What happened on Tuesday, Jan. 14 during the Eaton, Palisades firestorms in Southern California

A lull in winds Tuesday evening was expected to give way to increasing gusts, peaking Wednesday morning.

The “particularly dangerous situation” for extreme fire weather is expected to return at 3 a.m. Wednesday for portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and is expected to last until 3 p.m.

The National Weather Service office in Oxnard said gusts of up to 65 mph are possible in the windiest spots, “from just before sunrise until noon or so.” There could be widespread wind gusts of 40 mph to 55 mph across the Malibu coast, Los Angeles County’s northern and western valleys, L.A. County’s mountains, and across much of Ventura County.

A conventional red flag warning — which warns of severe wildfire behavior if ignition occurs — remains in effect large portions of L.A., San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, as well as some mountainous areas of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Red flag fire weather warnings will largely expire by 6 p.m. Wednesday but will extend through 3 p.m. Thursday in a few spots in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including the Grapevine section of Interstate 5, the western San Gabriel Mountains and the Santa Susana Mountains.

“We are not out of the woods yet, and people need to stay on guard for a fast-moving fire,” Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Oxnard, said earlier Tuesday.

The night the Eaton fire started, Edgar McGregor stood on a darkened Altadena street, held up his cellphone and started recording as the sky glowed orange behind him.

His voice calm, the 24-year-old amateur climate scientist urged people living between the Eaton Wash and Allen Avenue to immediately pack their bags and get ready to evacuate.

As the Palisades fire exploded in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, Mayor Karen Bass was posing for photos at an embassy cocktail party in Ghana, pictures posted on social media show.

By the time she departed the gathering for her flight home, massive plumes of smoke were visible across a wide swath of the city.

Late Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order that aims to speed up the rebuilding of homes and businesses after wildfires tore through Pacific Palisades.

Academics, builders, consultants and other analysts who reviewed the order at The Times’ request said Bass’ move was an essential beginning to what will be an inevitably complicated process.

The Los Angeles City Council member representing the Westside, including much of the area decimated by the Palisades fire, called on the city’s water utility Tuesday to explain why firefighters ran out of water early in last week’s epic firefight and why a key reservoir was offline.

Councilmember Traci Park proposed that the L.A. Department of Water and Power present “its root cause analysis of the water pressure challenges that resulted in lower water pressure and dry hydrants” in some areas of Pacific Palisades, as well as recommendations for addressing the issues. In the same motion, Park urged the council to ask the utility to explain why the Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades has been out of commission for months.

As fire victims flood GoFundMe for help with rebuilding, the L.A. County government will create its own fund for residents who lost their livelihoods or whose homes or businesses were reduced to rubble by devastating wildfires.

The county Board of Supervisors, which met Tuesday for the first time since fires decimated large swaths of the county, gave the chief executive office a week to sketch out the details. The fund will probably consist of private donations that could be used to cover a range of expenses, including moving costs and wage reimbursements.

Amid the parade of surreal images from the last few days, few have been stranger than this one: a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center for L.A. fire victims inside the former Westside Pavilion.

Alongside the escalators and signs for the now-defunct movie theater in the carcass of what was once L.A.’s premier shopping mall, dozens of government agencies have gathered to offer fire aid.

The Los Angeles City Council adopted an array of measures Tuesday aimed at jump-starting recovery efforts for residents whose lives have been upended by devastating wildfires.

In a rapid-fire series of votes, the council adopted more than 20 fire-related measures, including motions to speed the arrival of federal emergency funds, assess the potential for post-fire mudslides and establish new safeguards against price gouging and evictions, particularly for pet owners and those who evacuated.

Jared Robbins walked up to a row of FEMA trailers in Pasadena with a sheet of paper where he had written some of the most pressing questions about his situation after his Altadena home was burned by the Eaton fire less than a week ago.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened two disaster recovery centers Tuesday to assist people like Robbins and others whose homes were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires and were looking for help to put their lives back together.

A crew of more than 40 firefighters quickly knocked down a small fire that started around 5 p.m. near Hansen Dam on Tuesday. There were no injuries, and no structures were damaged.

The fire started at 11777 W. Foothill Blvd. in Lake View Terrace and covered about a quarter of an acre. Grass was burning uphill, aided by 10-to-15-mph winds. The blaze was doused around 5:40 p.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters for L.A. County and the city of Los Angeles remained at the site Tuesday evening, making sure there were no remaining hot spots.

