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Southern CA Fires- Extreme Santa Ana Winds


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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/live-blog/rcna186685
 

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California wildfires live updates: New blazes erupt as crews battle Palisades Fire

Powerful winds whip up a fire in the coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, forcing 30,000 residents to evacuate.

Jan. 7, 2025, 4:23 PM EST / Updated Jan. 7, 2025, 10:38 PM EST

What we know about the California wildfires

  • A dangerous windstorm fanned blazes in the Los Angeles area, including the Palisades Fire, while millions of people across Southern California are under a red flag warning.
  • No injuries or deaths have been reported from the Palisades blaze, which has burned more than 2,900 acres as of this evening. 
  • Nearly 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate.
  • The blaze has exploded because of a combination of dry conditions and powerful winds, which are likely to strengthen overnight. 
  • Another fire broke out tonight near Eaton Canyon, far from the Palisades and northeast of Pasadena. It was also fueled by high winds.

A bulldozer was used to ram vehicles out of the way after they were abandoned while residents sought to escape the fast-moving Palisades Fire, officials said.

About 30 vehicles were cleared at Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive, the LAFD said.

The vehicles needed to be moved to ensure access to the fire, which as of tonight had burned more than 1,200 acres, fire officials said.

No deaths or serious injuries in the fire have been reported, which officials at a news conference called a blessing. But structures have been destroyed, and video from the scene showed some homes burning.

 

Officials warn worst winds are yet to come 

 

The strong winds that have fueled the Palisades Fire are expected to get worse tonight and into tomorrow morning, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned.

“We are not out of danger,” Marrone said at a news conference. "The National Weather Service has predicted that the winds are going to pick up and get worse.”

“We’re going to have the most significant wind event between 10 p.m. this evening and 5 a.m.,” Marrone said.

The LAFD, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and CalFire are working to battle the Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 1,200 acres.

Marrone said anyone who lives in an area with brush should have a "wildfire action plan." 

 

More than 42,000 customers without power in Los Angeles area 

 

There were 42,032 homes and businesses without electricity in Los Angeles County tonight as the region has been battered by Santa Ana winds, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.

The utility Southern California Edison warned that the high winds, which are set to continue through tomorrow, could bring down trees and power lines.

The winds have caused the Palisades Fire to rapidly increase in size since it broke out around 10:30 a.m. A cause has not been determined.

 

New fire starts in hills above Pasadena

 

A new fire has started this evening in the hills above Pasadena.

The Close Fire, near the entrance to Eaton Canyon, is estimated to have consumed 10 acres, city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said tonight.

A Los Angeles County fire captain told NBC Los Angeles that the fire had quickly grown to 20 acres and that it had the potential to explode to 500 acres.

Derderian described the blaze as "spreading quickly."

The location — the foothills of Angeles National Forest, about 37 miles east-northeast of Pacific Palisades — could provide ample fuel for the blaze.

 

Air quailty an issue in Malibu, other parts of Los Angeles County

 

Air quality in parts of Los Angeles County will be unhealthy because of the Palisades Fire, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said.

The biggest impact will be in northwestern coastal Los Angeles County, including Malibu, which is near the fire, the county Public Health Department said.

“Predicting where ash or soot from a fire will travel, or how winds will impact air quality, is difficult, so it’s important for everyone to stay aware of the air quality in your area, make plans, and take action to protect your health and your family’s health,” Dr. Muntu Davis, health officer for Los Angeles County, said in a statement.

“Smoke and ash can harm everyone, even those who are healthy. However, people at higher risk include children, older adults, pregnant individuals, and those with heart or lung conditions or weakened immune systems,” Davis said.

 

Palisades Charter High School, community theater burn

 

As the Palisades Fire continued to spread, it claimed more structural victims, including buildings on the area's high school campus and the adjacent Theater Palisades.

NBC Los Angeles was on scene with live coverage as flames roared from multiple structures at Palisades Charter High School and seemed to all but destroy the theater.

Both are in the center of the community that's home to roughly 24,000 people, all of whom have been ordered to evacuate.

On its website today, the school said, "Due to the ongoing Palisades fires, PCHS is currently closed. Students and families are advised to avoid the area and adhere to all evacuation orders."

 

Fire jumps Pacific Coast Highway 

 

Reporting from Los Angeles

The Palisades Fire, which has exploded to nearly 3,000 acres tonight, has jumped Pacific Coast Highway. 

 

Fire grows to 2,921 acres, state fire agency says 

 

The Palisades Fire, which began as a brushfire this morning during high winds and extreme wildfire risk, has grown to more than 2,900 acres, the state fire agency said.

The fire was 2,921 acres at around 6:30 p.m. local time, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on its website about the incident.

Fire officials last gave the size of the fire at more than 1,200 acres at an afternoon news conference.

The fire was reported at around 10:30 a.m., and first fire crews found a 10-acre brushfire in winds of around 40 mph, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley has said.

 

Long night ahead for fire evacuees scrambling for news

 

Daryn Simons, a producer, rushed to her Pacific Palisades home from work this morning to grab her animals — Harper, a yellow lab, and Maeve, a cat — before she fled the fire. 

“If you were looking toward the ocean, on the left it was bright blue, and on the right it looked like an inferno,” Simons said. “I’ve never seen anything so scary."

Simons was in the process of downsizing; She had picked up keys to a new condominium yesterday.   

By this afternoon, she sat in an empty, echoing condominium unit alongside her daughter, scanning the web for snippets of new information. 

“We’re just sitting here looking at the fire map, just waiting to see if our house is going to make it,” Simons said. “My mom just got here. She’s bringing us blow-up mattresses. I ordered food.”  

 

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I’m very worried after seeing all of those cars abandoned in the middle of the road that you can’t get around.  I think I’m gonna be up tonight until he finally posts he is safe.

2 minutes ago, bolverk said:

SBBruin had to evacuate, but he got a photo posted from his driveway in the Winter Weather thread (last page) before bugging out.

Send him and his family all the good vibes you've got. 

IMG_3936.thumb.jpeg.8337a507c44a0a2ff4aadee63cca571f.jpeg

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Simple graphic but explains the Santa Ana wind phenomenon as much as one can in a single picture.

spacer.png

The pressure gradient gets extremely tight when you are dealing with a very strong digging trough/low pressure system offshore CA vs. arctic airmass/high pressure system in the Great Basin. That’s what is happening and causing this event to be so severe relative to other Santa Anas. 
 

Same digging trough will dig further and move east by Thursday to set up shop to our WNW in west TX/NM which will bring the rain/snow/ice to TX/OK/AR.

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