The president made the decision to forego what would have been his last international trip before his term ends this month “to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead,” his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Biden issued an emergency declaration for the state after meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom, approving the flow of federal dollars to impacted residents.
The fires have leveled unprecedented damage, burning tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles County and forcing more than 100,000 to evacuate. The blazes have killed five civilians and burned through more than 1,100 buildings, leveling entire neighborhoods and overwhelming firefighters.
As of Wednesday evening, more than a million residents were still without power, and millions more grappled with thick blankets of dark smoke and ash spreading across the vast Los Angeles County basin.
The U.S. president had planned to meet with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella in Rome, a buoyant coda focused on highlighting the two countries’ ties and global leadership.
Biden, 82, the second Catholic U.S. president, had also planned to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican, where they were to discuss efforts to “advance peace around the world,” according to a December announcement.
As four massive fires engulf Los Angeles, critics are blaming the government for putting lives, homes, and businesses at risk.
Amid it all, Sam Digiovanna, chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale, Calif., told The Epoch Times that more than 1,000 firefighters are doing their best “to stop the forward progress of this fire” and “get a containment line around it.”
“Our first priority is the protection of life, which means a lot of times we’re evacuating people and making sure people get out safely,” said Digiovanna, a former fire chief in Monrovia, part of Los Angeles County.
“Yesterday, three fires, beginning with the Palisades fire at 11 a.m., spread rapidly with dangerously high Santa Ana winds,” he said.
“Our biggest fear … was multiple fires breaking out one time,” he said. “No one knows the cause of the blaze. We’re still in a very dynamic firefighting state right now.”
The mayor said in an evening update on Jan. 8 that her office is doing its best to address the emergency and obtain state and federal assistance.
“Let me be clear – I am making sure that we leave no resource untapped. Firefighters are now on scene from across the state, and across the country. I spoke with the President and Governor earlier today and they assured me of full federal and state support.” Bass said.
“If you receive an evacuation order, leave immediately. If you receive a warning, get ready. Protect yourself, and each other. And don’t divert firefighters from our strategy. L.A. will rise and I am confident that we will rebuild. Make no mistake, Los Angeles will rebuild stronger than ever.”
Fire Hydrants Ran Dry
With so many fire engines deployed, the water tanks that supply the gravity-fed fire hydrants were drained down so low that there was not enough water pressure to fight fires in some areas.
“Unfortunately, due to the amount of fire trucks doing structure protection and tying into so many hydrants, we used that water up very quickly,” Digiovanna said. “The water system got low on us—on firefighters—so when they were out fighting the fire, there were times when they had very low water pressure. ”
Pumper trucks are equipped to draft water out of lakes and swimming pools, he said, and more fire-fighting personnel and equipment are being brought in from other counties and states to fight the Los Angeles County fires, Digiovanna said.
“We knew this Santa Ana wind event was coming. We even knew that it was going to be a very powerful Santa Ana wind event. We actually were preparing several days in advance for this by bringing in additional staffing, additional resources, and getting communities prepared for these wind events because we don’t know what to expect with these winds,” he said.
About 1,000 fire trucks were deployed—not enough to protect that many homes, and with such high winds, fire-fighting crews could not launch helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to fight the blaze, Digiovanna said.
With about 40,000 homes threatened by the fires, even with 2,000 fire trucks, 38,000 homes would still be exposed, he said.
“This was beyond the scope of our ability within Southern California and Los Angeles … to handle these fires. It’s just, you know, Mother Nature,” he said.
“So, now we have three major fires burning,” he said. The firefighters are firefighters are doing a “tremendous job,” he said, considering the resources available to them.
A fire hydrant in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
While critics say the dry underbrush in the hills around homes should be cleaned out, Digiovanna said a task of that scope isn’t feasible.
“You just can’t go up into the mountains in the forest and start raking and cleaning up brush,” he said.
“We can and have done controlled burns in the past. That’s a huge undertaking in itself. It takes a lot of resources and the proper and perfect weather conditions to conduct and carry out those burns safely. A lot of times, also, we get stopped due to environmental concerns, due to the wildlife and or the smoke that the fires are going to generate.”
