A Chase bank on Sunset Blvd in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood burns on Jan 8, 2025, after a wildfire broke out in Los Angeles County on Jan 7
'It Looked like Armageddon': 5 Dead as California Wildfires Rage in LA Area
By John Bacon, Jordan Mendoza, Jeanine Santucci, Minnah Arshad, and Trevor Hughes
Pasadena, CA: Wind-whipped wildfires ravaged the Los Angeles area Wednesday as crews struggled to contain the rapidly growing blazes that killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and forced evacuations for over 100,000 residents.
As crews battled infernos across the county, a new brush fire, dubbed the Sunset Fire , ignited in Hollywood Hills Wednesday evening, spurring mandatory evacuation orders and scorching 20 acres, according to CalFire and the Los Angeles Fire Department .
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration on Wednesday and Gov Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as firefighters struggled to control the fires, most still 0% contained. Winds were expected to ease overnight Wednesday, but forecasters warned conditions will remain critical through at least Thursday. The governor's office said nearly 5,000 first responders were on the ground, including crews from Oregon, New Mexico, and Washington State.
Meanwhile, Biden announced that the Defense Department is providing additional resources to battle the California blazes, including firefighting personnel and Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets.
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo confirmed the five deaths late Wednesday afternoon. More than 100,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, the mayor said.
The fires destroyed more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other structures, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a briefing Wednesday. There also were a "high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire line," he said.
"We're facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can't be stated strong enough," said Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County.
Developments:
∎ POWER OUTAGES : The Southern California Edison utility said over 3.1 million customers were affected by outages. Another 1.1 million customers could be affected by additional scheduled shutoffs.
∎ FUNDRAISERS: The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe published a page of verified fundraisers to support those affected by the wildfires.
∎ FIRE SIZE: Nearly 27,000 acres, or 42 square miles, of Los Angeles County, are ablaze, according to Cal Fire , mostly from the Eaton and Palisades infernos. The agency is tracking three additional fires in Los Angeles County, all between 30 to 505 acres.
∎ FORECAST: The ferocious Santa Ana winds that helped fuel the deadly, out-of-control wildfires around Los Angeles are forecast to ease later Wednesday, but they may return Friday, meteorologists warned.
∎ SCHOOL CLOSURES: The Los Angeles Unified School District announced all of its campuses will be closed Thursday due to the fires. According to federal data, it is the second largest school district in the nation with nearly 436,000 students enrolled in 2021.
Altadena home catches fire hours after family flees
Beth Davis and her family left their Altadena home around 6 p.m. Tuesday. With two kids, along with three dogs and two guinea pigs, she and her husband decided it was best to leave sooner rather than later. The Eaton Fire destroyed their rented home sometime overnight.
"It looked like Armageddon from our driveway," she said, describing the approaching flames.
They took shelter at a Pasadena private school where a friend works, bedding down on preschool nap pads while comforting their youngest daughter, 12, who fled the fire with a favorite stuffed lemur and the clothes on her back. Davis said her husband learned Wednesday that many of the homes around theirs were also destroyed.
"At least I can say that everything that I love breathes and is safe," said Davis, an insurance attorney. "The hardest part is comforting our youngest. She's lost literally everything she's had."
Davis said she's not sure what the family will do now for housing. With pets and kids, they were already paying $6,200 a month for a rental in a neighborhood where homes routinely sell for $2 million. She said they already couldn't afford a $200,000 down payment to buy their own house, and are struggling with whether to move elsewhere temporarily or battle for a local house.
"You go onto Zillow right now and before you even plug in 'dog' … I think there were 21 choices and the least expensive was $4,500 a month. And that would be cramming five people into 1,200 square feet," she said. "We're circling the wagons and trying to figure out what our best options are. California is our home."
'Where was the water?' Residents question fire response
Ash irritated the eyes as hundreds of disaster victims piled into the Pasadena Convention Center. The count is about 700, plus pets. Chick-fil-A made the rounds handing out breakfast sandwiches and rations of water, Gatorade and coffee are available for free at resource tables.
Many evacuees, such as Osbee Sangster, 73, had been there for hours. Sangster left her home at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday at the first sight of her neighborhood engulfed in flames. She says that she’s “disappointed in how today was handled by the fire department.” She remembers seeing fire trucks mandating evacuations, “but where was the water?”
Sangster said her home is probably nothing more than a pile of ashes, although she can’t be certain. WiFi was slow at the convention center and her flip-phone screen was frozen on the fire evacuation warning. She found her Altadena neighbor volunteering at an information table with news that his home had completely burned.
Barbara Roberson was adamant that she would not be staying the night and was hopeful she could return home Wednesday night. Roberson reiterated the rumors of poor fire prevention, and questioned “where was the water?” and “did the fire department run out of water?”
− McKenna Mobley, USA TODAY Network
