Firefighters Begin Slowly Beating Back Massive LA Blazes, as Winds Die Down

Updated 3 p.m. Friday

The two biggest fires devastating the Los Angeles area grew only slightly Friday as firefighters beat back the blazes that have killed at least 11 people, obliterated neighborhoods and left the nation’s second-largest city on edge.

Officials expressed optimism that a break from the punishing winds stoking the flames through the weekend will allow firefighters to make headway on the fires that have burned an area bigger than San Francisco and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday.

“These fires are not out, though today we’re going to make a lot of progress,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday.

This map is updated regularly throughout the day. Wildfire locations are sourced from Cal Fire and perimeter data is from the National Interagency Fire Center. Click on each fire icon for more incident-specific detail. Click on layers button (top left) to see current evacuation areas (via LA County). If map is not loading correctly, try viewing it here.

Map by Matthew Green/KQED

Palisades virtual community meeting

A virtual community meeting for people impacted by the Palisades Fire has been scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday You can participate by clicking here.

“Our neighbors want to know where to go for immediate help, how to get information about their home when they can return, and what long term resources are available,” L.A. County Board Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a press conference Friday afternoon, adding residents questions about power and gas shutoffs and when people will be able to access their homes again will all be addressed.

Red flag warning set to expire temporarily

Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the current red flag warning will expire at 6 p.m. Friday, but a new warning is expected to be issued Monday, when windy conditions in the Los Angeles area are forecast to return.

“L.A. County will be prepared,” Marrone said at a press conference at 1 p.m. Friday. “Please, rest assured that we will not stop until the fires are fully contained and we can and we will continue to be here for you as we plan for the repopulation recovery and rebuilding that will be occurring.”

CalFire said more than 8,000 personnel, including firefighters, law enforcement and others doing emergency support have responded the wildfires, including crews from Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico and Nevada.

Marrone thanked the hard work of all those who have saved lives and protected what property they could, including the historic The Mount Wilson Observatory and its telescope, which Marrone said “are undamaged thanks to the efforts of our firefighters and observatory staff.”

New evacuation order issued

The Los Angeles Fire Department issued an evacuation order on Friday due to a brush fire in the Granada Hills area.

The area is just west of the Hurst Fire.

Margaret Stewart, a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles Fire Department, said firefighters on the ground and in the air were able to tackle the Archer Fire quickly and that the evacuation order is expected to be downgraded soon.

“We still have some winds and that’s why we have not yet lifted the evacuation order,” Stewart told KTLA.

The brush fire sparked in the Granada Hills area.

Click here to view the latest areas impacted by evacuations via the County of Los Angeles Emergency Map.

Curfew in effect as arrests made

Capt. Myron Johnson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a curfew remains in effect for the mandatory evacuation zones of the Palisades and Eaton fire areas, effective from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice.

“This curfew will be strictly enforced and is being taken to enhance public safety, protect property and prevent looting in areas where residents have been evacuated,” Johnson said. “We ask that all individuals comply with the curfew and stay clear of the impacted areas.”

Johnson said the National Guard was called in Thursday evening to assist law enforcement. Since the evacuations began, authorities have arrested 18 people — 15 in the Eaton Fire area and three in Palisades — on suspicion of possession of drugs, burglary tools, burglary, identity theft and looting.

Strong winds start the day

Metropolitan L.A. and its 13 million residents, who haven’t seen rain in more than eight months, woke up Friday to another day of strong winds and the threat of new flareups. The gusts were expected to diminish by evening, however, and already have died down from earlier in the week, when hurricane-force winds blew embers that ignited hillsides.

But meteorologist Rich Thompson warned the break could be short-lived.

“We’re looking for a little respite on Friday and Saturday from the Santa Ana winds but then they’re going to pick up again Sunday through most of next week,” he said Thursday evening.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said Friday morning that firefighters had contained several smaller fires in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire started in the San Fernando Valley near a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved into neighboring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.

The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires. Dozens of blocks of scenic Pacific Palisades were flattened to smoldering rubble. In neighboring Malibu, where oceanfront homes once stood, all that was left above the debris were blackened palm strands.

Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena, next to Pasadena, on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe with 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.

No cause has been identified for the largest fires.

A firefighting plane had to be grounded Thursday after it was struck by a drone flown by a civilian, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Nobody was injured. It’s a federal crime to fly a drone during firefighting.

Firefighters for the first time have made progress containing the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, officials said Friday. It started Tuesday night and has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.

To the west, the fire in Pacific Palisades, the largest burning in the L.A. area, has destroyed over 5,300 structures. The blaze is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries have been burned. 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. 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.

Returning to what’s left

Bridget Berg, who watched her home in Altadena erupt in flames live on TV while she was at work, came back with her family on Thursday “just to make it real.”

They searched through charred debris of the house they bought 16 years ago, finding pieces of pottery, petrified wood and Japanese wood block prints handed down by a grandmother.

“It’s not like we just lost our house,” she said. “Everybody lost their house.”

The enormity of the destruction emerges

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.

“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.

Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy. They were waiting for an ambulance to come and did not make it to safety when the flames roared through, 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.

California is 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. Several weather monitoring agencies announced Friday that the Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024.

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 of rain since early May.

CalFire says the recent wildfires serve as an important reminder for all Californians to take steps to prevent sparking a wildfire and having an evacuation plan, a supply kit, and important paperwork ready should you ever have to evacuate your home due to wildfire danger.

Evacuations, school closures and arrests

Roughly 100,000 people remained under evacuation orders as of early Friday afternoon, and the fires have consumed about 56 square miles, larger than the size of San Francisco.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, will be closed again Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts.

The Biden administration is working with Trump’s team on the fires

“They know every single thing we’re doing about this response,” President Joe Biden said on Friday.

However, Biden took a shot at President-elect Donald Trump, who he referred to as “someone from the other team,” by mocking his call to sweep the forest floors to reduce fire dangers.

“C’mon man,” he said.

Biden said it would be a better idea to bury electricity transmission wires, which would be “a hell of a lot safer” but would cost “a hell of a lot of money” to do.

The Associated Press’ Jaimie Ding, Julie Watson and John Seewer contributed to this report, along with KQED’s Brian Krans.