Logo

Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Southern California as wildfire rages Wednesday across the Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.

Wind gusts topping 100 miles per hour have caused several fires to grow from non-existent to out-of-control within a matter of minutes in some places.

At least five people are dead, and thousands of structures have been destroyed.

Los Angeles residents begin looking through the rubble of their burnt homes for surviving items: photos

By Elizabeth Karpen
Man wearing a mask retrieving his children's clothes from his fire-damaged property after the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles
Josh Lederer wears a mask to protect him from fumes as he retrieves his children's clothes from his fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Robert Lara looking through the remains of his home, destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California on January 9, 2025.
Robert Lara looks through his home that was destroyed after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Robert Lara surveying the ruins of his home destroyed by the California wildfires in Altadena on January 9, 2025
Robert Lara looks through his home that was destroyed after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Maya Bonfante and Bella Bonfante standing before the damaged Altadena Country Club due to wildfire in Los Angeles area, California
Maya Bonfante and Bella bonafante look at the damage to the Altadena Country Club, where they are employees, as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, U.S. January 8, 2025. REUTERS
Robert Lara holding his great grandmother's burned earring in front of his destroyed home after the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, 2025
Robert Lara holds one of his great grandmother's burned earrings at his home that was destroyed after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Robert Lara holding up his great grandmother's burned earring amidst the remains of his home destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California on January 9, 2025
Robert Lara holds up one of his great grandmother's burned earrings at his home that was destroyed after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Robert Lara and his stepfather searching for belongings in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on January 9, 2025
Robert Lara, left, looks for belongings along with his stepfather after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP

Sun rises on West Coast as third day of LA wildfires rages on: photos

By Elizabeth Karpen
Sunrise over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles following destruction from fire, with a burned-out house in the foreground
The sun rises after the Palisades Fire ravaged a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Damaged ATM at a Bank of America branch in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles due to the California wildfires in 2025
An ATM is damaged by the Palisades Fire at a Bank of America branch in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Firefighter/Paramedic Kevin Bebee from Gilory Fire Department walking away after extinguishing a residential fire in Palisades neighborhood, Los Angeles.
Gilroy Fire Department's Firefighter/Paramedic Kevin Bebee walks away after mopping residence fire overnight in Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
A car amidst a ravaged neighborhood due to the Palisades Fire under high winds in Los Angeles, captured on January 9, 2025.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. AP
Widespread devastation from the Palisades Fire, with burnt trees and buildings in the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 2025
A wider view of devastation from the Palisades Fire, on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles, California. Getty Images

Biden to speak to country about LA fires after Jimmy Carter's funeral

By Patrick Reilly

President Joe Biden will address the country about the wildfire situation in Los Angeles after President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington D.C.

“This morning, I was briefed on the latest impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires,” the president tweeted on Thursday morning.

“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,” he added.

On Wednesday, Biden visited Los Angeles where he met with Gov. Gavin Newsom and  issued a major disaster declaration for California which will make federal funds available to affected individuals in Los Angeles County.

“We’re prepared to do anything and everything as long as it takes to contain these fires and help reconstruct, make sure we get to normal,” Biden said at a Santa Monica fire station, according to CNN.

“It’s going to be a hell of a long way, it’s going to take time, but the federal government is here to stay as long as you need it and everything you need.”

Biden canceled his planned trip to Italy to deal with the disaster.

Evacuees from Sunset Fire can return home, fire officials say

By Patrick Reilly

Evacuation orders from the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles were lifted on Thursday morning, officials announced.

“At 7:30 a.m., the closed section of the Sunset Fire, area North of Franklin, will be OPEN and all evacuation orders LIFTED,” the Los Angeles Fire Department stated in an update.

Residents were asked to exercise caution while returning to their homes, as fire officials were still working in the area.

Thousands of residents were forced to flee due to the Sunset Fire, which sparked around 6 p.m. local time Wednesday and torched 43 acres — but most of that were lifted in an update from officials just after midnight, KTLA reported.

“Fortunately, the Sunset Fire is under control,” LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart told reporters Thursday morning.

LA Mayor Karen Bass, who was in Ghana when wildfires erupted, blasted Ted Cruz for Cancun vacation in 2021

By Patrick Reilly

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is catching heat for putting Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on blast for “abandoning” his constituents during Texas’ power crisis in 2021 while she raced home to California.

“Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis,” Bass tweeted in February 2021, when Cruz went on a family vacation to Mexico as winter storms left millions without electricity, causing hundreds of Texans to freeze to death.

“We need to build a movement to kick them all out,” Bass added.

Mayor Karen Bass receiving an Afrocentric jewelry piece featuring 'Gye nyame' within an African map from a woman, representing African culture and heritage
Karen Bass was in Ghana when the LA fires broke out. @_laglitzj/Instagram

The mayor has been catching heat for being 7,400 miles away in Africa to attend the inauguration of Ghana’s president as wildfires devoured Los Angeles

She returned to LA on Wednesday and said she was in “constant contact” with city officials while abroad.

