LA area’s 2 biggest blazes burn at least 10,000 structures, while new fire leads to more evacuations
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On Tuesday evening, wildfires broke out across the Los Angeles area; Santa Ana winds gusting up to 80 mph and lingering drought conditions encouraged a remarkably rapid spread. The fires forced more than 70,000 residents to be under evacuation orders. As of Wednesday, at least three major fires still threaten the Southern California residents and landscapes—the Eaton fire north of Pasadena, the Palisades fire west of Los Angeles, and the Hurst fire within the San Fernando Valley. The wildfires have become some of the most destructive in California history, burning down more than 1,000 homes, offices, and businesses across the area. Hundreds of thousands of residents are now being told to evacuate.
According to a report from The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, "Red Flag high wind conditions are expected to continue until Thursday evening," which makes the fires hard to predict and control. At a press conference earlier in the day, Chief Executive of Los Angeles Water and Power Department, Janisse Quinones said, "We pushed the system to the extreme. We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging." As thousands of residents fled their homes, evacuation sites have been struggling to catch up. The AP reports that five people have died so far from the wildfires and thousands more are left without homes or proper shelter. Here is a list of ways you can help the victims of the wildfires as they continue to rage on.
Taking donations for their emergency shelter for victims of the Palisades and Eaton Fires.
Evacuation Centers
Friends in Deed Bad Weather Shelter
Trinity Lutheran Church
997 East Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91106
Pacific Community Center
501 S. Pacific Avenue
Glendale, CA 91204
Arcadia Public Library
20 West Duarte Road
Arcadia, CA 91007
Ritchie Valens Recreation Center
10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd
Pacoima, CA 91331, USA
Westwood Recreation Center 1350 South Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
El Camino Real Charter High School 5440 Valley Circle Blvd
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Pasadena Convention Center 300 E Green St, Pasadena
CA 91101, USA
Animal Evacuation Shelters
Agoura Animal Care Center
29525 Agoura Rd, Agoura Hills
Baldwin Park Animal Care Center
4275 Elton St, Baldwin Park
Carson Animal Care Center
216 W Victoria St, Gardena
Castaic Animal Care Center
31044 Charlie Canyon, Castaic
Downey Animal Care Center
11258 Garfield Ave, Downey
Lancaster Animal Care Center
5210 W Ave I, Lancaster
Palmdale Animal Care Center
38550 Sierra Hwy, Palmdale
Milo's Sanctuary
50 W. Rancho Vista Blvd Ste D #106, Palmdale, California 93551
The Palisades Fire Public Information Line is: (213) 484-5604
Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west devoured nearly 10,000 homes and other structures, burning into a third night on Thursday even as the fierce winds eased and gave firefighters a welcome but temporary respite.
The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city's western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already ranks as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming more than 34,000 acres (13,750 hectares) - or some 53 square miles - turning entire neighborhoods to ash.
A wildfire ripped through an upscale coastal area of Los Angeles overnight, with Hollywood celebrities among those evacuating by car and on foot.
The death toll from the blazes rose to 10 from seven, Los Angeles County's Medical Examiner said in an update late on Thursday.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told an earlier press conference he expected the number to grow.
"It looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don't expect good news, and we're not looking forward to those numbers," Luna said.
Officials said the Eaton Fire had damaged or destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures while the Palisades Fire destroyed or damaged another 5,300.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners' insurance costs.
"We're already looking ahead to aggressively rebuild the city of Los Angeles," said Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, who faced criticism from President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans over her handling of the disaster.
President Joe Biden, who declared a major disaster on Tuesday, promised on Thursday that the federal government would reimburse 100% of the recovery for the next 180 days to pay for debris and hazard material removal, temporary shelters and first responder salaries.
"I told the governor, local officials, spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires," Biden said after meeting with senior advisers at the White House.
In all, five wildfires burned in Los Angeles County, and the skies buzzed with aircraft dropping retardant and water on the flaming hills.
One rapidly growing blaze broke out on Thursday near Calabasas, one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. and home to numerous celebrities and gated communities. The so-called Kenneth Fire expanded to 960 acres (388 hectares) in hours.