Fires ‘Absolutely Predicted’
Dr. Houman Hemmati, a fire evacuee whose Santa Monica home is in a high danger zone bordering the Pacific Palisades, told The Epoch Times his house “is threatened, but it hasn’t been lost, yet.”
Hemmati, a frequent medical and political commentator on Fox News, blames state and local government for the extent of damage caused by fires.
“This is not something that was unexpected. It’s something that was absolutely predicted that would happen at some point, that we would have a massive fire like this,” he said. “They knew for a few days that we were going to have a high-wind situation that was going to put us in the extreme fire risk.”
Hemmati said that despite a massive fire in Malibu just a few weeks ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went to Ghana for the inauguration of a politician, and Gov. Gavin Newsom waited too long to relocate resources, instead holding a press conference about high-speed rail.
“My problem with both of them and with the entire system is that they have been absolutely negligent … because they’ve known that this is a very likely possibility, and despite that, chose to put their efforts into many, many other things,” Hemmati said. “That’s not leadership. That’s abandonment.”
Fires in Los Angeles County threaten lives, 40,000 homes, and businesses on Jan. 8, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Los Angeles Fire Budget Slashed
Meanwhile, some critics are citing the Los Angeles City Council’s $17.6 million cut to the fire department budget as cause for alarm.
The fire department budget reduction is the second-largest cut in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget and Bass had initially proposed a $23 million cut, as reported by The New York Post.
Hemmati said he is concerned not enough of his tax money is going toward fire protection.
“We’re getting absolute incompetence and a government at the state and local level that makes public safety their absolute last priority over homelessness and woke social issues,” he said. “This is something that is absolutely going to have to change because it is destroying communities and destroying people’s lives.”
The city is spending billions of dollars building new homes and renting hotel and motel rooms for homeless people that could have gone to fire prevention and fire mitigation, Hemmatti said.
Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer who ran against Bass in the last election, also blamed the loss of lives, homes, and businesses on the local government.
“I’m watching the small businesses around us go up in flames. This is people’s livelihoods. It’s devastating,” Caruso said. “But what is most concerning to me is our first responders and our firefighters who are trying to battle this. There’s no water in the Palisades. There’s no water coming out of a fire hydrant. This is an absolute mismanagement by the city.”
“We’ve got a mayor that’s out of the country, and we’ve got a city that’s burning and there’s no resources to put out fires,” Caruso said. “This was a disaster waiting to happen, and what’s predictable is preventable. …We’ll rebuild, but the majority of this community is going to have a tough time rebuilding their lives.”
Meanwhile, Newsom announced on Wednesday that California has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the Hurst Fire burning in Los Angeles County as extreme fire weather continues in Southern California.”
Yesterday, the governor visited Pacific Palisades and met with local and state fire officials to support their response to the Palisades Fire, and declared a state of emergency.
The Epoch Times reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
Bass said on X Wednesday evening that the city is working hard to contain the fire and streamline evacuation.
“We are deploying LAPD officers to respond to Hollywood to help alleviate evacuation traffic,” she said. “We are working urgently to close roads, redirect traffic and expand access for LAFD vehicles to respond to the growing fire.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Bass said on X that the city’s street services crews “stand ready to work as quickly as possible to respond to service requests throughout this windstorm.” They also have been “urgently responding” to emergencies of falling trees, the mayor said.
Earlier in the day, she said, the Los Angeles Fire Department “helicopters are back to dropping water and hundreds of firefighters continue to be on the scene to help respond to” the Palisades Fire and Hurst Fire.
“After ample consultation with leaders, after clear examination of the data available and entering a second night of this crisis, it is prudent to announce that all schools across Los Angeles Unified will be closed tomorrow effective immediately,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said at a press conference Wednesday evening.
“We were hoping conditions would significantly improve, that winds would subside, that the number of active fires would decrease … that there would be a degree of stabilization.
“Unfortunately, despite the heroic efforts of our frontline men and women, that is not the case.”
Two LAUSD schools—Marquez Charter Elementary and Palisades Elementary Charter in Pacific Palisades—have been “completely destroyed” in the fire consuming the coastal enclave, Carvalho said, while a third, Palisades Charter High School, sustained serious damage.
“We were on-site and could not believe what we were witnessing,” Carvalho said.
The district-wide closure applies to all K-12 schools, as well as early education centers, career and technical colleges, and adult education centers.
