Firefighters from Northern California and neighboring Arizona have been sent to Southern California as out-of-control fires rage on in Los Angeles County. 

Fires began Tuesday afternoon as high-speed winds, known as the Santa Ana winds, quickly spread flames from a small fire into Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles. As of Wednesday morning, two additional fires in the San Fernando Valley and the canyons above Altadena broke out overnight, and the Palisades fire spread to Malibu and Calabasas.

Due to the fire’s rapidly increasing presence and its potential to move into more densely populated areas of Los Angeles, crews from both Alameda County in Northern California and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management have been dispatched to assist the Los Angeles Fire Department. 

On January 8, 2025, Alameda County Firefighters are joining county area fire agency partners, including Oakland Fire (OFD), Hayward Fire (HFD), and Fremont Fire (FFD) as part of a @Cal_OES Strike Team headed to Southern California. #ALCOFIRE#ALCOFirefighters#Palisadesfire pic.twitter.com/1dUuojVmrD

— Alameda County Fire (@AlamedaCoFire) January 8, 2025

The CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO-TV confirmed Arizona’s team heading to California “comprises nine fire engines, two water tenders, and two task force leaders.”

Hours into the fires, the LAFD began calling for off-duty firefighters to report to work. Overnight, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said more than 1,400 firefighting personnel and other prepositioned tools were headed to Los Angeles. 

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None of the three fires have been contained. More than 80,000 people are under a mandatory evacuation order, and more than 300,000 California residents remain without power. 

Los Angeles is the state’s most populous county. No deaths have been reported.