The suspect was detained by members of the community in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills, Dinsel told NewsNation, before police arrived.
"It's being investigated as a crime," he said.
The Kenneth Fire started Thursday afternoon in the West Hills neighborhood and spread to nearly 1,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties by 9 p.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. It is 35 percent contained as of late night Thursday.
Rodney Nickerson, 82, died at his home in Altadena after telling his family he felt comfortable waiting out the Eaton Fire.
Victor Shaw, 66, also stayed at home to try to save the house he shared with his sister. He was found holding a garden hose in his hand.
A 67-year-old amputee, Anthony Mitchell, and his son Justin, in his early 20s, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to pick them up.
“They didn’t make it out,” said Hajime White, Mitchell’s daughter.
Wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area this week burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings, and other structures, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The media company's previous estimate was between $52 billion and $57 billion. The preliminary damage estimate includes both insured and uninsured losses and damage to property, wages, infrastructure, supply chain interruptions, and other disruptions.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement.
“Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes. The devastation left behind is heartbreaking and the economic toll is staggering. To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 percent of the annual GDP of the state of California.”
The fire has spread toward the southwest and is encroaching residential areas in the Santa Monica Mountains near Gates Canyon Park, the incident map shows.
Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for the neighborhood, which includes an elementary school.
No containment is reported, though aircraft are making water drops to slow the fire’s spread, according to Cal Fire.
The vice president was scheduled to visit Singapore, Bahrain, and Germany from Jan. 13 to 17. She said she hoped to close out her term by addressing U.S. foreign policy challenges and thanking U.S. servicemembers overseas. Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, was expected to join her on the trip.
Harris lost her presidential bid against former President Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20.
The vice president and her husband own a home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, which is located in an evacuation zone—neighborhood was ordered to evacuate Tuesday night as wildfires continued to blaze.
President Joe Biden and Harris held a White House meeting Thursday to discuss the Los Angeles fires.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The alert was meant only for those living in the area directly around a new fire that erupted Thursday afternoon in the West Hills area, according to officials.
“I have been informed, the evacuation warning that many of us just received on our phones was mistakenly issued countywide due to a technical error,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn posted on X just after 4 p.m. Thursday.
The county issued a correction on social media.
The Kenneth Fire, burning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, started near Victory Boulevard, west of Gilmore Street, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Management (Cal Fire).
The blaze was estimated to involve about 50 acres at 4:30 p.m.
“This fire is spreading rapidly,” the California Highway Patrol’s West Valley office reported on X. “If you are in an evacuation order zone, you need to leave immediately. Do not wait to evacuate.”
Firefighters from Los Angeles and Ventura counties were engaged in containing the fire, deploying air and ground crews, Cal Fire reported.
The fire started near Ventura County, with initial reports of a small 20 acre burn that quickly grew and is spreading through the hills near a heavily populated residential area.
Officials ordered evacuations a little after 4 p.m. for all residents from Vanowen south to Burbank Blvd., between County Lane Road east and East Valley Circle Blvd.
Residences nearby are currently under evacuation warnings.
Aircraft were diverted from the Pacific Palisades fire to address the fast-growing inferno in the Calabasas area.
Cal Fire reports strong Santa Ana winds fueling the flames and dangerous conditions.
“The challenging terrain and persistent winds complicate suppression activities, necessitating heightened vigilance from residents and adherence to directives from local authorities,” the agency said in a statement.
Luna confirmed five deaths between the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Homicide detectives are trying to access all the burned homes to search for additional bodies, but have been delayed because of the ongoing fire and wind conditions, he said at an afternoon press conference.
“We’re still in a very chaotic scenario,” Luna said. “We’re still working in a fluid and active environment.”
Officials are waiting until it’s safe to go into destroyed homes and “make sure we do it right,” he added.
The sheriff’s office is working with the county coroner’s office to identify deceased victims and notify family members.
The cause of both fires remains under investigation, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Tony Marrone.
If the cause is determined to be arson, the deaths will be considered murders, Marrone said.
As many as 5,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the Eaton Fire, according to Marrone.
For the last 24 hours, about 400 guard members have been ready to support the fire. They are expected to be on site as soon as Thursday night, Luna said at an afternoon press conference.
