Three wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds tore through Los Angeles County from Tuesday into Wednesday morning, forcing tens of thousands of residents were under mandatory evacuation orders.
According to combined media reports, the fires were first reported at around 10:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday. The cause of the fires is unclear, but their rapid spread was exacerbated by dry conditions and winds with gusts of up to 100 mph.
Evacuations were hampered by the abrupt influx of drivers on the roads, with many residents abandoning their vehicles on traffic-clogged roads and escaping on foot. Schools in the Los Angeles metro area are closed, while nursing homes were evacuated and prisons are on high alert.
As of Wednesday morning, the Palisades Fire has burned through almost 4,000 acres, the Eaton Fire roared across 1,000 acres, and the Hurst Fire engulfed at 500 acres – all three fires are 0% contained. No deaths have been reported, and the depth of the property damage from the fires is unclear.
Millions of Southern California residents are currently under a red flag warning. President Biden was in Los Angeles for a ceremony designating two new national monuments – he was scheduled to depart at 2:15 p.m. PST, but the fires forced him to stay in the city overnight and his departure was rescheduled for this afternoon.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the fire a “hell of a way to start the New Year” and declared a state of emergency. California has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Newsom’s office reported the National Weather Service continues to forecast very high dangerous winds for Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties through 6:00 p.m. PST today.