With nerves on edge, Los Angeles County mistakenly sent an evacuation notice countywide to a population of 9.6 million, even though it had been meant only for the area of the Kenneth Fire, officials said. A correction was quickly sent.
'WE ARE ALIVE'
Some Pacific Palisades residents ventured back to areas the fire had already swept through, where brick chimneys were left looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles.
"We are alive. That's all that matters," private security guard Bilal Tukhi said while standing watch outside his employer's damaged home, saying the scene reminded him of his native, war-torn Afghanistan.
School was canceled for a second day on Friday due to the smoke, ash and particulates that contaminated the air, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
While still strong, winds have diminished since the 100-mile-per-hour (160-kph) gusts seen earlier in the week, permitting crucial aerial support for crews on the ground.
But officials warned that the wind would intensify again overnight, and red flag conditions were expected until Friday afternoon.
The Eaton Fire reached the grounds of the Mount Wilson Observatory, where a century ago Edwin Hubble discovered the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way and that the universe is expanding. The Observatory later said the flare-up appeared under control.
HOLLYWOOD FIRE CONTAINED
Firefighting crews managed to control the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills fully after flames had raged atop the ridge overlooking Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame on Wednesday night.
The two biggest conflagrations - the Palisades and Eaton fires - formed a pincer around the city so enormous that it was visible from space.
In Pacific Palisades, once-palatial homes stood in ruins, while downed power lines and abandoned cars littered the roadways.
One resident, John Carr, 65, said he defied evacuation orders and stayed to successfully protect his home.
"The house was built by my mother and father in 1960 and I lived here my whole life so there's a lot of memories hers. And I think I owed it to them as well to try my best to save it."
Carr said there were no fire crews to help him try to save his neighbors' homes.
"If they had had some fire trucks and just put a squirt here, a squirt there and kept an eye on things, all these houses would be here now. I'm telling you right now."
The smell of heavy smoke filled the air, and residents wearing masks rode bicycles, hoping to catch a glimpse of their damaged houses.
Officials said they were working to establish curfews for areas affected by mandatory evacuation orders.
Aerial video showed block after block of leveled homes, while satellite images showed the two largest fires forming a pincer around the city and thick plumes of smoke from the fires being blown out over the Pacific Ocean.
Chef Jose Andres, the Spaniard known for providing free food to disaster victims around the world, set up a food truck near the Palisades Fire on Pacific Coast Highway.
"Everybody needs support and love in these moments, wealthy or not, poor or not," he said.
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis said on Thursday her family would donate $1 million to relief efforts.
Firefighters from half a dozen other U.S. states and Canada were being rushed to California, in addition to U.S. federal personnel and materiel.
"To our American neighbours: Canada's here to help," said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country has experienced its own severe wildfires.
The Pacific Palisades area ravaged by wildfires in Los Angeles is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the U.S., home to Hollywood A-Listers and multimillion dollar mansions. And ahead of this week's disaster, its insurance costs were among the most affordable in the country, according to a Reuters analysis of insurance and real estate industry data.
That may be about to change. The scale of losses anticipated in the wildfires now ringing Los Angeles, as well as regulatory changes enacted late last year, could spell an end to relatively cheap homeowners' insurance in areas like the Palisades that are at elevated risk for wildfires, four analysts told Reuters.
"One sees relatively low premiums in high-risk markets in California, but that might be starting to change," said Philip Mulder, a University of Wisconsin professor who studies the industry.
Measured against home values, insurance costs are cheaper in the Palisades than in 97% of U.S. postal codes, according to a Reuters analysis of a national database of price data collected by Mulder and University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School professor Benjamin Keys as well as home-value data calculated by Zillow, a real-estate firm.
The fires raging around Los Angeles could be the most damaging in state history, officials say. The flames have devoured thousands of homes and businessesfrom the Pacific Ocean beaches to hills north of Los Angeles, and as of Thursday morning were 0% contained. At least five people have died, and initial estimates of the damage range from $10 billion to more than $50 billion.
The relatively low cost of insurance in the Pacific Palisades reflects the vagaries of a homeowners' insurance market in the United States where prices can vary widely because of differing regulatory polices from state to state. Consumer-friendly regulations in California have kept a lid on prices, even in high-risk areas, but have prompted many insurers to scale back coverage.