The request was made through the sheriff’s department, which is working with the Los Angeles Police Department and other regional police departments.
Once they arrive, the troops will help with traffic control and critical infrastructure protection in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica, and other areas, Luna said.
“This effort will allow law enforcement to free up our resources and move personnel to other resources throughout the county,” Luna said.
The use of California’s National Guard was approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday.
Military aircraft and technology are also being deployed to help the National Guard and state firefighters, according to the Pentagon.
On Wednesday, he issued a major disaster declaration for California, where the blazes have burned more than 29,000 acres and killed at least five people.
The state has also secured grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to combat the smoldering Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires.
Initially, the grants were meant to cover 75 percent of the costs related to fighting those three fires. But at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for more aid, the president increased the level of reimbursement to 100 percent.
“It’s going to pay for things like debris and hazard material removal, temporary shelters, first responders, salaries, and all necessary measures to protect life and property,” Biden said.
“And folks, I want to underscore, I told the governor and local officials, spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires.”
Criswell joined LA Mayor Karen Bass at the command post for the Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 17,000 acres since Tuesday and remains completely uncontained.
“Thank you to the Biden Administration for your commitment to support Los Angeles not just as we combat these fires but as we rebuild from this disaster,” Bass said in announcing Criswell’s arrival in a social media post on X.
President Joe Biden directed Criswell to visit the area and assess the damage after issuing a major disaster declaration for California on Wednesday.
FEMA personnel are also assisting state officials at the California State Emergency Operations Center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“Canada is mobilizing to help fight the wildfires in southern California,” Trudeau announced on social media platform X on Jan. 9. “Canadian water bombers are already in action. 250 firefighters are ready to deploy.”
Trudeau shared a video of one of the Canadian water bombers in action, with the caption “neighbours helping neighbors.”
Canada’s minister of Emergency Preparedness and PacifiCan, Harjit Sajjan, announced that the prime minister connected with FEMA Director Deanne Criswell to offer the nation’s support.
“Team Canada, with Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta, is ready to deploy 250 firefighters, aircraft equipment, and other resources as early as tonight,” he wrote on X. “The @CanadianForces are standing by to move personnel and equipment.
“Canada stands ready to support our American neighbours during this challenging time.”
“Now is not the time for political posturing or spending millions to 'Trump-proof' California,” Essayli wrote in his letter. “Instead, it's time to take significant action to fireproof our state.”
He said that the four wildfires burning in Los Angeles county “are emblematic of California’s ongoing wildfire crisis.”
Essayli said the state recorded more than 8,000 wildfires in 2024 alone, which burned more than 1 million acres, displaced thousands, and took lives.
The purpose of the special session, Essayli said, would be to begin upgrading the state’s infrastructure, provide funding to critical firefighting efforts, address the state’s fire insurance crisis, and make policy changes that would allow for necessary mitigation practices like controlled burns and moving power lines underground.
“Homes and businesses have been lost, insurers are leaving the state, and fire insurance premiums have become unaffordable for many Californians,” he wrote.
“Despite these significant wildfires, California has not changed its approach to wildfire prevention policies. As the world's fifth-largest economy, this is unacceptable.”
The Southern California wildfires that have killed at least five and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the area are expected to leave lasting economic damage of more than $150 billion, a new report suggests.
According to an updated estimate from AccuWeather, the major wildfires that have blanketed the Los Angeles area with thick clouds of smoke and ash could create economic losses between $135 billion and $150 billion.
Previously, the company had estimated the damage could reach $57 billion.
The early projection includes insured and uninsured losses. The report evaluated the disaster’s direct and indirect effects, including damages to property, infrastructure, crops, and costs associated with evacuations, cleanup operations, and emergency management.
Jonathan Porter, the chief meteorologist of the weather-forecasting media company, stated that this wildfire is already among the most severe in the state’s history. The situation may deteriorate further if additional structures are consumed by the flames in the coming days.
Based on recent forecasts, this could happen.
Moody’s Risk Management Services noted that weather outlooks suggest that dry conditions and periods of Santa Ana winds could persist over the next week, further exacerbating the ongoing wildfires.
“This is a fast-moving, wind-driven inferno that is threatening lives and causing catastrophic damage,” Porter said in a statement.
