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As it hits Friday in Los Angeles, authorities are again bracing for challenging weather on the fourth day of battling the deadly wildfires around the city.
The death toll of the fires has risen to 10, more than 10,000 structures have been destroyed, more than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and more than 11,750 hectares have been burnt.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Ten people have died, with the death toll expected to rise when firefighters can access already burnt areas.
- The two largest fires – Palisades and Eaton – are still spreading, but the former is now 6 per cent contained. Progress of the newest blaze, the Kenneth fire, has been slowed and is now partially contained, while the Hurst fire is 37 per cent contained.
- The Lidia fire is now mostly contained (75 per cent), while firefighters have completely contained the Sunset fire, which had threatened Hollywood and Hollywood Hills, and the Woodley fire.
- More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed and more than 11,750 hectares have been burnt.
- A man has reportedly been taken into custody in relation to a suspected arson linked to the Kenneth fire.
- Police have made 20 further arrests, 12 of which are linked to looting. Curfews are in place in the worst-affected areas of the Palisades and Altadena.
- Strong winds are forecast to ramp up in Southern California into Friday, with the supply of dry fuel and low humidity presenting ideal conditions for fires to worsen and new blazes to spread rapidly.
- Movie stars and celebrities – including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal and Eugene Levy – have lost homes in the fires.
- The blazes have been fuelled by the powerful Santa Ana winds, which blew with hurricane strength through parts of California that hadn’t experienced rain for several months.
Thanks for joining us today. We’ll be back tomorrow morning with more live coverage of this major US disaster.
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Several victims of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires have been identified, as the death toll from the out-of-control blazes is expected to rise.
Victor Shaw, 66, died holding his hose and trying to defend his home from the Eaton fire, Nine News reported.
Victor Shaw, 66, was reportedly killed in the Eaton fire, which tore through Altadena.Credit: Nine News
Shaw’s sister, Shari Shaw, told Nine News she had warned her brother they had to flee as the flames approached.
“I didn’t hear him say anything. I heard him say nothing,” she said.
Shaw had lived on the same Altadena street since childhood, The New York Times reported.
“The house had a whole lot of significance for him. His parents had always had it,” a neighbour of Shaw told The New York Times.
Rodney Nickerson, 82, and retired pharmacy technician Erliene Kelley were also killed in the wildfires, according to The New York Times.
The death toll, which has reached 10, is expected to rise in the coming days.
A firefighting plane collided with an unauthorised drone flying over the deadly Palisades fire, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The drone collided with the aircraft on Thursday local time, with an investigation into the collision now under way.
The US Federal Aviation Authority warned against interfering with firefighting after a drone collided with a plane over the Palisades blaze.Credit: AP
The collision grounded the plane, which landed safely, after a wing was damaged, The New York Times reported. No injuries were reported.
Temporary flight restrictions have been put in place around Los Angeles as firefighters battle the deadly blazes.
The FAA warned that interfering with firefighting efforts on public land was a federal crime with a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison. A drone pilot found to be interfering with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations when temporary flight restrictions are in place faces a $US75,000 fine, the FAA said.
The death toll of the Los Angeles wildfires continues to rise, as firefighters struggle to bring the two biggest blazes under control, and forecast winds threaten to worsen the situation heading into Friday local time.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Ten people have died, with the death toll expected to rise when firefighters can access already burnt areas.
- The two largest fires – Palisades and Eaton – are still spreading, but the former is now 6 per cent contained. Progress of the newest blaze, the Kenneth fire, has been slowed and is now 35 per cent contained, while the Hurst fire is 37 per cent contained.
- The Lidia fire is now mostly contained (75 per cent), while firefighters have completely contained the Sunset fire, which had threatened Hollywood and Hollywood Hills, and the Woodley fire.
- More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed and more than 11,750 hectares have been burnt.
- A man has reportedly been taken into custody in relation to a suspected arson linked to the Kenneth fire.
- Police have made 20 further arrests, 12 of which are linked to looting. Curfews are in place in the worst-affected areas of the Palisades and Altadena.
- Movie stars and celebrities – including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal and Eugene Levy – have lost homes in the fires.
- The blazes have been fuelled by the powerful Santa Ana winds, which blew with hurricane strength through parts of California that hadn’t experienced rain for several months.
The forward progress of the Kenneth fire, burning near Calabasas, has been stopped.
In an update on Thursday night local time, the Ventura County Fire Department said about 400 firefighters would remain on scene battling the blaze, burning mostly in the county neighbouring Los Angeles.
The 388-hectare blaze is 35 per cent contained, according to Cal Fire.
Evacuation orders in Los Angeles have been downgraded to warnings, while the evacuation warnings in Ventura County have been lifted, the fire department said.
The latest National Weather Service update predicts critical fire weather will ramp up again in Southern California after a brief reprieve.
Strong Santa Ana winds are strengthening once again, but aren’t predicted to reach the peaks of Tuesday and Wednesday local time.
Intense winds cause the rapid spread of the wildfires.Credit: MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Terrain-induced winds of 30 to 50km/h with gusts of 65 to 95km/h are still cause for concern, however.
The extensive supply of dry fuel and low humidity continued to present ideal conditions for fires to worsen and new ignitions to spread rapidly.
These dangerous conditions are forecast to continue through the night, before decreasing by Friday.
The death toll from wildfires in Los Angeles has risen from seven to 10, Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner said in an update late on Thursday local time.
The examiner has received notification of 10 fire-related deaths as of 9pm January 9, a statement confirmed.
All 10 of the victims announced so far are yet to be formally identified.
The statement continues that identifying all victims could take several weeks because of the fire conditions and safety concerns.
“Please also keep in mind, traditional means of identification such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be available and will add more time for naming these deceased,” the statement read.
“The Department of Medical Examiner understands how important it is to identify those lost in the wildfires and is working diligently, while following safety protocols, to provide the information to the next of kin as soon as reasonably possible.”
with Reuters
Police are investigating a possible arson relating to the Kenneth fire, taking a man into custody.
The Washington Post reports that Captain Robert Yoos of the Ventura County Sherriff’s Office confirmed the Los Angeles Police Department had arrested and detained an individual in relation to a suspected arson.
The Kenneth fire is currently threatening properties in the affluent Calabasas area of Los Angeles, the spreading is uncontained.
Evacuation orders and warnings are in place for much of the region.
New pictures from the frontlines of the Kenneth fire show firefighters heading in to battle the expanding blaze bordering the Calabasas neighbourhood of Los Angeles.
Video has emerged reportedly showing the moment the deadly Palisades fire started burning in Los Angeles on Tuesday local time.
Footage captured by Airline Videos, an LAX-based media outlet that livestreams videos of planes at the airport, shows the first plumes of smoke billowing from hills beyond the runway as an aircraft lands.
Throughout the video, smoke can be seen growing thicker as the fire rapidly spreads.
“Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, not something we want to see here in Southern California,” a man can be heard saying after spotting the blaze.
The cause of the wildfires is under investigation.
“We hope it helps with the investigation into what sparked the fire above Pacific Palisades that morning,” a post sharing the video to X on Thursday local time read.