Students from two burned-down Los Angeles elementary schools will resume classes Wednesday in new locations in neighborhoods near fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades as employee unions estimate that at least 150 district staff, including many teachers, have lost their homes.

Students who were attending Palisades Charter Elementary will shift to Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet in Brentwood, a neighborhood adjacent to Pacific Palisades. Students who had been at Marquez Charter Elementary will report for class at Nora Sterry Elementary in the Sawtelle neighborhood, which is south of Brentwood.

Malibu residents cannot receive permits for “expedited re-entry” into the Palisades fire zone to check on their properties, and “any claims or offers to provide such a permit are false,” Mayor Doug Stewart said Tuesday.

Some Malibu homeowners have hired private contractors who are trying to access the evacuation zones, but they also are not permitted to enter at this time, Stewart said in a prepared statement.

“Many of you are understandably anxious to return to your homes,” Stewart said. “We hear you, and we are doing everything in our power to make that happen as quickly and safely as possible. However, we remain in the midst of an active fire incident. Red flag and extreme weather conditions are expected to persist through tomorrow, and crews are continuing their critical work to address multiple hazards in the affected area such as gas leaks, hot spots and smolders, addressing downed powerlines and ensure overall safety.”

California

Southern California sees wind reprieve, but extreme fire weather expected to return Wednesday

Forecasters paused the “particularly dangerous situation” extreme fire weather warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties Tuesday afternoon, but warned that winds are expected to pick back up.

Jan. 14, 2025

Stewart asked residents for patience and told them that the city was working alongside first responders to inspect infrastructure, clear streets of debris, help with damage assessment and stabilize the area so residents could return, while “simultaneously getting everything in place for expedited rebuilds.”

“We ask for your patience and understanding as our teams — along with law enforcement, fire crews and utility providers — continue this vital work,” Stewart said.

Malibu residents who have a critical need to access their properties should call City Hall at (310) 456-2489, he said.

As Santa Ana wind conditions continue to stoke fears of resurgent wildfires across Los Angeles County, health officials are warning of yet another wind-borne threat: ash and dust from active fire zones and burn scars.

On Tuesday, the county Department of Public Health issued a windblown dust and ash advisory until 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The death toll from the Los Angeles County fires has risen to 25, officials said Tuesday afternoon.

The latest death was recorded in Altadena.

Of the confirmed deaths, 16 were related to the Eaton fire and nine to the Palisades fire, according to an update from the L.A. County medical examiner.

The L.A. fire victims: Who they were

On Friday afternoon, the winds across the Santa Monica Mountains suddenly shifted, and the Palisades fire pushed north and east, making a run in two different directions: toward Encino and Brentwood.

Across the southern San Fernando Valley and West L.A., terrified Angelenos watched as leaping flames and massive plumes of smoke continued to rise over ridgelines well into the night, worried that the already catastrophic blaze could devastate new parts of the city.

Los Angeles city officials are seeking to protect some tenants from eviction in the wake of the fires that have ravaged the region and destroyed thousands of homes.

In a 15-0 vote Tuesday, Los Angeles City Council members directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that for a year would prevent evictions for having extra occupants or unauthorized pets that were “necessitated” by the fires.

Amid weaker-than-expected winds, forecasters paused the “particularly dangerous situation” fire weather warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties Tuesday afternoon. But winds are expected to pick back up, and the warning will be in place again before dawn Wednesday.

A conventional red flag warning — which warns of severe wildfire behavior if ignition occurs — remains in effect across Southern California, including large portions of L.A., San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, as well as some mountainous areas of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

In the face of the unprecedented disaster, national companies, local businesses, nonprofits, individuals and communities are coming together to provide resources, supplies and services for free or at discounted rates for victims of the emergency.

Here is a list of offerings for fire victims in and around the county.

The Los Angeles fires have forced thousands to evacuate indefinitely from their homes, often without necessary medications or medical devices. Here’s what to do if you find yourself without access to the things you need to stay on top of chronic conditions.

Carol Mayorga and Manfredo Salazar spent more time in Pacific Palisades than they did their own South Los Angeles neighborhood.

It was their bank account. It paid their mortgage. It was the place where their 13-year-old son had long attended school, and where — after their decades of working there — employers became as close as family.

So when Pacific Palisades burned, Mayorga and Salazar’s livelihood went up in flames too.

The five men were meditating off a trail near Skull Rock in the hills above Pacific Palisades on the morning of Jan. 7.