“This is a terrible disaster. We’re just starting to get a clear look at the magnitude of the destruction and loss. Strong offshore winds have been gusting at 70–100 mph. Fire crews are dealing with hurricane-force wind gusts as they valiantly try to battle the flames and contain these fires.”
By comparison, AccuWeather estimated that the economic losses from the 2023 wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, were $13 billion to $16 billion, and the 2021 wildfires in the western United States were $70 billion to $90 billion.
That said, the report stressed that estimates are subject to change because the full extent of the damage will be unclear until the fires have been doused and officials can survey the area.
As the fires spread from Malibu to Santa Monica, some of California’s most expensive homes—with a median value of about $2 million—remain threatened.
Billions in Insured Losses
The insurance industry, meanwhile, is poised to face substantial losses.
According to Morningstar DBRS’s early projections, the catastrophic event could result in $8 billion worth of insured losses.
“Property insurance affordability is likely to remain a challenge in the state going forward, with many property owners opting to remain uninsured or under-insured because of the high costs,” Patrick Douville, the vice president of Global Insurance & Pension Ratings at Morningstar DBRS, said in a Jan. 9 note.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts estimate $10 billion in insured losses because of the expensive homes at risk.
Looking ahead, homeowners can expect to face higher premiums and significant rate hikes, Gregg Barrett, the CEO at software insurance firm WaterStreet Company, said.
“Unfortunately, higher premiums are likely unavoidable in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas that are impacted by the fires,“ Barrett told The Epoch Times. ”This will mean significant rate hikes for homeowners in California, and nationwide, as insurers spread risk across their portfolios.”
The latest catastrophe will shine a fresh spotlight on the state’s home insurance market.
In recent years, California has witnessed an exodus of insurance companies, attributing their decisions to onerous pricing regulations and the ballooning cost of natural disasters.
The Eaton Fire engulfs a property in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP Photo)
This past spring, Tokio Marine America Insurance Co. and Trans Pacific Insurance Co. filed notices that they would no longer provide homeowners insurance umbrella policies. Four Kemper Corp. subsidiaries—Kemper Independence Insurance, Merastar Insurance, Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance, and Unitrin Direct Property and Casualty—stopped renewing preferred home and auto insurance policies.
For example, actor James Woods recently shared on social media platform X that a major insurance company “canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago.”
Conventional insurers that have stayed behind, such as State Farm General Insurance Co. and Farmers Insurance, have introduced changes to their homeowners policies.
Last year, State Farm announced that it would discontinue California’s 72,000 apartment, business, and home policies because of inflation and natural disasters.
“This decision was not made lightly and only after careful analysis of State Farm General’s financial health, which continues to be impacted by inflation, catastrophe exposure, reinsurance costs, and the limitations of working within decades-old insurance regulations,” the insurer stated in a March 2024 announcement.
Farmers Insurance capped the number of new monthly homeowners policies at 7,000. However, the company announced that it would increase the limit to 9,500 per month in December.
“Farmers Insurance has decided to take these steps to increase coverage availability for California consumers because we recognize that the state’s insurance marketplace has indeed improved,” said Behram Dinshaw, president of personal lines for Farmers Insurance.
Barrett noted that, following the latest wildfires, more companies could withdraw entirely from high-risk areas or implement stricter policy terms.
“New California regulations for this year will require insurers to cover specific percentages of high-risk areas, so some folks will still be able to get coverage, but it will undoubtedly be more expensive,” he said.
Ultimately, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, the current economic environment can be challenging for the industry and current and prospective homeowners.
“Under normal circumstances, insurers can forecast and adjust to inflation, but volatility in prices, accelerating natural disasters and challenges on the regulatory front are proving to be making it difficult to overcome these rapidly moving puzzle pieces,” Hamrick said in a report. “In turn, that’s making it difficult for current and prospective homeowners to access and or afford home insurance.”
Residents Turn to FAIR
With the private sector increasingly curtailing its exposure to California, residents and businesses are turning to the government-backed Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan. Established in 1968 following brush fires and riots, the FAIR scheme provides property insurance to state residents unable to purchase it from traditional insurers.
Data show that FAIR’s exposure totals approximately $458 billion, up 61 percent since September 2023. This also includes nearly $6 billion in the Pacific Palisades.
