On Friday, Jan 10, the Palisades Fire started moving north towards the San Fernando Valley, and the Los Angeles Fire Department put parts of Encino and Tarzana under evacuation warnings. These are the first evacuation warnings in the San Fernando Valley from the Palisades fire, which firefighters are attempting to contain south of Mulholland Drive.
There are also new evacuation alerts for Brentwood, extending to the 405 Freeway, and area which includes the Skirball and Getty Centers. Both Museums are closed; the Skirball is scheduled to reopen Jan. 15, the Getty a day later, Jan 16.
For the most up-to-date alerts on evacuation status, download the Watch Duty App or visit the Palisades Fire updates page.
Wildfires continue to wreak havoc across Los Angeles County, with officials reporting (as of Friday evening) a total of 36,165 acres burned -- over twice the size of the New York borough of Manhattan.
The Los Angeles County wildfires have (as of Friday evening) destroyed or damaged over 12,300 structures, and taken the lives of 11 people.
The Palisades Fire remains the largest and most destructive wildfire. Since it started at approximately 10:30 am on Jan. 7, over 21,000 acres have burned and only 8% of the fire is contained. Up to 150,000 residents around Los Angeles County have been under mandatory evacuation orders since the fire started Jan 7. The Palisades Fire alone has taken the lives of five people, and at least 5,700 structures have been destroyed or damaged.
Fire crews from as far away as Poway in San Diego County and Rialto in San Bernardino County have been seen helping with the fight against the Palisades Fire.
The Eaton Fire in the Altadena and Pasadena area has burned almost 14,000 acres with 3% containment (an improvement from zero percent containment on Thursday). Six people are confirmed dead and over 7,000 structures are damaged or destroyed. About 3,200 residents remain under mandatory evacuation orders.
L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said 1,527 firefighters are currently assigned to the Eaton Fire.
"[On Thursday], the fire at the Canyon did make a push towards historic Mount Wilson," Marrone said. "This observatory is okay thanks to the efforts of the firefighters and observatory staff and no buildings have been destroyed at Mount Wilson. A firefighter did suffer a significant fall injury yesterday at the Eaton Fire. He remains hospitalized, he's resting comfortably and he's in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery."
Marrone said that the cause of the Palisades and Eaton fires is still yet to be determined.
Still, there was suspicion that the Kenneth Fire, a new blaze that first appeared on Thursday afternoon near West Hills and Calabasas, may have been ignited by arson.
Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said that at 4:32 p.m. on Thursday, LAPD received a 911 call that a suspect was attempting to light a fire in Woodland Hills and he was being detained by residents. After LAPD Topanga took the suspect into custody,
LAPD and Ventura County Sheriffs interviewed the suspect.
"After the interview and additional investigative steps looking at some additional evidence that was present, they made the determination that there was not enough probable cause to arrest this person on arson or suspicion of arson and therefore this person was arrested on a felony probation violation," Chief Choi said.
Calmer winds and a fierce aerial water assault by planes and helicopters kept the Kenneth Fire from growing on Thursday evening and Friday.
"Thanks to the quick action of first responders and aerial assets, the fire has been stopped," Marrone said. The Kenneth Fire has burned about 1,000 acres with 35% containment. Evacuation orders have been lifted and no fatalities were reported.
This weekend, the National Weather Service expects sustained winds to slow to about 20 mph, with gusts between 35 mph and 50 mph. A red flag warning remains in effect through at least Monday, Jan. 13.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said five more looters have been arrested prowling around evacuated areas between Thursday and Friday, bringing the total arrests to 25.
"We will not tolerate exploitation during this crisis," Luna said.
He confirmed that 200 National Guard personnel were deployed overnight to assist with securing evacuation zones and roadblocks.
"Their presence ensures that we maintain safety in these high-risk areas while allowing our law enforcement officers to focus on fire-specific challenges," Luna said. Additional Guard reinforcements are expected to arrive by Sunday.
There was also a report of a civilian drone making contact with a Canadian CL-415 Super Scooper aircraft en route to dropping water. No injuries were reported and the collision was only first discovered when maintenance staff noticed that there was "a fist-sized hole in the leading edge of the wing."
Marrone issued a warning to anyone attempting to fly a drone over the fires.
"We do have our federal partners behind the scenes who are going to be implementing procedures to be able to follow drones in our two large fire areas and they will be able to identify who the operator of that drone is," Marrone said. "The most important thing to know is that if you fly a drone at one of these brush fires, all aerial operations will be shut down and we certainly don't want to have that happen."
As fire victims begin the arduous insurance process, L.A. County Assessor Jeffrey Prang directed claimants to visit https://assessor.lacounty.gov/.
"Under California law, if your property, your home, or your business has been damaged or destroyed, you may qualify for property tax relief under the Misfortune and Calamity program," Prang said. To qualify, the damage needs to exceed $10,000 and claimants must file a claim within 12 months. He also reminded claimants to beware of scams: "You should not pay anybody to access these services."
On Thursday afternoon, an erroneous evacuation alert was sent to the cell phones of millions of people in Los Angeles County. On Friday, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath acknowledged the frustration, confusion and panic that the alert caused, telling The Los Angeles Daily News "whatever the cause, it is unacceptable and it is being addressed now. We will be investigating what happened, how and why at every level."
Governor Gavin Newsom (D) ordered an independent investigation into the critical loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and "the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir."
In a letter to CEO and Chief Engineer of LADWP, Newsom insisted "we need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires."
"We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires." - Gov. Gavin Newsom
Newsom also invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit Los Angeles to survey the devastation. President Joe Biden, whose term expires on Jan. 20, through a major disaster declaration, has committed to cover costs associated with these fires at 100% for 180 days.
On Friday, in an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley expressed frustration about the city cutting $17.6 million in funding from the LAFD in fiscal year 2025.
"My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded," Crowley said. "It's not."
Crowley added that the LAFD needs 62 new fire stations and double the current number of firefighters.
Although there were reports that Crowley had been fired, Bass' office denied the reports. Bass' Deputy Mayor of Communications, Zach Seidel, told Fox 11 Los Angeles, "no, that report is not true, Kristin Crowley is still the Chief, she was not fired, she did not resign and she remains in charge of the Los Angeles Fire Department."