California wildfires live updates: nearly 180,000 people evacuated and at least 10 killed | California wildfires

Key events

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has urged California residents to continue checking their local air quality at airnow.gov or on their phone’s weather app.

Wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, and make it difficult to breath and lead to coughing or wheezing.

Children and people with respiratory issues, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or who are pregnant should be especially careful about breathing wildfire smoke.

The CDC warned people to stay inside if instructed by authorities, and to try to keep the smoke outside by choosing a room that can be closed off from outside air, setting up a portable air cleaner or filter, and avoid burning anything indoors.

Share

Los Angeles county has apologized after reports that evacuation alerts were sent mistakenly to millions of residents across the county.

“We are working with Fema to investigate the issue,” it said in a post to X.

“For the most current status of evacuation orders and warnings please review the map of evacuations on Alertla.org”

The city of Beverly Hill said earlier today that an evacuation alert was sent mistakenly to residents.

It came after millions of people across LA received a text message warning them to evacuate, which was followed up by a second alert telling them to disregard the warning.

Share

The fire in the Pacific Palisades has been described as the most destructive natural disaster. My colleague Gabrielle Canon has this dispatch from the community levelled by the fire:

Share

Summary: latest key updates on LA fires

As California begins to wake up to another day of unprecedented fires, here is where things stand today:

The death toll from wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 10 from seven, Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner said. All cases are currently pending identification and legal next of kin notification.

There are five wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area. Palisades is the largest with nearly 20,000 acres burning and more than 5,000 structures destroyed. Eaton is at nearly 14,000 acres and still 0% contained. Officials are reporting some progress with the Hurst fire, which is now 37% contained. The Lidia fire in Acton spans about 400 acres and is 75% contained. The newest fire, Kenneth, burning nearly 1,000 acres in LA and Ventura counties, is 35% contained.

LA county sheriffs urged people to stay away from their homes a while longer while downed power lines, open gas lines and damaged structures still posed a threat-to-life risk.

Winds across Los Angeles county are expected to pick up again this evening local time. The National Weather Service said it expects moderate to strong Santa Ana winds. Winds on the Palisades fire are expected to gust up to 40-60 mph. Forecasters expect a short break in winds on Saturday before they pick up again on Sunday and into next week.

National Guard troops were patrolling the streets of Altadena before dawn on Friday after being called in to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone. Troops in camouflage were posted at intersections in the city hard-hit by the Eaton Fire near Jeeps, Humvees and other military vehicles.

California lawmakers are working on legislation to expedite insurance claims. The LA Times reports that Los Angeles assembly speaker Robert Rivas vowed to back a law to help homeowners speed up insurance claims.

Share

National Guard troops were patrolling the streets of Altadena before dawn on Friday after being called in to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone.

Troops in camouflage were posted at intersections in the city hard-hit by the Eaton Fire near Jeeps, Humvees and other military vehicles, AP reports.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting and other thefts in areas where the fire raged.

Los Angeles county officials say they plan to put an overnight curfew in place that would make it easier to make arrests.

And the LA county sheriff’s office repeated warnings that anyone caught looting would be arrested.

Share

The LA county sheriff’s office has warned residents against returning to their homes too soon.

In a statement on X, officials warned downed power lines, open gas lines and damaged structures still posed a risk to people’s lives.

The statement said: “There are still downed power lines, open gas lines and unpredictable damaged structures that can cause serious injury or death. Please help us avoid using our resources to conduct rescue missions, as our focus is to maintain a high patrol visibility and prevent looters from entering the affected areas.”

Share

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

Firefighters made significant gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.

The Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.

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

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation order to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.

Share

Updated at 09.15 EST

Clea Skopeliti

Los Angeles officials expect the death toll from the wildfires in the county to continue to rise, as workers comb through incinerated neighbourhoods with cadaver dogs.

Nearly 180,000 people have been evacuated and at least 10 have been killed in the fast-moving fires that have torn through the county, propelled by hurricane-force winds. The burnt areas now cover more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres), with about 10,000 structures charred by the two biggest blazes. Meanwhile, Santa Monica declared a curfew because of looting, officials said, with at least 20 arrests made.

After briefly easing on Thursday, the gales were expected to intensify again in the evening and into Friday. Even as officials expressed cautious optimism that the Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills was now under control, a new fire, the Kenneth fire, erupted on Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando valley, triggering evacuation orders.

Share

Firefighters are hoping for a break from fierce winds that have fueled massive blazes in the Los Angeles area.

Fire danger warnings are in place through Friday afternoon, but winds have died down from earlier in the week, when hurricane-force gusts blew embers that ignited hillsides. That could give firefighters a chance to make more progress, but meteorologist Rich Thompson warned the break could be short-lived, reports the Associated Press (AP).

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

Share

Here are some more images coming in from California:

Share

As wildfires devastate LA, Republicans point fingers at Democratic California leaders

If ever a situation cried out for elevating national unity over political divisions, the dystopian scenes emanating from the Los Angeles fires surely qualified.

The catastrophe that has left at least five people dead, more than 1,000 structures destroyed and forced thousands fleeing their homes would – in an ideal and less polarised America – spur humane empathy and solidarity in place of tribal partisanship.

Instead, amid nightmarish images eerily evocative of Cormac McCarthy’s dark post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, a political firestorm has sparked from Donald Trump and his supporters that seems as scorched earth in its characteristics as the blazes ravaging neighborhoods across Los Angeles.

Far from calling a temporary truce, the president-elect and his Maga (make America great again) acolytes have used the fires to attack the Democratic political ruling establishment in Los Angeles and California – possibly foretelling power struggles ahead over a range of issues after Trump assumes office this month.