Since 2021, the number of dwellings and commercial establishments receiving FAIR coverage has increased by 123 percent and 161 percent, respectively.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that communities affected by wildfires in Los Angeles County will be protected from homeowners insurance cancellation or nonrenewal for one year.
“Insurance companies are pledging their commitment to California, and we will hold them accountable for the promises they have made,” he said in a statement.
Over the past year, officials have been employing measures to expand statewide insurance access.
Last month, the California Department of Insurance announced “first of its kind” efforts to boost insurance coverage for homeowners and businesses by using catastrophe modeling and rate-making regulation.
“Giving people more choices to protect themselves is how we will solve California’s insurance crisis,” Lara said in a statement. “For the first time in history, we are requiring insurance companies to expand where people need help the most.”
According to Denise Rappmund, a senior analyst at Moody’s, the wildfires will ultimately worsen the state’s insurance industry.
“These events will continue to have widespread, negative impacts for the state’s broader insurance market,” Rappmund said. “Increased recovery costs will likely drive up premiums and may reduce property insurance availability.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Paris Hilton is left heartbroken after losing her Malibu home amid the ongoing wildfires sweeping across Southern California, but is using her tragedy to help others in similar scenarios.
Taking to social media on Jan. 8, the 43-year-old said she learned of her loss by watching her home burn down on live news coverage of the devastating fires with a reporter surveying damage along the Pacific Coast Highway.
“Heartbroken beyond words,” she wrote on Instagram. “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. This home was where we built so many precious memories.”
At least 1,000 homes, businesses, and other structures have been destroyed thus far, and at least five people have died after several wind-driven blazes spread across Los Angeles County.
“While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family and pets are safe. My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by these fires. To all the people who have lost their homes, their memories, and their beloved pets,” Hilton continued.
“My heartaches [sic] for those still in harm’s way or mourning greater losses. The devastation is unimaginable. To know so many are waking up today without the place they called home is truly heartbreaking.”
Through her global media content company, the businesswoman and activist is committed to working closely with nonprofit organizations to best assist those affected.
“My 11:11 Media Impact Team is already reaching out to nonprofit organizations today to figure out how we can best support the communities impacted by these fires,” she wrote.
With her Impact Team, Hilton is confident help will reach her direct community and surrounding areas in a timely manner.
“We’re committed to offering help as soon as possible and making a meaningful difference for those who need it most,” she added.
Hilton went on to express her heartfelt gratitude to fire personnel and first responders who have been working tirelessly since the Palisades fire broke out on Jan. 7, which is being considered the most destructive in LA history.
“To the brave firefighters and first responders risking their lives to protect us—you are true heroes. I am so grateful for your courage, dedication, and the incredible sacrifices you’re making to save lives and fight this unimaginable battle,” she said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Hilton is one of many celebrities who have lost their homes in the wildfires, including Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Spencer and Heidi Pratt, James Woods, Anna Faris, Billy Crystal, and others.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, firefighters are currently battling four separate blazes: the Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 17,000 acres; the Eaton Fire, which has burned 10,600 acres; the Hurst Fire, which has destroyed more than 600 acres; and the Lidia Fire, which has burned 348 acres.
The Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills was fully contained on Jan. 9, according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Nearly 180,000 Los Angeles County residents are under mandatory evacuation orders, as high winds and low humidity conditions make containment efforts difficult.
“The confluence of factors—wind, fire, and smoke—have created unpredictable, complex situations that present potentially unsafe conditions for our school communities,” the district said in its press release on Jan. 9.
This marks the third day that the schools will be closed, following the destruction of Marquez Charter Elementary and Palisades Elementary Charter in Pacific Palisades, and significant damage dealt to Palisades Charter High School.
Students will retain digital access to learning materials.
However, 16 sites throughout the district will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST on Jan. 10 to provide two meals for each student in the district.
Those sites include Mulholland Middle School, San Fernando Middle School, Los Angeles Academy Middle School, Fremont High School, Barack Obama Global Preparation Academy, and Marina Del Ray Middle School.
“Select essential personnel will be contacted by their supervisors regarding potential work duties,” the district said. “As the Los Angeles region continues responding to this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our students and employees are of the utmost importance.”
“Thanks to the bravery and collaboration of our [Los Angeles Fire Department], the #SunsetFire is fully contained,” Bass reported in an update on the social media platform X.
