Los Angeles wildfires updates: Five killed as firestorms rage in California

Thank you for joining our live coverage of the wildfires in California.

You can read our longer piece about the wildfires here.

For an explainer on the wildfires and the ongoing evacuations across Los Angeles, read this.

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With at least seven wildfires raging around Los Angeles city and county, the California governor’s office has released an update on the resources devoted to fighting the blazes that have killed at least five people and forced more than 100,000 to flee for safety.

According to Gavin Newsom’s office:

• More than 7,500 personnel are taking part in the firefighting efforts.
• There are 1,162 fire engines deployed.
• A total of 31 helicopters and six water-tanker aircraft are taking part in the operation.
• There are 23 water tender support vehicles working to keep fire engines and firefighters supplied and 53 mechanical bulldozers participating.

9 more SFFD firefighters in 3 Type 6 pickup trucks just left to the Palisades Fire in Southern California. These trucks are smaller in size and more maneuverable in tighter spaces. They currently need all the resources they can get to relieve tired crews and SFFD is there to… pic.twitter.com/ol170bFtoU

— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) January 9, 2025

One of the five people confirmed to have died in the Los Angeles wildfires was killed when he refused to evacuate in order to try and protect his home, his sister said.

Victor Shaw, 66, refused to comply with pleas to evacuate by firefighters in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, his sister, Shari Shaw, told local US broadcaster KTLA.

“I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm that I had to save myself,” Shaw said.

“I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave,” she said.

Her brother’s body was later found on the driveway of his home with a garden hose still in his hand.

“It looked like he was trying to save the home that his parents had had for almost 55 years,” a friend told KTLA.

The exact number of houses and local landmarks destroyed as fires rage in California is not yet known, but the toll is expected to be heartbreakingly large.

Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reports from Pacific Palisades, California.

Fire-fighting helicopters and ground crews are working to contain the blaze quickly spreading in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, the county sheriff’s office said.

Helicopters are actively engaged in dousing the most intense flames on the southwestern side of the hills, and a perimeter is holding on the eastern side thanks to the work of fire crews on the ground, the sheriff’s office said.

🚨 Sunset Fire: Hollywood Hills 🚨

-The most intense fire activity is occurring on the southwestern side, where helicopters are actively engaged. On the eastern side, there are active flames within the interior of the fire, but the perimeter is holding well thanks to a fire… pic.twitter.com/93ZPgPbq74

— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) January 9, 2025

Here’s what you need to know:

• Five people are now confirmed dead in the wildfires sweeping the Los Angeles area, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has said.
• According to the state wildfire agency, Cal Fire, six fires are now burning in the Los Angeles area, after a new fire began in the Hollywood Hills and two earlier fires were contained.
• More than one million customers are without power in Southern California, according to the website poweroutage.us.
• Hospitals in the Los Angeles area are dealing with an influx of patients requiring treatment for smoke inhalation as the US National Weather Service (NWS) in Los Angeles said that “near surface smoke” will impact the Los Angeles Basin area through Thursday morning.
• US President Joe Biden has cancelled his scheduled trip to Italy to focus on tackling the wildfires in California, the White House said.

According to Cal Fire, there are now six fires burning around Los Angeles.

• Palisades Fire: West of Los Angeles, by the sea. It has burned about 24.7 square miles (63.9sq km).
• Eaton Fire: Altadena area, north of Pasadena. It has burned about 16.5 square miles (42.7sq km).
• Hurst Fire: In the San Fernando Valley. It has burned about 850 acres (343 hectares).
• Lidia Fire: It has burned about 348 acres (140 hectares).
• Sunset Fire: In the Hollywood Hills. It has burned about 50 acres (20 hectares).
• Scout Fire: in Riverside County, about 50 miles (80km) southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It has burned about 11 acres (4.5 hectares).

The Woodley Fire in the San Fernando Valley and the Olivas Fire in Ventura have both now been 100 percent contained.

Apart from the Lidia Fire, which is about 40 percent contained, all of the active fires are zero percent contained.

Here’s more information on the new Sunset Fire burning in the Hollywood Hills.

Although the fire is smaller than other fires burning in the area, Cal Fire said that it doubled in size within minutes to 20 acres on Wednesday.

The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west – all iconic addresses for people in the entertainment industry.

Within that area is the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars are held. Next week’s Oscar nominations announcement was already postponed by two days because of the fire, organisers said.

The fire burned just above Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame. It would need to cross the 101 Freeway to endanger the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory further up in the hills.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has announced that an emergency shelter is now open for people evacuating from the latest fire in LA’s Hollywood Hills, called the Sunset Fire.

Bass said that the Los Angeles Police Department is urgently closing roads and redirecting traffic in order to improve access for the fire department as it responds to the growing fire in the hills.

The fire is near an area densely populated with apartment buildings, condominiums and homes at the base of the hills, according to reports.

An emergency shelter is open in the city for residents evacuating from the #SunsetFire.

📍Pan Pacific Recreational Center: 7600 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

If you're in the evacuation zone, please heed the evacuation order immediately. pic.twitter.com/7cmw51c61x

— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) January 9, 2025

US President Joe Biden has cancelled his scheduled trip to Italy to focus on tackling the wildfires in California, the White House said.

Biden was scheduled to leave later today for Rome and the Vatican, the final overseas trip of his presidency.

“After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where earlier today he had met with police, fire and emergency personnel fighting the historic fires raging in the area and approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, President Biden made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

At least five people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes as wildfires rip through suburbs to the west of Los Angeles.

An estimated five major fires are burning and fire authorities say that fierce seasonal winds are accelerating the flames.

Listen to the full report:

US private forecaster AccuWeather estimates damage and economic loss from wildfires burning in California at more than $50bn.

“Should a large number of additional structures be burned in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.

AccuWeather’s estimates for total damage and economic loss from the 2023 Maui wildfires were between $13bn and $16bn.

California has been attempting to address increasing gaps in its insurance market due to growing risks of wildfires and climate change after its largest insurer, State Farm, announced it would no longer issue new home policies in the state.

With reinforcements arriving from neighbouring states, firefighters in California are grappling with dangerous conditions fuelled by winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (75mph).

Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reports from Pacific Palisades, California.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has issued a new evacuation order for a fire burning in Hollywood Hills West.

LAFD Alert- Hollywood Hills West Brush Fire – SUNSET FIRE EVACUATION ORDER 2350 N Solar Dr MAP: https://t.co/c6IdYyF1Wk FS41; DETAILS: https://t.co/gbQFfxFu5Q

— LAFD 🔥 (@LAFD) January 9, 2025

Dr Puneet Gupta, assistant medical director for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said hospitals in the Los Angeles area are dealing with an influx of patients requiring treatment for smoke inhalation, which can cause heart attacks and worsen asthma.

This comes on top of already crowded emergency departments and the possibility that some hospitals might need to be evacuated in fire-threatened areas, Gupta said, according to The Associated Press news agency.

“We have a number of hospitals threatened, and if they have to be evacuated, it could become a crisis,” said Gupta, who is also a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) in Los Angeles said that “near surface smoke” will impact the Los Angeles Basin area through Thursday morning.

Current satellite imagery shows smoke from the wildfires. The main smoke plume is missing the Channel Islands, but Catalina Island is likely seeing some smoke as well.  Smoke models indicate near surface smoke will continue to impact much of the LA Basin into Thur AM. pic.twitter.com/x2ASHQ6H9C

— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 9, 2025