Fierce wildfires are raging in the Los Angeles area, fueled by the powerful Santa Ana winds, sending residents fleeing from burning homes through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke. Thousands of firefighters were battling at least three separate blazes on Wednesday, January 8, from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena inland.
Two people are known to have died, with a large number of people badly hurt, officials said.
Tens of thousands have been ordered to evacuate their homes, and firefighters are stretched extremely thin fighting blazes that remain entirely uncontrolled.
President Joe Biden had planned to travel from Los Angeles to Riverside County by plane on Tuesday, January 7, to announce the creation of two new national monuments. His trip was announced on January 3 and he was already in California when the fires broke out.
White House officials cancelled the air traffic restrictions necessary for his travel and noted that he stayed put in his hotel on Tuesday in order to minimize the impact on first responders and law enforcement.
People across Los Angeles were urged on Wednesday to conserve water, after hydrants ran dry. Firefighters battling the blazes struggled with supplies in the upmarket Pacific Palisades area of the city, utility managers said, blaming an unprecedented challenge to the city's reserves.
"We have three large water tanks, about a million gallons each," Los Angeles Department of Water and Power chief executive Janisse Quinones told reporters. "I need our customers to really conserve water, not just in the Palisades area, but the whole system, because the fire department needs the water to fight the fires. We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging."
Massive tanks supplying water to the area ran dry overnight as dozens of hoses were attached in an almost fruitless effort to save homes in a blaze that has leveled around 1,000 buildings.
Pasadena's synagogue is among those that have caught fire, its executive director said. Melissa Levy said staff evacuated on Tuesday night and the synagogue’s Torah scrolls were taken to the home of a community member.
She said it appears the synagogue caught fire and buildings have burned. “We are still assessing the situation and right now our primary focus is on our community members and their safety as many of them have also lost their homes,” Levy said in an email.
Officials have said about 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders. And more than 13,000 structures are under threat.
The evacuation orders affect areas including the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near the sea, areas north of Pasadena and part of the San Fernando Valley. Other areas are under evacuation warnings that say people who need additional time to evacuate should get moving.
California’s wildfire season typically begins in June or July and runs until the end of October, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. However, January wildfires are not unprecedented, occurring in 2022 and 2021. Recent data shows the season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change.