“If you are returning home, please drive SLOWLY and watch the road. Firefighters are still working in some damaged areas.”
The good news comes hours after officials lifted all remaining evacuation orders for residents in the area.
The fire, which sparked on Wednesday night, grew to 60 acres in size before it was contained.
“My husband and I and our children have pledged $1 million from our Family Foundation to start a fund of support for our great city and state and the great people who live and love there,” Curtis announced via her Instagram account on Thursday.
“I’m in communication with Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass and Senator Schiff as to where those funds need to be directed for the most impact.”
The commitment followed another post in which the actress encouraged others to “offer your hand, home, and resources” to those affected by the wildfires.
“We are going to have to come together, as we may never have done before, in the City of Angels and help each other. AND WE WILL!”
The game was slated to take place at the Crypto.com Arena, about 13 miles from the spot in Hollywood Hills where firefighters are working to extinguish the Sunset brush fire.
The date for the rescheduled game has yet to be announced.
“The entire NBA family sends its thoughts and support to the community of Los Angeles during this challenging time. We are grateful for the thousands of local firefighters and first responders who have demonstrated enormous bravery. Our prayers remain with those affected by the unimaginable devastation caused by the wildfires,” the NBA said in a statement on Thursday.
The two massive and destructive fires continued to burn and remained uncontained, fire officials reported.
Firefighters took advantage of a break in strong winds on Tuesday night, slowing the expansion of the Eaton Fire, which was mapped at about 10,600 acres on Thursday morning.
Firefighters were helped by the use of aircraft overnight as the winds decreased, officials reported.
Pasadena Fire chief Chad Augustine said Wednesday the city expected to have an additional 50 strike teams, including some from Arizona, attacking the blaze on Thursday.
Fire crews were progressing on two other smaller but still dangerous wildfires. The Hurst Fire, located near Sylmar, reached 855 acres with 10 percent containment, while the Lidia Fire near Acton grew to nearly 350 acres with 40 percent of that contained.
Weather officials forecasted increased Santa Ana winds on Thursday, with increased fire spread.
“With high end red flag warning conditions in effect through Friday morning (due to increased Santa Ana winds), there will be increased risk of rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior, including long range spotting, on existing fires as well as any new fires,” the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office reported Thursday.
In Los Angeles County, more than 213,000 customers were without power, according to poweroutage.us.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported 90,700 disconnections, while more than 4,000 in Glendale and 1,700 in Pasadena were without power.
Another nearly 116,000 customers in the Southern California region served by Southern California Edison (SCE) were without electricity on Thursday.
Some customers were disconnected as a safety precaution as winds continued to gust up to 100 miles per hour on Wednesday. In Los Angeles County, 40,200 customers were disconnected for public safety reasons, while Ventura County customer safety cutoffs reached nearly 48,000, according to SCE.
Gas shutoffs also affected about 15,000 people in the Malibu area, according to officials.
The utility is considering disconnecting power to another 440,300 to prevent fire sparking from live utility lines on Thursday.SCE has opened several community resource centers across the region to provide backup power to residents.
“We stand ready to surge capability in as quickly as possible,” Austin said at a press conference in Germany.
“I’ve done some things to cause our troops to get in a three-point stance to make sure that ... if the whistle blows, we are ready to move in and provide assistance.”
He added that his department is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California officials to assess next steps.
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California on Wednesday. In doing so, he ordered the Defense Department to provide the state with additional firefighting personnel, 10 Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets, and four modular air firefighting system units.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“It’s an absolute tragedy,” Prestrella said.
The county is continuing to assess fire-damaged neighborhoods and communities and is focusing on the recovery of these areas, according to Prestrella.
The county cautioned anyone who stayed behind in the fire zones to be cautious of toxic and hazardous debris.
“Your sewer water, power, and transportation systems have all been significantly damaged,” Prestrella said.
The county has started removing debris, but it is “not safe” for residents or others to touch it, he said.
The city water reservoirs are being used by aircraft to fight the fires. They remain full and continued to be ready for firefighting.
Residents in Pasadena and Pacific Palisades, Topanga Canyon, and other surrounding areas were asked to boil their water as a precaution. The county is delivering water to people who remained in the fire zones.
