Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted Tuesday and roared across the Los Angeles area, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving at least five people dead.
A Los Angeles county fire official said there were an untold number of significant injuries linked to two of the fires, and a city official in Los Angeles described Tuesday night as “one of the most devastating and terrifying” that she’d seen in her corner of the city.
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“This is looking worse and worse the more information we get,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain.
Here’s what we know about the fires.
Where are the fires?
- The Palisades Fire erupted Tuesday morning in Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles County neighborhood east of Malibu, as a brush fire. The blaze had grown to more than 15,000 acres by Wednesday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
- The Eaton Fire ignited Tuesday night near a canyon in the sprawling national forest lands north of downtown Los Angeles and had exploded to more than 10,000 acres by Wednesday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
- The Hurst Fire started Tuesday night in Sylmar, a suburban neighborhood north of San Fernando, as a brush fire and quickly grew to 500 acres, Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristen Crowley said.
How many people are affected?
The largest evacuation zone — roughly 37,000 people — is in the path of the Palisades Fire and includes areas in the cities of Calabasas, Malibu, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, law enforcement and fire officials said.
Another 32,500 people have been ordered to flee their homes in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters, and more than 3,000 people in the Sylmar area were under emergency evacuation orders, according to Crowley.
Have there been deaths and injuries?
There have been a significant number of injuries in the Eaton Fire, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
Luna said that five people have died in the blaze. He did not have additional details about their deaths.
Marrone said a significant number of people who did not heed evacuation orders have been injured in the Palisades Fire.
How much damage have the fires done?
“There is a lot of damage out there,” Luna told reporters.
Marrone estimated that 1,000 homes and businesses have burned in the Palisades fire, and 100 more more have been destroyed in the Eaton Fire. Video from NBC Los Angeles showed several businesses in a busy commercial area in Altadena in flames, and the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center burned overnight, the station reported.
Video from Malibu showed beachfront homes reduced to rubble.
A preliminary review from J.P. Morgan’s insurance analysts estimated that losses from the fires could top $10 billion.
The deadliest wildfire in California history — 2018’s Camp Fire, which burned more than 13,000 buildings and killed 85 people — prompted losses of roughly $15 billion, the report’s authors said.
What led to the fires?
The combination of drought-like conditions — Southern California has been less than 10% of average rainfall since October 1 — and powerful off-shore winds that hit the region Tuesday prompted fire weather that was, in the words of the National Weather Service, “about as bad as it gets.”
The agency issued a red flag warning — indicating an increased risk for fire danger — to 19 million people. Wind gusts topping 70 mph were recorded at several locations across the region.
Swain pointed to the weather whiplash California has experienced in recent years — lurching between drought and heavy rainfall — and said such swings are a key element of the fire weather gripping the region.
“It’s not just that drier conditions are perpetually more likely in a warming climate,” he said, according Inside Climate News. “It’s that this oscillation back and forth between states is something that is particularly consequential for wildfire risk in Southern California.”
When will the fire weather end?
Red flag warnings will remain in place across parts of Southern California until Friday. Speaking Wednesday, Marrone warned residents that they remain in danger.
“Please prioritize your safety as well as the well-being of those around you, as we come together to continue to get through this widespread disaster,” he said.