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Good morning, I’m Caitlin Fitzsimmons and I’m here to anchor coverage of the Los Angeles fires this morning.
As we enter the weekend, Los Angeles is again bracing for challenging weather as it continues to battle deadly wildfires around the city.
Los Angeles is used to fires, but this really is like nothing the city has seen before.
Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles.Credit: AP
Here’s what we know as we start the day:
- Ten people have died so far and that death toll is expected to rise further as firefighters gain access to affected areas and start combing through burnt-out properties.
- More than 153,000 people remain under evacuation orders. Another 166,800 are under “evacuation warnings” and have been told to stand by in case they need to leave their homes.
- More than 10,000 buildings have been destroyed and more than 11,750 hectares burnt.
- The two largest fires – Palisades and Eaton – are still spreading. The latter is only 3 per cent contained, according to local fire chiefs. Progress of the newest blaze, the Kenneth fire, had been slowed and is now partially contained. The evacuation order for that fire has been lifted. The Hurst fire was 37 per cent contained last night.
- 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. Another blaze, called the Woodley fire, is slowing being brought under control.
- A man was reportedly taken into custody in relation to a suspected arson linked to the Kenneth fire.
- Police made 20 further arrests, 12 of which were linked to looting. Curfews were in place in the worst-affected areas of the Palisades and Altadena.
- Strong winds were forecast to ramp up in Southern California, with the supply of dry fuel and low humidity presenting ideal conditions for fires to worsen and new blazes to spread.
- 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.
You can read Michael Koziol’s full report from today’s paper here.
Stay with us as we follow all the news and events related to the fires today.
A thick cloud of smoke and ash has filled the skies, prompting air and dust advisories for 17 million people across a vast stretch of Southern California, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Heavy smoke hangs over part of the area affected by the Palisades Fire.Credit: AP
In East Los Angeles, the air quality index hit an unhealthy 173. Good air quality is considered to be 50 or less.
Dr Puneet Gupta, the assistant medical director for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, warned that wildfire smoke can cause heart attacks and worsen asthma.
AP
The disaster has led to widespread disruption across Los Angeles, affecting millions of people not directly in the line of fires.
Universal Studios has cancelled shooting for numerous TV series, including Hacks, Ted Lasso and Suits LA. As we’ve been reporting, dozens of movie and TV stars, as well as other industry workers, have had their homes burnt or evacuated. Many film and TV sets have also been destroyed in the fires.
The Critics Choice Awards – originally scheduled for Sunday in Santa Monica – will now be held on January 26.
The organisation that puts on the Oscars has also extended the voting window for Academy Award nominations and delayed next week’s planned nominations announcement.
Elsewhere, the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park was also closed, while all schools were closed on Thursday and are due to remain closed when LA wakes up today.
The NFL has moved the Los Angeles Rams’ wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona because of the fires. The game will now be played Monday night at the home of the Arizona Cardinals in suburban Glendale, Arizona.
The NBA also postponed the Lakers’ game against the Hornets.
There are five major fires burning around LA. They are at various stages of containment, according to local authorities.
Here is where we currently stand:
- Palisades: 8%
- Eaton: 3%
- Kenneth: 35%
- Hurst: 37%
- Lidia: 75%
Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said a curfew on all mandatory evacuation zones will start again at 6pm on Friday (1pm AEDT) for houses left standing.
Officials also imposed a curfew overnight on Thursday after arresting several people looting in the burned areas.
The aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.Credit: AP
Los Angeles district attorney Nathan Hochman said he would prosecute anyone found looting, those flying drones in the wildfire zones and anyone breaking the curfew “to the full extent of the law.”
“Looting is a despicable crime,” he said. “For the people who have already been arrested, please know this is not going to end well,” he said.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting and other thefts in affected areas.
National Guard troops were patrolling the streets of Altadena before dawn on Friday after being called in to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone.
Troops in camouflage were posted at intersections in the city hard-hit by the Eaton Fire near Jeeps, Humvees and other military vehicles.
More than 285,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity in Southern California, nearly half of them in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.
Sewer, water and power infrastructure across the region has been significantly damaged, officials said, but the full extent of the damage may not be known for days.
Good morning, I’m Caitlin Fitzsimmons and I’m here to anchor coverage of the Los Angeles fires this morning.
As we enter the weekend, Los Angeles is again bracing for challenging weather as it continues to battle deadly wildfires around the city.
Los Angeles is used to fires, but this really is like nothing the city has seen before.
Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles.Credit: AP
Here’s what we know as we start the day:
- Ten people have died so far and that death toll is expected to rise further as firefighters gain access to affected areas and start combing through burnt-out properties.
- More than 153,000 people remain under evacuation orders. Another 166,800 are under “evacuation warnings” and have been told to stand by in case they need to leave their homes.
- More than 10,000 buildings have been destroyed and more than 11,750 hectares burnt.
- The two largest fires – Palisades and Eaton – are still spreading. The latter is only 3 per cent contained, according to local fire chiefs. Progress of the newest blaze, the Kenneth fire, had been slowed and is now partially contained. The evacuation order for that fire has been lifted. The Hurst fire was 37 per cent contained last night.
- 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. Another blaze, called the Woodley fire, is slowing being brought under control.
- A man was reportedly taken into custody in relation to a suspected arson linked to the Kenneth fire.
- Police made 20 further arrests, 12 of which were linked to looting. Curfews were in place in the worst-affected areas of the Palisades and Altadena.
- Strong winds were forecast to ramp up in Southern California, with the supply of dry fuel and low humidity presenting ideal conditions for fires to worsen and new blazes to spread.
- 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.
You can read Michael Koziol’s full report from today’s paper here.
Stay with us as we follow all the news and events related to the fires today.