Another 200,000 are under evacuation warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a Thursday press conference.
The county issues mandatory evacuation orders to residents facing an immediate threat to their lives. Warnings are issued when there is a potential threat to life or property.
“I cannot emphasize enough that I urge residents that are asked to evacuate to follow our warnings,” Luna said, noting that his officers’ lives had already been endangered by residents who chose to stay put.
“I don’t want to tell those stories anymore. I don’t want to give stories of our first responders being injured.”
“Right now, we frankly don’t know yet,” Luna said at a news conference Thursday morning.
Officials said five people had died in the Eaton Fire by Wednesday, although the sheriff said the preliminary numbers he was getting from ground crews about how many had died could be incomplete.
The sheriff is working with the county coroner’s office. They plan to bring in police dogs to help find people who may have perished in the multiple fires still burning across the county.
“These people are working under very difficult conditions,” Luna said, adding that it “looks like a bomb was dropped” in some areas.
“This is a crisis. We don’t know what to expect but we’re ready for anything.”
“It is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” Crowley said at a Thursday morning press conference.
The Palisades fire is by far the largest of several brush fires currently torching Southern California, engulfing a staggering 17,234 acres. The fire remains completely uncontained since it first sparked on Tuesday.
Crowley noted that “extreme fire behavior” continues to complicate firefighters’ efforts to tame the blaze, with wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour expected to continue throughout Thursday.
She added that current estimates for the number of damaged or destroyed structures are “in the thousands.”
“Firefighters and air resources will continue to work to protect the community and infrastructures and gain control so that we can contain this fire damage,” Crowley said.
“In the midst of the emergency, we've all seen individuals who are targeting vulnerable communities by burglarizing and looting homes. This is simply unacceptable,” Kathryn Barger, chair of the county’s Board of Supervisors, said at a morning press conference.
“Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis,” Barger said, assuring that offenders would be held accountable.
She added that the local sheriff’s department is actively patrolling affected communities to protect against criminal activity.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk will be closed on Thursday, January 9 as a result of the extreme winds and fire conditions,” the theme park announced on social media platform X.
Universal Studios Hollywood was also closed on Jan. 8 with the initial expectation that it would open the next day.
“As always, the safety of our team members and our guests is our top priority,” the resort added. “We continue to assess the situation and are directing guests to visit our website for updates.”
Meanwhile, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced it will remain closed due to high winds in order to ensure the safety of guests and staff.
The Epoch Times reached out to Disneyland Resort to comment on its ongoing operations and the wildfire situation.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President-elect Donald Trump of politicizing the ongoing wildfire crisis after the incoming president blamed his leadership for the fires currently raging through the Los Angeles area.
Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, Newsom said: “Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives. And the president-elect’s response is to politicize it.”
The governor praised President Joe Biden’s response to the wildfires.
“I stood next to a president of the United States of America today, and I was proud to be with Joe Biden, and he had the backs of every single person in this community, he didn’t play politics,” Newsom said.
Biden visited Los Angeles on Wednesday, where he met with Newsom and federal, state, and local officials at a fire station and was briefed on the situation.
Following the briefing, Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California, allowing federal funding to be made available for emergency response costs.
The White House announced later on Wednesday that Biden had also canceled a planned trip to Italy to focus on directing the full federal response to the California fires.
Newsom’s comments were made in reply to Trump’s comments on Wednesday that Newsom had refused to sign a water restoration plan “that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the north” to flow into other parts of the Golden State, including those currently impacted by the fires.
Trump criticized what he described as “gross incompetence and mismanagement” by the state and federal government in a series of posts on Truth Social.
He said the fires in Los Angeles may go down as the worst in U.S. history and that there are doubts some insurance companies will have “enough to pay for this catastrophe.”
There has been an ongoing debate about whether California should divert some water to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay to protect smelt and other fish or instead send it to Central Valley farmers and Southern California cities.
Trump, who has championed diverting the water to farmers and residents in those areas, has repeatedly clashed with Newsom over the issue.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!),” Trump said, referring to Newsom. “Now the ultimate price is being paid. ... On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, [no] firefighting planes. A true disaster!”
In a separate post later on Wednesday, Trump said Newsom should resign.
Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Newsom’s office said in a statement that no water restoration declaration document exists, and called Trump’s claims “pure fiction.”
