By Rollo Ross and Jackie Luna, Reuters
Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on 8 January 2025. Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP
A terrifying wave of wildfires squeezing Los Angeles on multiple fronts pushed closer to the symbolic heart of the US film industry after a new blaze ignited in the hills overlooking Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame.
The crescent of flames squeezing Los Angeles - including a huge fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city's western flank and a conflagration in the east near Pasadena - was so expansive that it was visible from space as a huge pincer.
More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as dry, hurricane-force winds spread flames across parched ground that has seen no rain for months. At least five people have died since the fires erupted on Wednesday.
The homes of movie stars and celebrities were among those consumed by flames, which tore through some of the world's most lavish real estate, and in the case of the Hollywood Hills fire, above showbiz landmarks instantly recognizable around the world.
"This firestorm is the big one," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference after rushing back to the city, cutting short an official trip to Ghana.
At least six separate wildfires were burning in Los Angeles County on Friday morning. Three of them were listed as "0 percent controlled," including the Palisades fire in the west, the Eaton Fire in the east and the smaller Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills.
Red Flag warnings from the National Weather Service for Los Angeles and Ventura counties were extended through 6 pm Friday local time (Saturday 3pm NZT) due to extremely low humidity and strong winds.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Captain Adam VanGerpen told "CBS Mornings" that erratic winds were a concern, with gusts blowing embers.
Water shortages caused some hydrants to run dry in upscale Pacific Palisades, wedged between Malibu and Santa Monica, officials said. VanGerpen said firefighters were doing what they could to save lives and then focused on what they could do to save structures, whether there was water in the hydrant or water had to be shuttled in.
"We have to be prepared for anything," he said.
The LA Fire Department overnight lifted most of an evacuation order that was issued due to the Sunset Fire raging just above Hollywood Boulevard. That 43-acre fire was 0 percent contained as of Friday morning.
On the west side of Los Angeles, the Palisades fire consumed 6974 hectares and hundreds of structures in the hills, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.
"We are heartbroken of course, but with the love of children and friends we will get through this," said film star Billy Crystal and his wife Janice, announcing the Pacific Palisades home where they had lived since 1979 had been destroyed.
Media personality Paris Hilton said she was "heartbroken beyond words" after watching her beachfront house in Malibu "burn to the ground on live TV."
Actor James Woods recounted fleeing in the face of the flames: "One day you're swimming in the pool, and the next day it's all gone," he said in a TV interview. He wept as he described a niece who "came out with her little Yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house."
Some residents ventured back to areas the fire had already swept through, where brick chimneys were left looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles. The remnants of a tattered and scorched American flag flapped from a pole.
"I had just come from my family home where my mother lives that was burned to a crisp ... And then I came up to my home and - same thing. It's completely dust," said Oliver Allnatt, 36, wearing ski goggles and a filtered face mask as he took pictures of the ruins. "Basically just a chimney stack and a pile of ash. I mean, it's something out of a movie."
Thousands of Angelenos fleeing the flames sought refuge in temporary shelters. Foad Farid found refuge in the gym of the Westwood Recreation Centre with nothing but his car and his phone. Neighbours dropped off blankets, clothing, water, pizza and pet food.
Jeff Harris arrived towing his Feisty Fish Poke food truck and began serving meals. "I'm just here to help," he said.
Kevin Williams, at an evacuation centre in Pasadena, said he knew it was time to run when gas canisters at his neighbours' homes began exploding under the heat.
"The wind whipped up, the flames were up about 30 or 40 feet high, and you hear 'pop, pop, pop.' It sounded like a war zone."
Smouldering ruins
Aerial video by KTLA television showed block after block of smouldering homes in Pacific Palisades, the smoky grid occasionally punctuated by the orange blaze of another home still on fire.
To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire claimed another 4289 hectares, another 1000 structures, and killed at least five people, officials said.
"We're facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can't be stated strong enough," Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a press conference.
The scale and spread of the blazes stretched exhausted firefighting crews beyond their capacity.
Firefighters from six other US states were being rushed to California, while an additional 250 engine companies with 1000 personnel were being moved from Northern California to Southern California, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told a press conference.
"We pushed the system to the extreme. We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems," Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told reporters.
The fires struck at an especially vulnerable time for Southern California, which has not seen significant rainfall for months. Then came the powerful Santa Ana winds, bringing dry desert air from the east toward the coastal mountains, fanning wildfires while blowing over the hilltops and down through the canyons.
- Reuters