Sangmin Oh, a finance professor at Columbia Business School, and other researchers found that homeowners in more loosely regulated states effectively subsidize homeowners in states like California, where the industry has been more tightly regulated - despite higher levels of risk.
Compared to home values, the average statewide premium in 2023 was the lowest among all 50 states, according to the Reuters analysis. California's high property values may make that insurance seem relatively cheap, but even on an absolute dollar basis residents the average annual premium of $2,200 was less than residents paid in 30 other U.S. states.
At least six fires have burned near Pacific Palisades since 1980, including a 2018 blaze that was the third-most expensive in California history. First Street, a climate risk research firm, found that 95% of the homes in Pacific Palisades face a "major" risk of burning to the ground.
Homeowners in Pacific Palisades paid a median insurance premium in 2023 of $5,450, according to the data compiled by Mulder and Keys. That's less than residents paid in Glencoe, Illinois, an upscale suburb of Chicago where homes are two-thirds cheaper and the risk of wildfire is minimal.
It's also less than residents paid in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, the poor and historically Black neighborhood submerged by floods waters during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - even though the typical Ninth Ward home is worth less than 1/20th of the typical home in Pacific Palisades, according to Zillow.
KEEPING UP WITH EXTREME WEATHER
The insurance industry in the U.S. has struggled to keep pace with extreme weather events in recent years, with more than two dozen billion-dollar wildfires, floods and other climate-related disasters in 2023 alone.
In hurricane-prone areas of Louisiana and Florida, insurance prices more than doubled after hurricanes in 2020, 2021 and 2022 threw state markets into turmoil, Keys and Mulder found.
In California, regulators until recently mandated price controls for home insurance, which limited annual increases. However, insurers fled the state as they struggled to turn a profit. According to state regulators, 7 of the 12 largest insurers have paused or restricted new business since 2022.
Insurance companies dropped 1.72% of Californian homeowners' policies in 2023, according to a December report by the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. Only three other states - Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina - had a higher nonrenewal rate.
Dropped by their insurance companies, Californian homeowners increasingly turned to a state-run pool that provides bare-bones policies for those who can't find coverage elsewhere. Some 450,000 homes - about 3% of all state residents - were covered through the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements plan in September, a 40% increase from a year earlier. The fund is administered by the state but funded by insurance providers.
In Pacific Palisades, 1,430 homes were on the state plan, up 85% from the year earlier. The state pool now covers $5.9 billion worth of property in the area.
The increasing difficulty of finding insurance coverage prompted state regulators to reassess their approach.
The state's insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, announced an overhaul in December that will make it easier for insurers to raise rates and factor in climate risks and reinsurance costs when setting prices, but would also require them to offer coverage in high-risk areas. The new rules take effect this month.
Patrick Douville, a vice president of insurance with Morningstar, said insurers will try to continue to offer coverage in California, which is one of the most lucrative markets in the country. But they will struggle to provide affordable coverage in areas like Pacific Palisades that will remain risky even after this fire dies out.
"Insurers need randomness," he said in an interview. "If it's always the same folks who are targeted, you need to charge them an astronomical premium."
In the close-knit Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, where rows of neat bungalows once nestled in the shadow of the San Gabriel mountains, smoldering ruins and the skeletal frames of burnt out cars now lie.
While the fires that have devastated celebrity neighborhoods near Malibu have caught the world's attention, a similar size blaze in Eaton Canyon, north of Los Angeles, has ravaged Altadena, a racially and economically diverse community.
Black and Latino families have lived in Altadena for generations and the suburb is also popular with younger artists and engineers working at the nearby NASA rocket lab, who were attracted by the small town vibe and access to nature.
Many residents told Reuters they were concerned that government resources would be channeled towards high-profile areas popular with A-Listers, while insurance companies might shortchange less affluent households that don't have the financial means to contest fire claims.
"They're not going to give you the value of your house ... if they do you really have to fight for it," said Kay Young, 63, her eyes welling up with tears as she stared at a sprawl of smoking rubble, the remnants of a home that has been in her family for generations.
