyed and nearly 3,000 acres of land were burned in the upscale town.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday warned people against price gouging, a practice where customers are charged at an unfair or unreasonable price and especially during high demand.

Price gouging is reportedly illegal during a state of emergency.

As high winds and dry conditions increase the intensity of the Palisades Fire, I urge Southern Californians to listen to communication from officials and keep safe. California’s price gouging law protects people impacted by an emergency from illegal price gouging on housing, gas, food, and other essential supplies,” Bonta's statement was cited by CNN.

Scary visuals from the Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades wildfire emerged in viral videos, showing several houses and vehicles engulfed in flames.

California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, saying that the worst was yet to come.

Watch the visuals from LA wildfire here

California Governor Gavin Newsom took to X and informed that more than 1,400 firefighting personnel and hundreds of other prepositioned assets are fighting the fast-moving blaze.

"Thank you to our first responders quickly jumping into these firefights," he wrote.

Regardless of any evacuation order, all Malibu residents have been asked to prepare to evacuate anyways. The city warned that it was a “critical time to prepare for the unpredictable and rapidly changing nature of the fire", CNN reported.

Several dozens of cars and houses have been destroyed in the fast-moving blaze across Los Angeles, with the fire entering several parts of the city. Santa Monica, Bert, Sylmar and many other counties are battling with the wildfire.

A dangerous wildfire torn through a Los Angeles suburb, levelling homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee. The blaze, which destroyed nearly 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) of land in the Pacific Palisades area, so far, is rapidly spreading.