Childcare and afterschool programs are also suspended, while all enrolled students will be transferred to a “continuity of learning” model with virtual resources.
Noting that many LAUSD students depend on school meals, Carvalho announced the district would open eight centers to distribute “grab-and-go” food on Thursday morning.
“Considering the level of poverty and despair in our community, we are not only professionally but also morally responsible for providing some degree of sustenance as we often do,” he said.
The superintendent said leaders would make a decision Thursday afternoon about whether to reopen Friday.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a press conference that the fire had broken out “just in the last five minutes” near Runyon Canyon, as officials were in the process of briefing the public on other ongoing blazes.
“I don’t have a lot of information. I can tell you we’re throwing all our available resources at it as we speak,” she said.
Crowley said aircraft were already dropping water in the impacted zone, to the west of Runyon Canyon Park, which is surrounded on all sides by densely populated residential areas.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the new fire, called the Sunset fire, appeared to encompass about 20 acres as of 6:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order to residents in the immediate area, and a warning to a larger area stretching west toward Beverly Hills and South toward Sunset Boulevard. An evacuation shelter is set up at Pan Pacific Recreational Center, 7600 Beverly Blvd.
Driven by what the fire chief called “some of the most historic fire conditions on record,” the biggest wildfires—the Pacific Palisades fire in West Los Angeles and the Eaton Fire in Altadena—have torn through more than 1,100 buildings and killed five people.
While the high speed winds that have propelled the fires since Tuesday are expected to subside, as of Wednesday night, officials said there was still zero containment of either the Pacific Palisades or Eaton fires, and the causes remain unknown.
“The good news is, the winds have subsided a bit, enough to allow aircraft to provide air support,” Crowley said of the Palisades fire.But, she added, “We are not out of danger. You can see the active fires that are burning with strong winds that are going to continue throughout the night.”
The fire, which started at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday in Eaton Canyon, remained 0 percent contained and had destroyed between 200 to 500 structures by Wednesday afternoon.
Another 13,000 structures are at risk, according to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.
Walls of black smoke created by the Palisades and Eaton fires created apocalyptic scenes, turning the sun red and hovering over parts of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles counties.
The air quality district issued a wildfire smoke advisory Wednesday that was expected to last until about 5 p.m. Thursday.
Based on webcam imagery, the fires were actively producing smoke that was pushed to the southwest by strong winds toward Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles, according to the district.
Some of the air quality reached hazardous levels, the highest level of risk, in the Malibu and Pacific Palisades areas and in central and southwest parts of Los Angeles County.
Most areas around the city of Los Angeles and downtown were covered in smoke, creating unhealthy conditions, especially for sensitive groups, AQMD reported.
The city of Beverly Hills warned residents of the conditions Wednesday.
“As wildfires continue to spread, air quality in Beverly Hills has reached unhealthy levels,” the city posted on social media platform X. “The thick smoke in the air can be harmful to everyone.”
Southern California Edison (SCE), which serves 15 million people in central, coastal, and southern areas of the state, reported outages for more than 1.3 million customers.
Diane Castro, spokeswoman for SCE, said the utility was prepared for the storm.
“Southern California Edison has additional crews on standby so they’re ready to respond to any outages and restore power, if safety allows,” Castro told The Epoch Times on Tuesday.
California utilities, including SCE, are required to cut off power during some weather emergency situations to avoid sparking fires.
About 6,500 outages were also reported in Glendale, while more than 148,000 were without power in the city of Los Angeles.
Another 6,200 outages were reported by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), and in Pasadena, where the Eaton Fire continued to grow, nearly 2,800 customers were without power.
Further south in San Diego, the city’s utility reported more than 9,600 customers were without electricity service.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass approved more than $819.6 million in appropriations for the city fire department last June, slashing its budget by $17.6 million.
The reduction was slightly less than Bass’s initial proposal, which would have marked a $23 million cut from the previous year.
As firefighters worked furiously to extinguish the flames engulfing homes in Pacific Palisades on Wednesday, some fire hydrants began to run dry—a problem some have pinned on the cuts.
Bass was abroad in Africa when the fires first erupted on Tuesday. When she returned home on Wednesday, it was to a barrage of criticism.
“This is INSANE,” wrote Ashley Hayek, president of America First Works, on the social media platform X.
“Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is on a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa as part of a Biden administration presidential delegation WHILE HER CITY IS BURNING TO THE GROUND.”
Actor James Woods was forced to flee as the flames neared his Palisades home. He attributed the crisis to the “liberal” policies of Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“One doesn’t understand the first thing about fire management and the other can’t fill the water reservoirs,” he wrote on X.
"This news is beyond devastating and heartbreaking for us all," said representatives in a letter to the community.
The Palisades Branch Public Library has also been destroyed in the Palisades fire. The building had been damaged in an October 2020 fire and had closed for nearly two years for renovation before reopening again in 2022.
The Palisades fire was the first of several to threaten Los Angeles County residents and businesses since Tuesday morning, prompting thousands to evacuate.
As of 1:23 p.m. local time on Wednesday, more than 300 structures have been decimated by the blaze. Another 13,300 are poised for destruction.
Extreme winds continue to complicate firefighters’ suppression efforts, with gusts of up to 60 miles per hour expected to continue well into the day on Thursday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The department was unable to identify the two people arrested Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s always sad when I have to say this, but part of our responsibility is to make sure no one loots or steals from our residents and community members,” Luna said in a morning news conference.
He warned members of the public to stay away from evacuated homes and businesses.
“If you are thinking about coming in any of these areas to steal from our residents, let me tell you something, you’re going to be caught, you’re going to be arrested, and you’re going to be prosecuted,” Luna said. “Don’t do it.”
Areas of Altadena, Pasadena, Duarte, Arcadia, and Monrovia are under evacuation orders after the Eaton Fire started Tuesday night in the city located about 15 miles east of Los Angeles.
The department’s local station in Altadena was also evacuated Tuesday night.
Deputies were trying to evacuate the building while residents ran up to them from different locations asking for help, the sheriff said.
“From what I understand, they were barely able to get people out before these structures started burning,” Luna said.
One sheriff’s vehicle was destroyed by the flames, but the deputy was unharmed, according to Luna.
The declaration will allow affected residents immediate access to funds and resources for their recovery efforts.
“As the fires continue to devastate communities, President Biden is focused on mobilizing life-saving and life-sustaining resources across the region,” the White House said in announcing the declaration on Wednesday.
Biden, who is in California on a pre-scheduled trip, received a briefing on the fires earlier in the day from federal, state, and local officials at a Santa Monica fire station.
In addition to the disaster declaration, the administration has mobilized certain assets to aid state and local firefighters, including five U.S. Forest Service large air tankers and 10 federal firefighting helicopters.
Biden also directed the Department of Defense to provide additional firefighting personnel, 10 Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets, and four modular air firefighting system units. Those resources will build upon assistance provided by National Guard troops from California and Nevada.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency stands ready to conduct air quality assessments.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to California on Friday to assess other damages.
The widespread shutoffs stretched from the Santa Barbara area over to Lancaster and down to Temecula.
Another 69,000 customers were experiencing outages due to the fierce wildfires spreading throughout the region.
The utility is mulling an additional 433,000 public safety shutoffs as weather conditions are expected to continue to pose a safety risk into Thursday.
More than 401,000 California electricity customers are currently without power before noon local time Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us.
Magic Mountain Truck Trail recorded its strongest wind gust at 90 miles per hour, while gusts at the Hollywood-Burbank Airport were recorded at 84 miles per hour.
Eaton Canyon, where the Eaton Fire continued to burn Wednesday, recorded gusts up to 70 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
Most homes in the Los Angeles area are designed and built to withstand wind forces seen this week with the strong Santa Ana winds, according to the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California.
“Modern construction methods, including reinforced roofing and framing systems, ensure that homes are highly resistant to wind damage,” Nancy Liu, a spokeswoman for the association, told The Epoch Times via email.
In Malibu, north of Pacific Palisades, Pepperdine University was also closed Wednesday.
Malibu City Hall was closed and all city programs were also canceled until further notice, according to an update posted by the City of Malibu on Facebook.
Several sections of the Pacific Coast Highway were also closed by officials as the fire continued to spread Wednesday, according to the Malibu Office of Public Safety.
Owners of the iconic Malibu seafood restaurant the Reel Inn, which opened in 1986, confirmed the building had been destroyed by the fire Tuesday night.