Inez Moore, 40, whose family home in Altadena was destroyed by the fire, said communities like theirs would likely suffer financially more than wealthier suburbs because many people don't have the resources or experience to navigate complex bureaucratic systems.
"You're going to have some folks who are not going to get as much as they deserve, and some folks who may get more than actually they need," said Moore, a lecturer at California State University.
Moore, Young and several other residents told Reuters they didn't see any fire engines in Altadena in the early hours of Wednesday when they fled flames engulfing their community, fueling a resentment that their neighborhood wasn't a priority.
"We didn't get help here. I don't know where everybody was," said Jocelyn Tavares, 32, as her sister and daughter dug through the smoking debris of a life upended - a child's bicycle half-melted, a solitary cup miraculously spared from the flames.
Los Angeles County Fire Department did not respond to a request for comment about the residents' complaints.
REBUILD
Since breaking out on Tuesday night, the Eaton Fire has killed at least five people and grown to 13,690 acres as of Thursday night, consuming much of the northern half of Altadena, an unincorporated community of some 40,000 people.
As late as 1960, Altadena was almost entirely white. As new highways built in urban renewal projects tore apart Los Angeles neighborhoods, African American families began buying homes in what remained for decades a relatively affordable community.
Residents told Reuters they paid around $50,000 for a three-bedroom home in Altadena in the 1970s. The same house would cost more than $1 million today.
By 1990, nearly 40% of residents were Black. Today, about 18% are Black, 49% white and 27% are Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Altadena residents voiced concerns that the area may become more gentrified if families who have lived here for generations could not secure insurance payouts to cover the cost to rebuild a home that they bought cheap decades ago.
Despite the widespread wreckage, many locals were upbeat about the community rising from the ashes, sharing tales of narrow escapes and memories of decades spent growing up together with neighbors who were now sharing in the disaster.
"There are rows of us that went to school together," said Young, gesturing to a vast stretch of scorched foundations.
Michael McCarthy, 68, a clerk in the City of Los Angeles, said his home was saved by a neighbor who risked his life by staying behind after everyone else had fled, using a hose to spray water on their roofs.
"I know this community will rebuild, everybody knows everybody here, everybody loves everybody," said McCarthy, who is due to retire this year.
"Well, I got a new job now, and that's putting all this back together and do what I can for the neighborhood."
Billy Crystal lost the Pacific Palisades house where he had lived since 1979. Paris Hilton watched her Malibu beach mansion burn down on live TV.
The list of celebrities who lost their homes and neighbourhoods in the worst fire in Los Angeles history reads like a Hollywood who's who.
Jamie Lee Curtis, James Woods, Mandy Moore, Mark Hamill and Maria Shriver were among those who publicly described being forced to evacuate as out-of-control fires swept across some of the most lavish real estate in the world.
The largest blaze consumed nearly 12,000 acres (5,000 hectares) in Pacific Palisades, home to film, television and music stars, where the median house is worth $4.5 million.
Some had yet to comment publicly even as pictures of burning homes said to be theirs were shared by media outlets. Among them were "Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester and her husband Adam Brody of "The O.C.", two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, "Roseanne" star John Goodman, "Top Gun: Maverick" actor Miles Teller and "Scary Movie" star Anna Faris.
Perennial Oscars host Crystal and his wife Janice said they were heartbroken to lose the Pacific Palisades house where they had raised their children and grandchildren, "but with the love of children and friends we will get through this."
Media personality Hilton said she was "heartbroken beyond words" to lose her beachfront mansion.
"Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience," she wrote on X.
Woods, a two-time Oscar nominee and three-time Emmy winner, recounted how he fled his house in Pacific Palisades as flames bore down "like an inferno."
Flames rise from a structure as the Palisades fire burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S. January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
"One day you're swimming in the pool, and the next day it's all gone," he said. He teared up in a TV interview as he described a niece who "came out with her little Yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house."
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt posted on X: "The one positive sign I saw as our house burned down was our son's bed burned in the shape of a heart. A sign of how much love was in this house, so thankful for all the years and memories there with our family."
Jennifer Grey's daughter Stella Gregg said the "Dirty Dancing" star's house had "burnt to the ground" but Grey and her dog had escaped.