With their eyes closed, they spoke about how they were feeling, what they were sensing.

After relatively moderate winds throughout the earlier part of the day, gusts are expected to pick up late Tuesday night and into Wednesday afternoon, forecasters said.

Winds earlier Tuesday came in weaker than expected, especially outside of the mountains, said National Weather Service meteorologist Robbie Munroe.

But, he added, “we do anticipate a stronger push ... into Ventura County tonight and especially Wednesday morning to early afternoon.”

By midday Tuesday, wind gusts had reached as high as 46 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains and 48 mph in the Santa Susana Mountains south of Fillmore in Ventura County.

Two new fires started in Riverside County amid Santa Ana winds, sparking new evacuations in Southern California.

The Scout fire was burning near Mission Boulevard and Crestmore Road in Jurupa Valley, and the second fire was burning in Hemet near Warren Road and Esplanade Avenue, Riverside County fire officials said.

State regulators criticized Southern California Edison for falling behind in inspecting transmission lines in areas at high risk of wildfires just months before the deadly Eaton fire, according to state documents.

Utility safety officials also said the company’s visual inspections of splices in its transmission lines were sometimes failing to find dangerous problems, according to their October report. Instead, those problems were not discovered until the company inspected the lines with X-ray equipment, which is far less frequently used.

A “person of interest” in the Kenneth fire who was arrested after being caught with a blowtorch near the source of the blaze has been detained by immigration authorities for entering the country illegally from Mexico, officials said Tuesday.

Juan Manuel Sierra, 33, a.k.a. Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, was arrested Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department for violating felony probation after “attempting to start a fire” in a West Hills neighborhood near the location of the Kenneth fire. He is a suspect in connection with the nearly 1,000-acre blaze, according to law enforcement officials and a document reviewed by The Times.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Tuesday to support schools and students affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.

The order allows displaced students to go to school outside their district, suspends state requirements around annual instructional days for schools impacted by the fires and makes it easier for schools to operate in temporary facilities as they rebuild, among other directives.

The governor said his order “will help bring back some sense of normalcy for our youth by eliminating barriers to getting them back learning in school.”

“We are using the full force of the state government to respond to the Los Angeles firestorms and ensure recovery for the thousands of residents who have been impacted by this unimaginable loss, including school-aged children,” Newsom said.

Two weeks after Raven Edgar began living in an interim housing shelter on Skid Row, she ended up back on the streets.

Last week, as the wildfires broke out and scorched thousands of acres across L.A., the Weingart Center on Skid Row took in about 19 unhoused people who had been impacted by the fires, according to Jericho Kilpatrick, a spokesperson for the organization. Around 3 a.m., Edgar woke up to a voice over the loudspeaker system.

Food and beverage workers who have lost their home or workplace to the Los Angeles fires can apply for financial assistance starting today with Restaurants Care, an aid program started by the California Restaurant Foundation.

Restaurants Care has committed $100,000 to the Los Angeles Fires 2025 Relief Grants, which will provide assistance of up to $1,500 to food and beverage workers affected by the fires, according to a statement by the California Restaurant Foundation.

The grant applications will remain available as long as funds allow. Priority will be given to workers who are ineligible for other assistance and people who have lost both their housing and place of work, the organization said in a news release.

Funds can be used to cover essentials like temporary shelter, food, clothing and basic necessities.

“Los Angeles is our backyard; it is our home. Restaurants Care has stood by California’s restaurant community through its most challenging times, from devastating natural disasters like the Camp, Thomas, Tubbs and Carr Fires to the pandemic, Hollywood strikes and everyday crises,” Alycia Harshfield, president of the California Restaurant Foundation, said in a prepared statement.

Expecting an overwhelming response for assistance, the foundation is also accepting donations on its website, organizers said.

WASHINGTON —  With President-elect Donald Trump about to take office, federal aid to fire-ravaged Los Angeles has already become entangled in a partisan political fight in Washington.

The disastrous wildfires are some of the most destructive and expensive in American history, underscoring the need for sustained funding for continued recovery efforts. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated Tuesday that Congress could be setting up a potentially long political battle for continued relief funding, based on California’s liberal leadership during the disaster.

As buildings and brush continue to smolder in Los Angeles, a toxic soup of smoke, chemicals and particulate matter is being spread across the region by gusty winds, prompting a surge in interest in air purifying devices.

Web searches for “air purifier for wildfire smoke” in Los Angeles have increased by more than 5,000% since the fires broke out, according to Google Trends.

When our city went up in flames last week, everyone I know in Los Angeles was in emergency mode. Now, as a new week begins, it’s hard to know how to feel.

For those of us living in neighborhoods not decimated by fire, the acute threat seems to have passed, at least for the moment. The skies are blueish and a light breeze is blowing as I write this. There’s ash on the ground, but less of it in the air. Most LAUSD schools have thankfully reopened. Friends and neighbors who left town are trickling back home.

Thousands of online GoFundMe fundraising campaigns have been created to support the victims of the devastating wildfires that have scorched portions of Los Angeles County, but officials are warning to be on the lookout for fraudulent GoFundMe accounts.

Since the first wildfire ignited Tuesday morning, GoFundMe campaigns created by and on behalf of fire victims began to pop up, requesting any kind of monetary support to cover disaster relief, rebuilding, immediate short-term lodging, clothing and other emergency needs.

The Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument will remain closed to the public for the next several days due to continued “critical fire danger” in the region, officials said.

The temporary closure is in place through at least midnight Sunday, according to forest officials. During that time, members of the public are not able to enter the forest or use any National Forest System roads or trails within its boundaries.

More information is available here.

Los Angeles County’s wireless emergency alerts are still seeing some lingering issues after millions in L.A. County incorrectly received the panic-inducing messages on their cellphones last week.

“We have received reports that some individuals are still receiving alerts,” the county’s Office of Emergency Management said in a statement late Monday. “We believe these to be ‘echo alerts.’ Echo alerts were found to be the result of messages being relayed through cell phone towers that were shut down during fire conditions and power outages and are now coming back online.”

It wasn’t immediately clear how widespread the issue was Monday, but officials said they are prepared to send out new alerts during the ongoing wind event this week, if warranted.

The “echoing” alerts stem from an evacuation warning issued Thursday, intended for residents near the Kenneth fire. The agency has not issued any other alerts since then.

“We continue to work with FEMA and cell phone providers who are actively working to resolve the problem,” the agency said.

Since 2021, state authorities have repeatedly declined to fund wildfire prevention efforts in communities devastated by the Palisades fire, according to Cal Fire records, which show the agency instead poured money into projects in far-flung rural areas.

Records reviewed by The Times show Cal Fire elected not to fund more than $3.8 million in Wildfire Prevention Grants for Santa Monica Mountains communities including Pacific Palisades and Malibu over the last four years.

The Eaton fire is now 35% contained, burning about 14,000 acres.

With high winds back, the burn area is now under a red flag warning.

Fire officials said they have resources in place to fight any flare-ups.

During a disaster, getting to safety is the top priority. But for many Angelenos displaced by the devastating wildfires raging across Los Angeles County, questions loom about what comes next.

The fires have destroyed thousands of structures and forced roughly 92,000 residents to evacuate. With some homes sitting empty and others reduced to rubble, here are answers you might need.

As fires continue to scorch L.A. County, local, state and federal investigators are working to determine exactly where and how each blaze began. Here’s what we know so far about the efforts.

Gusts of up to 72 mph have already hit the San Gabriel Mountains, as Los Angeles and Ventura counties brace for extreme fire weather conditions Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has issued its highest level of warning for an extreme red flag fire warning, which is called a “particularly dangerous situation.” Extreme winds are forecast to come from the east, meaning fires that ignite would be expected to spread to the west.

Here’s a look at some peak gusts:

Western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 Corridor

72 mph, 3 a.m., Magic Mountain Truck Trail

62 mph, 1:53 a.m., Mill Creek

Western Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area

60 mph, 12 a.m., Sandstone Peak

The “particularly dangerous situation” fire weather warning for swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties is now in effect.

The designation, signifying an extreme red flag warning, went into effect Tuesday at 4 a.m. and will last through noon Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, gusts of up to 72 mph were reported in the western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 corridor, the National Weather Service said.

Areas covered by the latest alert include Camarillo, Fillmore, Northridge, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.

A conventional red flag warning — for a combination of strong winds, dry air and vegetation, and expected severe wildfire behavior if ignition occurs — is in effect across the region, including large portions of L.A., San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, as well as some mountainous areas of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

This event will be a more conventional Santa Ana, with winds coming out of the east and spreading fires to the west. That means the winds will have more of a focus on Ventura County compared with those last week, which came generally out of the north and hit Los Angeles County hard.