“We are so grateful for the 36 years we’ve been a part of the community,” the restaurant’s owners Teddy and Andy Leonard posted on Instagram. “Grateful to all of our customers. We are heartbroken and unsure what will be left. Hopefully the state parks will let us rebuild when the dust settles.”
“President Biden and I are committed to ensuring that no community has to respond to this disaster alone. We have already mobilized federal resources to help suppress the fires, provide overhead support, and begin assisting those impacted,” Harris said in a statement, urging her neighbors to remain vigilant and cooperate with local authorities.
Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, own a home in Los Angeles. Their house is one of many under evacuation orders as firefighters work to extinguish the flames.
“Last night, the Vice President's neighborhood in Los Angeles was put under an evacuation order,” Ernie Apreza, Harris’s press secretary, wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
“No one was in her home at the time. She and the Second Gentleman are praying for the safety of their fellow Californians, the heroic first responders, and Secret Service personnel.”
At a press conference with other local officials, Marrone said his department had pre-positioned personnel in the Santa Monica mountains and was prepared for “one or two major brush fires,” but not four.
“There are not enough firefighters in LA County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” he said.
The fire chief noted that low humidities and the gusting Santa Ana winds had made rescue operations more challenging.
“This is not a normal red flag alert,” he said. “People were calling for help. We tried to get them the help that they needed.”
The National Weather Service has forecasted that extreme fire conditions will continue into Thursday.
“LA County right now, like the LA City Fire Department, is prioritizing life safety, but we are also engaging in structure defense, perimeter control, and aerial operations,” Marrone said.
“We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County, between all of the fires, to handle this.”
Air attack teams have asked for four large air tankers and one larger air tanker to fly over the fire and drop retardant and water.
Southern California remains under a red flag warning, meaning strong wind gusts and low humidity pose extreme fire danger throughout the region on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters expect wind gusts, reaching 50 to 80 miles per hour, to continue downing and uprooting trees and causing power outages.
Actor James Woods and reality star Spencer Pratt are among thousands of Southern California residents affected by a fast-moving brush fire that has engulfed the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
On Tuesday afternoon, Woods, 77, released a statement on social media platform X saying he was “safe and out” of the area. Later, he shared footage of flames surrounding the concrete deck of his Palisades home.
“To all the wonderful people who’ve reached out to us, thank you for being so concerned,” he wrote in a subsequent post.
“Just letting you know that we were able to evacuate successfully. I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing, but sadly houses on our little street are not.”
Pratt, 41, and his wife, Heidi Montag, 38, lost their home in the blaze. The couple, who starred on the MTV reality show “The Hills,” share two sons: 7-year-old Gunner and 2-year-old Ryker.
“I’m watching our house burn down on the security cameras,” Pratt said in a Snapchat video.
The television personality’s younger sister, Stephanie Pratt, who resides in London, wrote online that she was “beyond heartbroken” for her brother and his family.
“Just spoke to my dad—he tried to save my brother’s house but the wind is so strong there was nothing he could do,” the 38-year-old wrote in an Instagram Story.
“Even the fire station in the Palisades has burned down. The Pacific Palisades is completely on fire. No one is there,” she added, noting that her parents were able to evacuate safely.
According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Palisades fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. As of that evening, the blaze had burned nearly 3,000 acres with zero containment.
“Extreme fire behavior, short & long-range spotting, continues to challenge firefighting efforts for the Palisades Fire,” the fire department wrote on X. “Winds gusts up to 60 MPH are expected to continue through Thursday.”
The fire has forced about 30,000 people to evacuate, leading many to abandon their vehicles on roadways due to traffic jams.
“Police Academy” star Steve Guttenberg, who lives in the area, assisted firefighters by moving abandoned vehicles on Palisades Drive.
“What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars,” the 66-year-old actor told local media KTLA.
Guttenberg urged residents to leave their car keys behind so fire officials could move vehicles and allow fire trucks to access the affected areas.
“There are families up there, there are pets up there, there are people who really need help,” Guttenberg said.
“It’s really important for people to help each other. It’s really important for everybody to band together and don’t worry about your personal property, just get out. Get your loved ones and get out.”
Flames from the Palisades Fire burn homes along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2025. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
Powerful Santa Ana winds are fueling fires across other parts of Southern California.
Brush fires erupted on Tuesday near Altadena and Pasadena, located about 10 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Fires have also broken out in the San Fernando Valley’s Sepulveda Basin and Sylmar area.
“Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Sylmar and Sepulveda pass are still burning,” actress Candace Cameron Bure, 48, wrote on Instagram Wednesday morning.
“I woke up to the same flames. Our sweet Palisades is destroyed. So many memories. We are praying God pours rain down on Los Angeles,” she continued.
“Thank you firefighters and first responders for everything you’re doing to keep people safe and fight these fires. You are true heros. So many memories.”
“Jurassic World” star Chris Pratt took to Instagram on Tuesday evening to urge his fans and followers to pray for those affected by the devastating fires.
“Los Angeles is in a state of emergency,” the 45-year-old actor wrote.
“Thank you to the brave firefighters and first responders who are working tirelessly to protect lives, homes, and wildlife as they battle fast-moving wildfire fueled by fierce winds,” he added.
“You are true heroes, and we are endlessly grateful for your sacrifice and courage. Let’s all come together to support one another during this tough time.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled James Woods’ name in one instance. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
“I have so many clients that live over there; I hope they all got out because that fire looks bad,” Mario Benitez, a real estate agent, told The Epoch Times.
“A lot of them are elderly, and that has me worried.”
Moments later, a violent gust of wind sent a dust of debris toward the group, with most retreating back to their cars.
Staying back, one elderly man still holding his small camera against the wind said he had never seen the wind so bad in the area.
“I’ve lived here for almost three decades now, and this [wind] is absolutely horrible and making this fire worse and worse,” he said.
“God help those poor people.”
Trump noted in a Jan. 8 social media post that the state's environmental policies prevent “millions of gallons of water” from excess rain and snowmelt from flowing into the drier areas of California, “including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”
State and federal regulations require California to direct some of that runoff into the ocean to protect the habitat of the endangered delta smelt fish. Trump attributed those regulations to Newsom.
“On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!” Trump wrote.
The president-elect said he would press Newsom to change the policy.
Announcing the move in a social media post, Newsom’s office said Wednesday that the California National Guard and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection share “a unique partnership unlike any other state—skilled, trained personnel with vast wildfire fighting experience.”
The state has also secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help suppress the Hurst fire threatening San Fernando and Newhall.
The grant, provided through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, will allow agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75 percent reimbursement of eligible related costs.
Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, which remains in effect.
Here’s what to know about the origins of the fires and the threats they pose:
- Five people have died in connection with the fires that broke out Tuesday.
- “A high number of significant injuries” have been reported in relation to the Eaton and Palisades fires, according to officials. The injured include residents who did not evacuate as well as firefighters.
- More than 22,000 acres have been burned by the various fires.
- Some 100,000 residents, including Vice President Kamala Harris, are under evacuation orders as of Wednesday.
- Twenty-three school districts across Los Angeles County are closed due to weather conditions.
- More than 1.5 million are without power.
- More than 1,100 structures have been destroyed by the fires.
- The National Weather Service has extended its red flag warning into Thursday.
- Multiple wildfires broke out on Tuesday, starting with one at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Palisades Drive. By Tuesday night, the Eaton, Hurst, and Tyler fires threatened residents in Altadena, the San Fernando Valley community of Sylmar, and Coachella.
- Two new, smaller blazes were reported on Wednesday. The Woodley fire, located off of Woodley Ave. in Los Angeles, is around 30 acres in size. The Olivas fire, about 11 acres in size, is burning in Ventura on Olivas Park Drive.
- The Tyler fire is fully contained, as of late Wednesday morning. All other fires are at 0 percent containment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More Than 30,000 Evacuated in LA
At least 30,000 residents were under an evacuation order due to a series of wildfires around the Los Angeles area on Wednesday morning, authorities say.
At least 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes on Jan. 7 after a fast-moving wildfire erupted in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. The fire engulfed nearly 3,000 acres of land, prompting California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
About 13,000 structures are under threat, according to authorities. The exact number of buildings damaged or destroyed by the blaze is not yet clear.
A fire official told local television station KTLA that several people had been injured, including some with burns to their faces and hands, and added that one female firefighter had sustained a head injury.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire across the upscale section of Los Angeles.
Newsom made the declaration during a visit to the Southern California neighborhood—which borders Malibu, roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown Los Angeles—where he met with local and state fire officials.
The visit came hours after the blaze first broke out at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, shortly after the start of a Santa Ana windstorm that the National Weather Service warned could be “life-threatening” and the strongest to hit Southern California in over a decade.
In a statement, Newsom said the fire grew “rapidly in a matter of minutes” with dangerous conditions being further fueled by the powerful winds.
“Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire,” the governor said. “If you’re in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials.”
Newsom’s declaration allows for all local and state agencies to utilize and employ personnel, equipment, and facilities to help assist and support impacted communities.
It states that high winds of up to 50 to 80 mph combined with low humidity, and dry conditions have increased the intensity and spread of the fire, causing an “imminent threat to life” as well as structures, homes, and critical infrastructure, including power lines and water tanks.
The declaration notes that Red Flag warnings—meaning an increased risk of fire danger—are in effect in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties while evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for residents living in affected areas.
In addition to issuing the emergency declaration, Newsom also secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) for California on Tuesday via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The grant will allow “local, state, and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75 percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.
Firefighters Tackle Additional Blazes
Firefighters are tackling a second blaze, dubbed the Eaton Fire, which started later on Tuesday near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the Altadena/Pasadena area, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
That fire has burned through at least 1000 acres, Cal Fire said.
A brush fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2025. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
Around 15,000 utility customers in Southern California had their power shut off to reduce the risk of equipment sparking blaze and half a million customers in total were at risk of losing power preemptively.
A third fire dubbed the Hurst Fire and spanning 100 acres erupted in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles at around 10:29 p.m. on Tuesday, forcing some evacuations, according to Cal Fire.
As of Tuesday evening, roughly 28,300 households were without power due to the strong winds, according to the mayor’s office.
Vehicles are left stranded off the side of the road after residents tried to flee from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Jan. 7, 2025. (Etienne Laurent/AP Photo)
In a statement late Tuesday, President Joe Biden said he was being briefed on the wildfires and is in touch with state and local officials.
“My administration will do everything it can to support the response,” to the wildfires, Biden said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards has called off the live, in-person announcement of its 31st awards nominations scheduled for Wednesday due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.
The SAG said the decision was made out of “an abundance of caution for the safety” of its presenters, guests, and staff amid the wildfires and adverse wind conditions in Los Angeles, according to a statement posted on social media platform X on Wednesday.
Instead, the nominations for awards honoring the best in film and television performances will be unveiled through a press release and on the official SAG Awards website at 7.30 a.m. PT on Wednesday.
“We look forward to celebrating these incredible actors and their work at the SAG Awards ceremony on February 23,” it said. “In the meantime, we urge everyone to stay safe, and thank you for your continued support.”
Actress Kristen Bell will host the SAG Awards ceremony, which will stream live on Netflix at 8 p.m. ET on Feb. 23 from the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles wildfires have affected several other Hollywood events. Both Amazon MGM Studios and Universal Studios have canceled their Tuesday premieres of “Unstoppable” and “Wolf Man,” respectively, while Max called off its Wednesday premiere of “The Pitt.” Paramount has also canceled its “Better Man” premiere, which was initially scheduled for Wednesday, due to “the dangerous conditions affecting Los Angeles.”
‘Extreme Fire Behavior’
The Palisades fire, which broke out at the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, has scorched more than 2,921 acres, leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported zero containment on Wednesday and said that wind gusts of up to 60 mph are expected to continue through Thursday.
“Extreme fire behavior, short [and] long-range spotting, continues to challenge firefighting efforts for the Palisades Fire,” the fire department said in an update on X.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, warning that “dangerous winds and extreme fire weather” are expected to continue through Thursday.
“This is a highly dangerous windstorm that’s creating extreme fire risk—and we’re not out of the woods. We’re already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes,” Newsom said in a statement.
Two other wildfires broke out in the Altadena and Sylmar neighborhoods, dubbed the Eaton Fire and Hurst Fire, which have burned more than 1,000 acres and 500 acres, respectively.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said it remains vigilant amid the ongoing fires and has deployed officers for “high visibility patrol” during the tactical alert. No incidents of looting or other criminal activity have been reported in the affected areas so far, the LAPD stated on X.