Shriver, a journalist and former first lady of California when she was married to then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the destruction in the upscale enclave was devastating.
"Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants," she wrote on X on Wednesday. "The firefighters have and are doing their best, but this fire is massive and out of control."
Oscar winner Curtis said "my community and possibly my home is on fire."
"It is a terrifying situation," the actress wrote on Instagram. "Pray if you believe in it and even if you don't, pray for those who do."
Moore, known for television series "This is Us" and as the voice of Rapunzel in Disney's "Tangled," said she and her family and pets were safe but did not yet know the fate of their house.
"Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too. Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together."
Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films, said on Instagram that he evacuated his Malibu home on Tuesday evening with his wife and dog.
The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.
The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and then moved into neighboring Ventura County by the evening.
Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed 10 people so far.
“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.
The orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings, and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 structures.e
All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile (40-kilometer) band north of downtown, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation’s second-largest city.
Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks, and groceries were lost. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.
AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.
Firefighters made significant gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.
Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.
Fire officials don’t yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.
The enormity of the destruction emerges
Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting the Southern California hillsides.
Right now, it’s impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.
Firefighters extinguish burning embers at a house on Santa Rosa Avenue, also known as Christmas Tree Lane, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Lissa Renn looks at remains of her neighborhood In Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said.
Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five.
Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to come, but they did not make it out, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.
Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained.
There have been evacuations, school closures and arrests
At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
Nancy Belanger pours water on a neighbor's fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Glenda, who declined to give her last name, stands near the entrance of her home destroyed by the Eaton fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, will be closed Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts, and classes will not resume until the conditions improve, officials said.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said. National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. The county sheriff said to protect properties they’ll be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m.
Actors among those who lost homes
Flames destroyed the homes of several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.
Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a “fund of support” for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city’s wealthy to its working class.
State seeing a longer fire season
California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data.
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.
Some losses feel greater than others
Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.
“All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone,” he said.
From left, Rob Ramsey, Christina Larson and Larson's husband Chris, the co-owner of the Rancho Bar, look through the ruins of the Rancho Bar a day after it was destroyed by the Eaton Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Robert Karban fills a bucket with water from a swimming pool to put out hot spots at a home destroyed by the Eaton fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes, Eugene Garcia, Krysta Fauria and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Ethan Swope in Pasadena, California; Hallie Golden in Seattle; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Janie Har in San Francisco; Brian Melley in London; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; and Tammy Webber in Detroit contributed.
In hilly, upscale Pacific Palisades, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo.
While lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton fire, which started in east Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes.
The next two most common causes: fires intentionally set, and those sparked by utility lines.
John Lentini, owner of Scientific Fire Analysis in Florida, who has investigated large fires in California including the Oakland Hills fire in 1991, said the size and scope of the blaze doesn’t change the approach to finding out what caused it.
“This was once a small fire,” Lentini said. “People will focus on where the fire started, determine the origin and look around the origin and determine the cause.”
So far there has been no official indication of arson in either blaze, and utility lines have not yet been identified as a cause either.
Utilities are required to report to the California Public Utilities Commission when they know of “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire,” Terrie Prosper, the commission’s communications director, said via email. CPUC staff then investigate to see if there were violations of state law.
The 2017 Thomas Fire, one of the largest fires in state history, was sparked by Southern California Edison power lines that came into contact during high wind, investigators determined. The blaze killed two people and charred more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers), according to the investigation headed by the Ventura County Fire Department.
So far no such reports for the current fires have been posted to the CPUC website that tracks such filings.
While lightning, arson, and utility lines are the most common causes, debris burning and fireworks are also common causes.
But fires are incited by myriad sources, including accidents.
In 2021, a couple’s gender reveal stunt started a large fire that torched close to 36 square miles (about 90 square kilometers) of terrain, destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings, and claimed the life of a firefighter, Charlie Morton.
The Eaton and Palisades fires were still burning with little to no containment on Thursday. Winds softened, but there was no rain in the forecast as the flames moved through miles of dry landscape.
“It’s going to go out when it runs out of fuel, or when the weather stops,” Lentini said. “They’re not going to put that thing out until it’s ready to go out.”
