Three wildfires surrounding Los Angeles are still uncontained and will likely be fueled by strong winds on Wednesday, authorities said, as tens of thousands of residents evacuated impacted areas.
Firefighters watch as the flames from the Palisades Fire burn a home in the Pacific Palisades on ... [+]
The Palisades Fire—named after the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood—started at about 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday and spread to 2,921 acres in Los Angeles County by 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A second fire near Pasadena, the Eaton Fire, has spread to 2,227 acres as of Wednesday morning after starting just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, while the Hurst Fire further north spread to 500 acres in just over six hours, according to Cal Fire.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency, warned of a “highly dangerous windstorm” expected on Wednesday that would “[create] extreme fire risk,” suggesting, “we’re not out of the woods.”
The National Weather Service also cautioned for warm temperatures, strong winds and low humidity—causing any fires to spread uncontrollably, the agency said—in Southern California throughout Wednesday.
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A firefighter works to extinguish a burning home as the Eaton Fire rips through Sierra Madre, ... [+]
A firefighter is silhouetted in front of a burning structure on Tuesday as the Palisades Fire sweeps ... [+]
Plumes of smoke are seen just a few miles north of the Santa Monica pier on Tuesday.
A brush fire burns near a neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades.
The Palisades Fire burns north of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire as it damages a property in the Pacific Palisades.
A brush fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades.
The Palisades Fire burns near homes amid a powerful windstorm on Tuesday in Pacific Palisades, ... [+]
A firefighter battles flames from the Palisades Fire on Wednesday morning.
Los Angeles County firefighters pull a hose in front of a burning home affected by the Eaton Fire ... [+]
335,531. That’s the estimated number of people without power in California as of around 9:30 a.m. EST Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 1,400 firefighting personnel have been deployed to combat the “unprecedented” fires, Newsom said.
The trio of wildfires in the Los Angeles area come as forecasters warned about weather conditions caused by La Niña, a climate phenomenon linked to drier conditions and drought in the southern U.S., likely causing recent dry weather in Los Angeles. The city last recorded more than one-tenth of an inch of rainfall in May, according to the Los Angeles Times, as the area experienced drought. Another fire in the Pacific Palisades came in 2021, burning more than 1,200 acres.