Newsom “is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” his office said.
On Feb. 19, 2020, President Trump met with officials in Bakersfield, California, to sign a presidential memorandum aimed at increasing water flow to the state. The memorandum sought to achieve this by loosening restrictions that protect species such as the delta smelt.
California Attorney General Becerra sued over the Trump administration’s rules the following day. The lawsuit claimed that the Trump administration’s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
“The lawsuit challenges the actions of the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency which adopted the biological opinions. The lawsuit also challenges the biological decisions issued in October 2019 by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which lack sufficient protections for endangered and threatened fish,” a Feb 20, 2020, statement from Becerra’s office said.
In May 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration’s plans. The federal government then initiated a review of the contested biological opinions.
The Epoch Times contacted a Trump spokesperson for comment but received no reply by publication time.
A slew of wildfires circling the Los Angeles area on multiple fronts got closer to the heart of the U.S. movie industry on Thursday as a new fire erupted in the hills near Hollywood, prompting the Biden administration to direct the Pentagon to act.
In a statement, the Department of Defense (DOD) said it would “provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities to California as that state’s Los Angeles County region continues to be ravaged by a series of out-of-control wildfires.”
“The federal government is working closely with the National Guard, which is deployed under [California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s] state of emergency declaration,” DOD spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.
Meanwhile, the California National Guard will deploy “two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units, and two more are being readied by the Nevada National Guard,” she said.
Two ground firefighting teams operated by the California National Guard and four military police companies will also be sent to Los Angeles to assist local law enforcement officials and emergency responders, officials said in a statement.
“We can surge assets, and the president has directed this department to bolster whatever California needs; but we have to work with California, and right now we can’t even get assets up in the air because the fires are so bad and the winds are so bad,” Singh said.
The latest flames broke out on Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, striking closer to the heart of the city and the roots of its entertainment industry and putting densely populated neighborhoods on edge during exceptionally windy and dry conditions. But only about a mile away, the streets around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre, and Madame Tussauds were bustling, and onlookers used their phones to record video of the blazing hills.
Some 130,000 people have been put under evacuation orders, as fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history, officials say.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said the city’s water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages but that even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds fanning the flames.
“Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire,” he said.
A number of celebrities, actors, and musicians were forced to evacuate their homes due to the wildfires. Some have begun to turn their ire against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who returned to the United States from a trip to Ghana in the midst of the wildfires.
As she returned to the United States, she was questioned by a Sky News reporter on her administration’s response to the fires. She did not reply and was silent for several moments.
The reporter asked her: “Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today who are dealing with this disaster?” She did not respond, according to the footage, which garnered millions of views on social media platform X in just a day.
But in a social media update, Bass wrote on Thursday morning: “For the second night in a row, firefighters will be working through the night battling blazes in Los Angeles. On behalf of a grateful city, we thank you.”
She also visited the Pacific Palisades area with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had declared an emergency over the fires earlier this week, noting the scale of the disaster.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“SpaceX will provide free Starlink terminals to affected areas in LA tomorrow morning,” he wrote on Jan. 9 in response to a local Fox News clip crediting Starlink for its ability to maintain on-the-ground coverage of the disaster.
The Los Angeles fires is the latest disaster in which Starlink terminals will be provided, following previous deployments during hurricane season, including in areas of Florida and North Carolina after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
“The closed section of the Sunset Fire, area North of Franklin, will be OPEN and all evacuation orders LIFTED,” the fire department said in an update.
“We will still have LAFD companies working in the area and ask you to be careful while returning to your homes.”
Supersized Santa Ana winds—which is an annual weather phenomenon in Southern California but is occurring later and later—whipped up the flames and embers at speeds reaching 100 mph across the region.
The winds were also affected by the recent dip in the jet stream, which brought colder temperatures to the eastern portions of the country.
“The impact increases exponentially as wind speed increases,” said fire scientist Mike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University in Canada.
He said firefighters have as little as 10 minutes to reach the flames in time to contain them. “Fifteen minutes, it’s too late, and it’s gone. The horse has left the barn,” he added.
On top of that, the region is facing extreme drought after two back-to-back winters, with atmospheric river events sparking a growth of plant life that has now dried up—turning into easy-to-burn fuel.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s website, there is still a zero percent containment on the Palisades, Eaton, and Sunset fires as of 10:30 a.m. ET on Jan. 9.
“It’s really just the perfect alignment of everything in the atmosphere to give you this pattern and strong wind,” said Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center.
Winter wildfires are rare in California—only six January wildfires that have burned more than 2 square miles have been recorded since 1984.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“This morning, I was briefed on the latest impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires. And later today, following President Carter’s service, I will convene my team for another briefing, and deliver remarks to the nation regarding our response,” Biden announced Thursday morning in a social media post.
Biden received a briefing from local, state, and federal officials at a Santa Monica fire station on Wednesday as the fires blazed through the surrounding area. He returned to Washington to attend former President Jimmy Carter’s memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Here’s what to know about the fires:
- At least 10 people are dead and a “high number” of injuries have been sustained by residents and firefighters, local officials said.
- At least 180,000 residents are under evacuation orders.
- Around 8,000 state, local, and federal personnel have been deployed to fight the flames.
- More than 29,000 acres have burned.
- More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed.
- High fire risk conditions are expected to continue into Friday.
- Uber and Lyft are offering free rides to evacuees, and the Los Angeles Metro system has suspended all fare collection.
- Airbnb is offering free temporary housing for displaced residents.
- The first few brush fires broke out on Tuesday, where the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires continue to rage.
- Smaller blazes that have sparked since and continue to burn include the Lidia and Sunset fires. A new fire sparked on Thursday, called the Kenneth fire, quickly grew to more than 900 acres by that evening.
- The Sunset fire is fully contained, the Lidia fire is 75 percent contained, the Hurst fire is 37 percent contained, the Kenneth fire is 35 percent contained, and the Palisades fire is 6 percent contained. The Eaton fire is still uncontained.
- President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster declaration for the state of California.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) warned residents on Tuesday that evacuation orders had been issued due to an immediate threat to life. The orders were described as lawful directives requiring residents to leave immediately. Cal Fire said the affected areas have been closed to public access.
The so-called fire weather, meaning high winds, dry vegetation, and low humidity, is set to continue into Friday.
The National Weather Service said dry Santa Ana wind coming in from the northeast is set to “continue over Eaton Fire through the next few days, with somewhat weaker winds Thursday morning followed by increasing winds Thursday afternoon ... into early Friday.”
The service added that Red Flag warnings would remain in place across LA County and neighboring Ventura County until 6 p.m. Friday.
“The Palisades Fire is currently impacting neighborhoods in the northern part of Santa Monica with approximately 2,472 households under a mandatory evacuation order within the city of Santa Monica and 8,338 under a voluntary evacuation warning,” Mayor Lana Negrete said in a statement posted to social media. “This emergency order further assists our first responders and further protects residents as we weather this regional crisis and, ultimately, begin and support recovery efforts.”
Other measures instituted by the order include allowing schools to temporarily operate within non-residential zones and prohibition of price gouging for emergency and recovery goods and services.
Flames were first reported in Runyon Canyon in the Hollywood Hills at about 5:30 p.m., with the fire nearing several iconic Tinseltown landmarks, such as Hollywood Boulevard, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Comedy Store, and the Hollywood Bowl.
The area was evacuated shortly before midnight.
“The majority of the Evacuation Zone for the Sunset Fire is lifted with the exception of the area North of Franklin Ave from Camino Palmero St (East border) to N Sierra Bonita Ave. (West border),” LAFD said in a Jan. 8 update.
The LAFD said the area named would remain closed until Thursday morning as they continued their operations to ensure there were no flare-ups. The fire department urged residents to be cautious while returning to their homes.
A house belonging to Adam Brody, star of The OC and Nobody Wants This, and his wife, Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, as well as another home owned by comedian and actor Billy Crystal, were among some 1,000 properties gutted by the blaze in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, singer Mandy Moore, and former California First Lady Maria Shriver were among more than 100,000 people forced to evacuate to escape the flames ripping through some of the most sought-after real estate in the United States.
Crystal and his wife, Janice, released a statement announcing the destruction of the Pacific Palisades home they have owned since 1979.
"We are heartbroken, of course, but with the love of children and friends we will get through this," they said.
Reuters contributed to this report
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.