Overnight, firefighters responded to a fire in the riverbed of the Santa Clara River, along the border of Ventura and Oxnard, located near Auto Center Drive.

Firefighters after midnight said forward progress on the Auto fire has been stopped. The fire was 0% contained and burned about 56 acres. Firefighters overnight continued to mop up hotspots and worked to increase containment, officials said.

The Auto fire in Ventura County has burned 55 acres, but officials said forward progress has been stopped.

The fire prompted evacuations on the Santa Clara River between the 101 Freeway and Victoria Avenue.

No structures were lost.

Fire crews battled a brush fire in Oxnard on Monday night as strong Santa Ana winds swept through Ventura County.

The fire was reported around 7:45 p.m. in the Santa Clara River bottom near North Ventura Boulevard, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. It was dubbed the Auto fire because of the number of auto dealerships in the area.

It rapidly grew to about 55 acres, fanned by wind gusts of 20 and 30 mph, according to the Fire Department. Shortly before midnight, the department said forward progress on the fire had been stopped.

Fire crews “remain on scene mopping up hotspots and working to increase containment,” the department said in a post on X. The fire didn’t threaten any structures, according to fire officials.

As the fire burned, an evacuation order was issued Monday night by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for the Santa Ana River area between the Ventura Freeway and Victoria Avenue.

There were 75 firefighters on scene from several agencies as well as water-dropping aircraft. The blaze was near the River Ridge Golf Course, where helicopters were able to easily access water, according to reporting from KCAL News.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.

Most of Ventura County was under a red flag warning Monday evening, which will be upgraded to a particularly dangerous situation warning at 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. This more extreme fire weather warning comes as mountainous areas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties brace for wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order Monday that seeks to expedite rebuilding efforts after fires leveled thousands of homes and businesses in the city last week, mostly within Pacific Palisades.

Executive Order 1 requires city departments to complete project reviews within 30 days from when a complete application is submitted and waives discretionary hearings under zoning rules, among other efforts.

Diego Wallraff was attending a retreat in India when his apartment building in Pacific Palisades burned down last week. A somatic therapist and actor, he lost most of his most treasured possessions, including the irreplaceable Tibetan singing bowls and gongs he’s collected over 15 years of world travels.

At first, Wallraff, 63, thought his home was spared. The fire-tracking app Watch Duty showed the blaze hadn’t spread to his part of the Palisades. But that turned out to be false hope — the app’s map was hours behind what was happening on the ground in real time.

The leaders of fire-damaged Palisades High School are looking for a temporary place to hold classes for about 3,000 students.

About 40% of the campus was damaged or destroyed, according to Principal Pamela Magee in a communication to the school community. Although the original main campus survived, the condition of the property as a whole makes it unsuitable for the immediate resumption of classes.

In a letter to the community, the school administration said it is seeking:

● Temporary classroom spaces or campuses available for lease or donation.

● Large indoor and outdoor spaces suitable for hosting students and teachers.

● Support from local organizations that can assist in logistics and operations.

● Volunteers to help with moving, setup and coordination.

● Access to athletic practice areas in the vicinity.

“Our primary goal is to keep our community united during this challenging time, enabling students to continue their education alongside their friends, teachers, and peers,” the school’s release states. “In-person learning is crucial for their emotional and social development; without it, students may experience increased feelings of isolation and anxiety, further complicating their recovery from the trauma of recent events.”

The spring semester was supposed to begin Monday. Instead, it will begin online Jan. 21.

The school is raising money at the following link: https://givebutter.com/RaisePali

As wildfires continue to scorch homes across Los Angeles County, thousands of residents are left to sift through the remains and answer a key question: what now?

A chance to rebuild, to start anew could be possible. Homeowners and renters who do not have insurance, or whose insurance policies don’t cover basic needs, may be eligible to receive assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

After a brief reprieve, Southern California faces two days of dangerous winds that officials fear could expand current fires and spark new ones.

Firefighters spent Monday carving containment lines around the Eaton and Palisades fires and finalizing preparations ahead of a windstorm that’s expected to hit a swath of the region including Ventura County, the San Fernando Valley and part of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, bringing wind gusts ranging from 45 mph to 70 mph.

Apocalyptic fires had been ravaging Los Angeles for more than 24 hours when Mayor Karen Bass stepped off a plane and into a now-viral encounter that may come to define her mayoralty.

As an Irish reporter who happened to be on her flight hurled questions at her, the mayor of the nation’s second-largest metropolis stood silent and seemingly paralyzed.