The attacks have used disinformation, wild claims, conspiracy theories and extremist culture war tropes. But absent from their critique has been any acknowledgement that climate change has played any role in igniting the catastrophic fires – despite a consensus among experts that they have been caused by exceptional environmental conditions, including near hurricane-strength winds, low rainfall and unseasonably high temperatures.

The Republicans have instead blamed Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, for supposedly failing to ensure enough water was available to douse the infernos – along with his fellow Democrat, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, who drew flak for not returning from a pre-planned trip to Ghana until after the fires began. Also targeted has been the head of LA’s fire department, Kristin Crowley, derided as a “DEI (diversity, equity and inclusiveness) hire” in reference to her being the first openly gay woman to hold the position.

Share

Here is the latest Weather Tracker analysis, by Brendan Wood at Metdesk:

The rapid spread of one of the most destructive wildfires in the history of Los Angeles is believed to have been fuelled by strong Santa Ana winds and months of drought.

Santa Ana winds occur between September and May, when high pressure over the deserts of the south-western US and low pressure off the coast of California allow winds to flow east to west, through mountain passages in California towards the ocean. This week, a strong Santa Ana event brought gusts of 100mph (160km/h) to Los Angeles.

With wildfires raging in the path of Santa Ana winds, burning debris and embers were picked up and deposited downwind, allowing flames to spread across wide areas with ease. The Palisades fire, the largest of many burning simultaneously in the region, ballooned from 312 hectares to 6,900 on Tuesday.

The gusty nature of Santa Ana winds has made the fires particularly challenging to contain owing to their unpredictability. Southern California has not received much rain in eight months, causing vegetation to become dry and giving more fuel to the fires.

The winds have eased in recent days, allowing for the deployment of aerial support for fire crews on the ground, but conditions will remain blustery with gusts of up to 70mph possible in places. As a result, red flag warnings remain in effect until Friday, when calmer conditions are expected. Widespread smoke has led to very poor air quality across the region.

Share

Paris Hilton has shared footage, which can be seen in the below video, of her beachfront home in Malibu after watching it burn down on live TV.

Share

US property and casualty insurance stocks fell in premarket trading on Friday after wildfires in Los Angeles killed at least 10 people and destroyed nearly 10,000 structures, with five fires burning into a third night, reports Reuters.

The Palisades fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the Eaton fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history.

Insurers are expected to face catastrophe-related claims worth billions of dollars from the disaster, which analysts estimate will be the costliest ever in California.

“We expect insured losses to run well into the billions of dollars, given the high value of homes and businesses in the affected areas, and to cause large losses for P&C insurers with significant homeowners and commercial property market share in Los Angeles,” Moody’s Ratings said in a note seen by Reuters.

Analysts at Morningstar DBRS pegged insured losses in excess of $8bn, based on preliminary estimates. JP Morgan expects the losses to reach as high as $10bn. Sector bellwether Travelers fell 4% before the bell. Mercury General slumped 32%, while Allstate, Chubb and AIG dropped between 4% and 6%, reports Reuters.

European insurers also traded lower with Beazley, Lancashire and Hiscox all down about 3%, the three biggest losers across UK-listed large and midcaps. .

The Pacific Palisades area is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the US, home to Hollywood A-listers and multimillion dollar mansions. Ahead of this week’s disaster, its insurance costs were among the most affordable in the country, according to a Reuters analysis. But that is likely to change after the scale of losses anticipated in the wildfires now ringing Los Angeles, as well as regulatory changes enacted late last year, four analysts told Reuters earlier this week.

Share

Updated at 07.39 EST

Share your experience

We would like to hear from people in the US about the impact the LA wildfires is having on them. How have you been affected and how are you coping?

Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security are most important. When recording or sharing your content with us, please put your welfare and the welfare of others first. Extreme weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks.

You can tell us the impact the wildfires are having on you by filling in the form at the link below, or by messaging us on WhatsApp on +447766780300.

Share

As Los Angeles firefighters battle ongoing blazes, prominent rightwing figures are spreading bigoted criticism of the response and lies about who’s to blame, including that the fire is raging because of diversity within the fire department.

The misinformation echoes the claims that plagued the North Carolina hurricane response. Both disasters led to righteous outrage that partisan actors seize upon to advance their political goals, muddying the already confusing information ecosystem that comes along with a fast-moving news event.

In what has become a common theme, rightwing media and commentary have said that diversity within the Los Angeles fire department is to blame for the devastation.

“Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley,” X account Libs of TikTok, known for spreading anti-LBGTQ+ rhetoric, posted. “She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority. Does this make you feel safer?” In another tweet, the same account, which has nearly 4 million followers, wrote: “DEI will get people k*lled. DEI must DIE.”

Much of the misinformation also includes claims of mismanagement by the LA mayor Karen Bass and the California governor Gavin Newsom.

The spread of rumors, misinformation and lies can hinder the ability of emergency responders to do their jobs and confuses residents who need accurate, up-to-date information to make choices to keep themselves safe. It also makes it more difficult for people to assess whether accountability is needed for their public officials when lies are commingled with valid criticisms.

False claims of federal disaster relief funds being diverted to migrants have also resurfaced. Criticism of environmental practices, like allegedly protecting fish over people or limiting prescribed burns have been elevated. Unrelated donations to Ukraine became a scapegoat. Donald Trump Jr, the president’s oldest son, intimated that donations the Los Angeles fire department sent to Ukraine in 2022 somehow were related to the response.

People on varying parts of the political spectrum, including Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong, have claimed the fire department’s budget saw big cuts – it didn’t, Politico notes.

Share