Bass addressed her absence during the late afternoon press conference, claiming she did her best to return and help.

Senator Ted Cruz, wearing a mask and carrying luggage, walking to check in for his flight at Cancun International Airport
Ted Cruz raced off to Cancun to avoid a power outage in Texas. AP

“I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane, which facilitated our communications,” Bass said.

“So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight.”

All the celebrities affected by the deadly LA wildfires: Billy Crystal, Anthony Hopkins and more

By Eric Todisco

Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood are among the 30,000 (and counting) Los Angeles residents who have been forced to evacuate their homes due to the devastating wildfires in Southern California.

Map highlighting celebrity homes in California affected by wildfires on January 8, 2024, with homes of figures such as Mark Hamill, Eugene Levy, and Miley Cyrus
Map of celebrity homes near the California fires.

The crisis started with the Pacific Palisades Fire on Tuesday morning, followed by more fires that sparked in the neighboring areas including Eaton and Woodley.

Anthony Hopkins, Billy Crystal, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, and Adam Brody and Leighton Meester are among the stars who have lost their homes in the fires.

Here’s the full list of celebs impacted by the wildfires.

READ MORE

Celebrities turn on Dems, blast LA mayor for Palisades Fire response: ‘ruined our state’

By Elizabeth Karpen

Big Hollywood names have started to turn on Los Angeles’ Democratic leadership, including Mayor Karen Bass, over the botched response to the wildfires raging across the ritzy, celeb-filled Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar led the charge, criticizing the Democratic leadership on Instagram for failing to direct the tens of thousands of Southern California residents trying to flee as the fires burned uncontained Wednesday.

Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar criticized Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Instagram.

“City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping,” Gellar wrote, tagging Bass and the city of Los Angeles.

The Palisades Fire has been ravaging the celebrity-dotted neighborhood since Tuesday, and has burned a horrifying 17,234 acres (27 square miles) over the past 36 hours.

READ MORE

Water supply starting to 'stabilize' at Palisades Fire

By Patrick Reilly

Desperately needed water supplies are beginning to “stabilize” a day after firefighters battling the raging Palisades Fire in Los Angeles said the hydrants had run dry, LA fire officials said.

“It was a challenge early. No reports overnight of any issues with water (and) water pressure,” Jim Hudson of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told CNN Wednesday morning.

“We’ve worked around some mitigations for that, and the water system is starting to stabilize.”

Three million-gallon storage tanks in the area had been filled before the wildfires erupted — buy that was not enough to keep up with the “extreme demand” needed to douse the raging fire, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott.

Roughly 20% of the hydrants used to fight the Palisades Fire were emptied, city Department of Water and Power CEO Janisse Quiñones told reporters. Officials said mobile water tankers have been deployed to the front lines of the fire, which has exploded to more than 17,200 acres (27 square miles) and remains 0% contained.

Actor hides behind boulders with no escape as wildfire destroys Malibu mansion: 'It was hell'

By Patrick Reilly

Actor Sebastian Harrison hid behind rocks as his $2.4 million Malibu mansion was engulfed in flames when he was unable to flee due to car troubles.

“I stayed, even though everyone, you know, the police came and they said, ‘Evacuate,’ and everyone had left, I was the only one there,” Harrison, 59, told the Telegraph.

The B-movie star, who appeared in spaghetti Westerns and other foreign films over the decades, rushed back to the beachfront property Tuesday night as fast-spreading wildfires began devastating Los Angeles.

Sebastian Harrison facing the fiery scene at his beachfront estate in Malibu during a wildfire
Actor Sebastian Harrison hid behind rocks as his $2.4 million Malibu mansion was engulfed in flames when he was unable to flee due to car troubles. Instagram / @livia_pillmann

He said he helped get his 89-year-old father, who is also a former actor, before trying to protect the 3-acre property he purchased in 2010. Harrison watered the roof of the home with a hose and removed his outdoor furniture — but it was no help and the blaze was soon at his doorstep.

"I'm still hiding behind the boulders,” Harrison said in a video posted on social media, showing his home completely swallowed by flames.

He said he tried to drive away in his Mercedes but couldn’t get it to start.

“It was hell. It was inferno ... I really couldn’t see because of all the orange, breathing smoke and everything ... I fell on my rib, and then I just took cover behind the rocks, and there were sheets of embers just going over me,” he told the Telegraph.

Sebastian Harrison, former Spaghetti Western actor, standing defiantly in front of the fire approaching his Malibu home
“I stayed, even though everyone, you know, the police came and they said, ‘Evacuate,’ and everyone had left, I was the only one there,” Harrison, 59, told the Telegraph. Instagram / @livia_pillmann

He eventually found a working car and drove through the streets, filming the hellish landscape around him. Firefighters came to his rescue around 9 p.m. and, moments later, the car caught fire.

Harrison described his journey to safety as “treacherous.”

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy