California fires live: 6m people under critical fire threat as dangerous winds expected; governor says conditioning aid ‘un-American’

Risk of ‘rapid fire spread’ as near hurricane-force winds forecast in some areas

Forecasters have warned of another “particularly dangerous weather situation” across northern Los Angeles where residents are braced for new wildfire evacuation orders.

Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to the north, faced “extreme fire risk” warnings through Wednesday, with officials warning of “significant risk of rapid fire spread” due to the Santa Ana winds – which have gusts of up to 75mph.

The “particularly dangerous weather situation” designation is used very rarely, and was designed by meteorologists to signal “the extreme of the extremes”. The winds were predicted to reach near hurricane-force in some areas.

This is the fourth time in recent months that Los Angeles has faced a “particularly dangerous weather situation”, and the three previous warnings all resulted in major wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I don’t want people to start thinking everything’s OK now. Everything’s not OK yet,” the Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, said in a Tuesday morning press conference. “It is still very dangerous for the next 24 hours.”

LA county sheriff, Robert Luna, speaks at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles, on Tuesday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the official death toll from last week’s fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is expected to rise.

Here is the latest on the evolving situation in southern California:

• As of Tuesday morning, 84,800 people had been warned they might be ordered to evacuate because of fire risk, while another 88,000 people remained under current evacuation orders.

• On Tuesday afternoon, officials said at least 25 people had died from the fires, but this number is expected to rise. At least two dozen people have been reported missing, 18 of them in the Eaton fire in north-east Los Angeles, and six around the Pacific Palisades.

• More than 12,000 structures had been destroyed. Estimates put the cost of damage at about $250bn, which could make it the costliest fire in American history.

• Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, and other officials – who have faced criticism over their initial response to the fires – expressed confidence that the region was ready to face the new threat with scores of additional firefighters brought in from around the US, as well as from Canada and Mexico. At a press conference, Bass described the level of destruction across parts of the city as the aftermath of a “dry hurricane”, and pledged that city officials would work hard to reduce the bureaucracy residents may face as they start to recover from the fires.

• More than 75,000 households, most of them in Los Angeles county, were without power on Tuesday morning, but Southern California Edison had warned nearly half a million customers on Monday that their power may be shut off temporarily because of the expected high winds on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• As of midday on Tuesday:

  • The Palisades fire, at 23,700 acres and 17% containment.

  • The Eaton fire, at 14,100 acres and 35% containment.

  • The Hurst fire, at nearly 800 acres and 97% containment.

  • The new Auto fire, which broke out on Monday night in Ventura, is now fully contained, and no evacuation orders remain in effect.

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Tom Perkins

In the year preceding the devastating Los Angeles county wildfires, big oil fiercely lobbied to kill a “polluter pay” bill that moved through the California senate and would have forced major fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate disasters.

Fossil-fuel industry lobbying in California spiked to record levels during the 2023-24 legislative session, and the polluter pay bill was among the most targeted pieces of legislation, a Guardian review of state lobby filings found.

The bill was included in about 76% of 74 filings last year from two top lobbying forces in the state – oil giant Chevron and the Western States Petroleum Association, the largest fossil-fuel trade group in California.

Chevron and Western States’ filings that included polluter pay totalled over $30m, although it is impossible to know spending levels for individual bills because lobbying laws do not require a breakdown. Others in the lobbying blitz included at least 34 of the world’s largest oil producers, industry trade groups, and a range of greenhouse gas-polluting companies such as Phillips 66 and Valero, records show.

The measure would have required the state’s largest carbon polluters to pay into a fund that would be used to prevent disasters or help cover cleanup efforts. The effort to thwart it leaves taxpayers for now shouldering much of the cost of catastrophes in part fueled by big oil’s pollution.

“The latest fire shows exactly how Californians are paying for climate destruction, not just with budget dollars, but with their lives, and it shows exactly why we need … to put the cost back on polluters” said Kassie Siegel, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, which has lobbied in support of the bill.

The legislation, called the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024, has new life in the wake of the Los Angeles catastrophe, its supporters say, but the industry is already mobilizing. On the day after the wildfires started, Western States launched an ad campaign implying such measures would force them to increase oil prices.

More than 6m people under critical fire threat in southern California

More than 6 million people are under a critical fire threat on Wednesday across several counties in southern California, reports CNN. This also includes cities outside Los Angeles county such as Anaheim, Riverside, San Bernardino and Oxnard.

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast north-east winds of 20-30mph, with gusts of 50mph possible. In its Wednesday national forecast chart, the NWS said:

Critical fire weather conditions will continue for coastal southern California through Wednesday due to moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds. Particularly dangerous situation red flag warnings remain in effect.

Much below average temperatures Wednesday from the midwest to the central Appalachians while a brief warm up moves into the central US.

Another surge of Arctic air will move over the central and eastern US beginning this weekend. Heavy lake effect snow will continue downwind of the Great Lakes with the heaviest forecast off Lakes Erie and Ontario into early Thursday.”

About 88,000 people remain displaced due to the LA fires, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

For those whose homes survived, there is frustration about not being able to return, while for others, there is nothing left.

“We all left with the clothes on our back,” Sonja Jackson told the Los Angeles Times as she waited in line for government help. “We thought we’d be able to come back in the morning. We didn’t think the fires were gonna do what they did.”

The scale of the disaster was still difficult for many to grasp, with Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, saying it was only after flying over it that she had started to appreciate the immensity of the damage.

An aerial view, taken on Monday, of fire trucks, utility, and other vehicles parked along the Pacific Coast Highway,near homes destroyed in the Palisades fire. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

“It’s one thing to see it on television, it’s another thing to see it from air. The massive, massive destruction is unimaginable until you actually see it,” she said.

AccuWeather increased its assessment of the total cost of the tragedy to between $250bn and $275bn, a figure that would make it one of the most costly in US history.

Federal authorities said on Tuesday they have launched a probe into the causes of the fires, but warned it could take time.

“We know everyone wants answers, and the community deserves answers. ATF will give you those answers, but it will be once we complete a thorough investigation,” said Jose Medina of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

In the windblown dust and ash advisory, issued on Tuesday by the Los Angeles county public health department, there are some precautions to reduce exposure listed.

They are, per the department’s website:

• Stay inside: Keep windows and doors closed. Use an air purifier or run your air conditioning system on recirculate to keep indoor air clean.

• Wear a mask: If you must go outside, wear an N95 or P100 mask to protect your lungs.

• Secure loose items: Tie down or bring in items like chairs, trash cans, and other outdoor belongings to prevent them from becoming hazards.

• Protect your eyes: If outside, wear goggles to shield your eyes from airborne ash and debris.

• Stay informed: Monitor updates from local news sources for the latest on weather conditions, air quality, and potential evacuation notices.

• Be prepared: Have a plan in place in case conditions worsen, including essential supplies and emergency contacts.

The wind blows ash through the hills in the Tarzana area during the Palisades fire in Los Angeles, California, on Monday. Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

LA county public health department warn gusty winds may whip up toxic ash and advise people to wear masks

Gusting winds were also whipping up toxic ash, with health officials urging everyone to wear a mask, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“Ash is not just dirt,” said Anish Mahajan of the Los Angeles county public health department. “It’s hazardous fine dust that can irritate or harm your respiratory system and other parts of your body where it lands.”

California governor, Gavin Newsom, on Tuesday ordered debris removal teams to be on standby, as emergency managers look ahead to possible winter rainstorms that could provoke mudslides.

Some Palisades locals have decided not to wait, working to remove scorched debris from roads and sidewalks themselves, reports AFP.

Contractor Chuck Hart and his crew were working on a construction site in his neighbourhood when the fire broke out. AFP reports that after they saved his mother’s house from encroaching flames, Hart said they began making rounds to clean debris from the streets.

“We just rock-and-rolled,” he said. “We’ve just been doing that non-stop ever since.”

“We’re going to do everything we can to get this place back up and running as quickly as possible.”

Fire-hit LA faces new peril as dangerous gusts forecast

Powerful winds forecast for Wednesday threatened to whip up massive fires still burning around Los Angeles, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

A week after blazes erupted and spread uncontained, forecasters predicted “particularly dangerous” Santa Ana winds would spike.

“Stay aware of your surroundings. Be ready to evacuate. Avoid anything that can spark a fire,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said, warning of gusts up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) an hour between 3am (11am GMT) and 3pm (11pm GMT) on Wednesday.

Part of Los Angeles county and much of neighboring Ventura county were in a “particularly dangerous situation,” according to the NWS, a designation that was in effect before last week’s deadly blazes.

“All the plants and vegetation is really dry and ready to burn so … fires can grow pretty fast,” meteorologist Ryan Kittell told AFP on Tuesday.

The Palisades and Eaton fires – both of which are still burning in places – could flare up, and new ignitions could quickly turn problematic, Kittell said.

Officials insisted they were poised for any renewed threats, particularly around the existing burn sites, after hydrants ran dry in the initial firefight.

“We have checked the water system in the Eaton fire area, and it is operational, meaning that we have water and we have pressure,” fire chief Anthony Marrone said.

The renewed danger comes with 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares) of the upmarket Pacific Palisades in ruins and 14,000 acres (5,700 hectares) of the community of Altadena badly charred.

In case you missed it, here is a piece on the “convoy of incredible people” saving animals from California’s infernal fires:

Preston Martin figured the retro blue Volkswagen van he slept in for a year during college was a goner, given that he had parked it in a Malibu neighbourhood just before the Palisades fire ripped through, reducing homes and cars to rubble and charred metal.

So the surfboard maker was stunned to find that the vehicle had survived. Not only that, a photo of the vibrant bus taken by an Associated Press photographer was circulating widely on television and online, giving viewers a measure of joy.

“There is magic in that van,” Martin, 24, said Tuesday in an interview with AP. “It makes no sense why this happened. It should have been toasted, but here we are.”

Martin bought the 1977 Volkswagen Type 2 somewhat on a whim sometime around his junior year studying mechanical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

‘Azul’ the Volkswagen van in Malibu, California, on 9 January 2025. Photograph: Mark J Terrill/AP

His mother, Tracey Martin, of Irvine, yelled at him for blowing his money, Martin said, but he told her he’d save on rent by fixing up the inside and living in it his senior year, which he did. She came to love the bus, and sewed curtains for the windows.

Last summer, he sold the van to his friend and business partner, Megan Krystle Weinraub, 29, who designs surf- and skateboards under the Vibrant Boards brand. Martin makes carbon fiber surfboards under Starlite.

On 5 January, the friends went surfing with the van, which Weinraub calls Azul, Spanish for “blue”. Afterward, Martin parked it on a flat spot up the hill from her apartment by the Getty Villa, as she was still learning to drive the manual transmission.

Two days later, the Palisades fire erupted, and Weinraub fled with her dog, Bodi, and some dog food in her primary car. She felt sad about Azul, she said, but felt it was minor compared with those who had lost homes or even loved ones.

On Thursday, a neighbor sent her a photo. In the background was the bus, still blue and white and not at all damaged.

LA mayor, Karen Bass, has shared a phone number for residents who have evacuated to get assistance in finding and retrieving pets in evacuation areas.

Posting on X, Bass wrote:

Pets are family.

The City is making help available to find and retrieve pets in evacuation areas.

Call (213) 270-8155 for assistance.”

California governor says 'conditioning aid is simply un-American' after house speaker comments

“Conditioning aid is simply un-American,” the California governor, Gavin Newsom, said in response to suggestions that additional aid might come with certain conditions.

House speake, Mike Johnson, has said he believes there should be conditions on disaster aid to California, citing “state and local leaders [who] were derelict in their duties”.

California governor, Gavin Newsom, surveys damage from the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades on 8 January. Photograph: Jeff Gritchen/AP

Asked by an MSNBC journalist what his reaction was to Johnson’s comments and those from other leaders in Washington DC that echo the sentiment, Newsom said:

Well if that’s leadership, I have a different definition. I imagine it would be universally felt here.

I’m not meeting Democrats, I’m not meeting Republicans, I’m not meeting Californians. I’m meeting American citizens, desperate [and] in need, and what they need is empathy, care, compassion [and] understanding. They need support, not rhetoric, not ‘strings attached’.

I mean, I met families who lost not only their home, but their business and their church, their sense of self, place [and] community.”

In the video of the interview with MSNBC, posted on Newsom’s X account, he added:

They [residents] had a Zoom the other night and everyone broke down crying because all they wanted to do is see the faces of one another. And yet, that’s the face of leadership in the United States of America? Conditioning aid to the American people in need? Politicising this tragic moment?

So, I’ll spare any more commentary on it, except to say I would encourage these people – they’re human beings, they’re parents, I respect that – to come out here visit, visit with these folks and let’s have a conversation after that.”

As a reminder, here is the status of the southern California fires, as of midday on Tuesday:

• The Palisades fire, at 23,700 acres and 17% containment.

• The Eaton fire, at 14,100 acres and 35% containment.

• The Hurst fire, at nearly 800 acres and 97% containment.

• The new Auto fire, which broke out on Monday night in Ventura, is now fully contained, and no evacuation orders remain in effect.

As fires continue to burn across Los Angeles, several utilities in areas most affected by the fires have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise. Toxic chemicals from fires can get into damaged drinking water systems, and even filtering or boiling won’t help, experts say.

The California governor, Gavin Newsom, announced on Tuesday that he had signed an executive order to “fast-track recovery efforts for students and families displaced by LA’s firestorms”, a move that may in part be a response to ongoing political frustration with slow school reopenings in parts of California during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re cutting red tape to help damaged and destroyed schools quickly set up temporary facilities, ensuring students can return to classrooms as soon as possible,” Newsom said.

School districts in Pasadena and Los Angeles reported that hundreds of teachers and staff had lost their homes in the fires, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Angelenos have responded to the destruction with an outpouring of support for the wildfire victims, and for the firefighters working around the clock to prevent the fires from moving further down into densely populated city neighbourhoods. Some informal donation centers have been overwhelmed with contributions, as restaurants and clothing boutiques across the city offer up free meals for first responders and free clothing for the people who have lost their homes.

Raphael Boyd

The celebrated hip-hop producer Madlib has confirmed the loss of his extensive record collection and much of his recording equipment along with his home in the wildfires that have swept across California and killed at least 25 people.

The influential musician, who has worked with some of the most prominent names in rap including Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and MF DOOM, is known for his sample-heavy production style. His record collection, amassed over 30 years, acted as the backbone of that work.

The collection is understood to have comprised thousands of rare vinyls, CDs and cassettes encompassing many musical genres, and included records he collected on his global travels. As well as creating and producing hip-hop, Madlib worked on experimental music including the Sound Ancestors collaboration with the electronic musician Four Tet, and founded the Madlib Invazion label.

Madlib in 2023. The collection of thousands of rare vinyls, CDs and cassettes acted as the backbone of his work. Photograph: Richard Bord/Getty Images

Some of his most frequent collaborators were creators of alternative hip-hop including Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli and J Dilla, and his work often included elements of world music and jazz. His best known collaborator is probably the late MF DOOM, with whom he used his archive and equipment to produce the critically acclaimed album Madvillainy in his LA studio.

News of the loss was met with consternation by fans online, while an online fundraiser, shared by fellow artists such as Flying Lotus and Freddie Gibbs, has been set up for Madlib – whose birth name is Otis Lee Jackson Jr – and his family.

On Tuesday afternoon, officials said at least 25 people had died from the southern California fires. But the death toll is likely to rise, according to Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna.

Here are some of the latest images that have come in on the newswires:

A grill stands in the ruins of a devastated home in Altadena, California, on Tuesday. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

People gather supplies and clothing for the victims of California's destructive fires at a Williamsburg restaurant, Viva Toro, in Brooklyn, New York. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

The Eaton fire has displaced hundreds of pets, forcing many residents to seek refuge for their animals at the Pasadena Humane Society in LA. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

A search and rescue member looks at residential damage from the Eaton fire, in Altadena, California. Photograph: Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images

LA police announced about 50 arrests, for looting, flying drones in fire zones, violating curfew and other crimes

Millions of southern Californians were on edge as a final round of dangerous fire weather was forecast for the region on Wednesday, reports the Associated Press (AP).

'A crisis that impacts the nation': LA mayor talks up recovery of city

Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, has cautioned residents that the emergency isn’t over yet, but she wants them to start thinking about recovery and rebuilding if possible.

“While we’re going through what I hope is the final hours of this emergency, it’s also time to begin to talk about our recovery,” she said.

You can listen to her comments in this video:

Risk of ‘rapid fire spread’ as near hurricane-force winds forecast in some areas

Forecasters have warned of another “particularly dangerous weather situation” across northern Los Angeles where residents are braced for new wildfire evacuation orders.

Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to the north, faced “extreme fire risk” warnings through Wednesday, with officials warning of “significant risk of rapid fire spread” due to the Santa Ana winds – which have gusts of up to 75mph.

The “particularly dangerous weather situation” designation is used very rarely, and was designed by meteorologists to signal “the extreme of the extremes”. The winds were predicted to reach near hurricane-force in some areas.

This is the fourth time in recent months that Los Angeles has faced a “particularly dangerous weather situation”, and the three previous warnings all resulted in major wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I don’t want people to start thinking everything’s OK now. Everything’s not OK yet,” the Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, said in a Tuesday morning press conference. “It is still very dangerous for the next 24 hours.”

LA county sheriff, Robert Luna, speaks at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles, on Tuesday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the official death toll from last week’s fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is expected to rise.

Here is the latest on the evolving situation in southern California:

• As of Tuesday morning, 84,800 people had been warned they might be ordered to evacuate because of fire risk, while another 88,000 people remained under current evacuation orders.

• On Tuesday afternoon, officials said at least 25 people had died from the fires, but this number is expected to rise. At least two dozen people have been reported missing, 18 of them in the Eaton fire in north-east Los Angeles, and six around the Pacific Palisades.

• More than 12,000 structures had been destroyed. Estimates put the cost of damage at about $250bn, which could make it the costliest fire in American history.

• Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, and other officials – who have faced criticism over their initial response to the fires – expressed confidence that the region was ready to face the new threat with scores of additional firefighters brought in from around the US, as well as from Canada and Mexico. At a press conference, Bass described the level of destruction across parts of the city as the aftermath of a “dry hurricane”, and pledged that city officials would work hard to reduce the bureaucracy residents may face as they start to recover from the fires.

• More than 75,000 households, most of them in Los Angeles county, were without power on Tuesday morning, but Southern California Edison had warned nearly half a million customers on Monday that their power may be shut off temporarily because of the expected high winds on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• As of midday on Tuesday:

  • The Palisades fire, at 23,700 acres and 17% containment.

  • The Eaton fire, at 14,100 acres and 35% containment.

  • The Hurst fire, at nearly 800 acres and 97% containment.

  • The new Auto fire, which broke out on Monday night in Ventura, is now fully contained, and no evacuation orders remain in effect.

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