Firefighters continue to battle multiple wildfires across the Los Angeles area, but one in particular has become one of the largest natural disasters in LA history, according to the fire chief. The Palisades Fire has now consumed more than 17,000 acres.
Among this week’s wildfires in Southern California, the Palisades Fire has grown to be the largest in the area’s history, reaching all the way to the coast.
Photo: CAL Fire
5 min to read
Flames continue to char areas in and around Los Angeles as firefighters battle wildfires on multiple fronts, including the areas impacted by the more than 17,000-acre Palisades Fire, which has grown to be one of the most destructive natural disasters in LA’s history.
Chief Kristin M. Crowley, of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the number of structures damaged or destroyed by that fire alone is now in the thousands. There have been two other Palisades Fires in recent years. One in May 2021 burned 1,202 acres, and another in October 2019 impacted 42 acres.
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Crowley provided updates Thursday on wildfires within the City of Los Angeles, and Chief Anthony C. Marrone, of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, updated the status of the wildfires in the county.
The multiple wind-driven wildfires have caused evacuations across the LA area.
“I have to take a moment for all the right reasons to thank the residents of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas for heeding our instructions,” Crowley said.
The Palisades Fire
Crowley said the Palisades Fire started on Jan. 7 at 10:30 a.m. and by Thursday had grown to engulf more than 17,000 acres. Multiple departments, both fire and law enforcement, are at the scene. However, the chief said containment is 0%. Firefighters and air resources continue working to contain the fire.
“Damage assessments are ongoing at the Palisades Fire. However, preliminary reports estimate the damage or destroyed structures to be in the thousands,” Crowley explained. “It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.”
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The Hearst Fire
The Hearst Fire, according to Crowley, started on Jan. 7 and has grown to 855 acres. There is 0% containment, but efforts are ongoing.
“Firefighters held the fire within a planned containment area, and we have established a perimeter. Crews were able to get a handle on a few of the flare-ups over the night. We will continue to strengthen our containment lines and create a number of dozer lines to minimize the fire growth,” Crowley added.
The Woodley Fire
The Woodley Fire, which started Jan. 8, presents no current threats, according to Crowley.
She said it impacted 30 acres but now has been fully contained and is counted as a “knockdown.”
The Sunset Fire, in the Runyon Canyon area, started on the evening of Jan. 8 and has grown to slightly more than 40 acres. Crowley said the fire was cut off, and crews are working to put out spotfires within the perimeter to keep the wind from spreading any additional embers.
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“This fire was rapidly and aggressively attacked by using coordinated air and ground fire suppression efforts,” she explained.
The Sunswept Fire
The Sunswept Fire, in the Studio City area, involved two large structure fires, hillside homes, and winds caused the flames to extend into nearby brush.
“Our firefighters stopped the forward progress at just under one acre,” Crowley said.
The Eaton Fire
The Eaton Fire is estimated to be 10,600 acres, and growth has been significantly stopped, but Marrone said firefighters have 0% containment. Nearly 900 firefighters are assigned to the fire, and mutual aid resources are still arriving.
The chief said incident fatality information and reporting will be the responsibility of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
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The Lidia Fire
“The Lidia Fire that started yesterday in Acton has been 40% contained, and forward progress has been stopped. It is limited to 348 acres,” Marrone said.
He said additional resources, even from out of state, continue arriving to assist with firefighting in both the city and county.
“The number of resources assigned to this fire siege event has increased significantly, and we have a much better posture than we did on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Marrone explained.
The chief also added that the red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service is expected to continue into Friday for Los Angeles County and the majority of Ventura County.
Federal Disaster Assistance Now Available
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of California to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires and straight-line winds from Jan. 7, 2025, and continuing. Funding will be available to affected individuals in Los Angeles County.
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Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance.
Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance by registering online at https://www.disasterassistance.gov/, by calling 1-800-621- 3362 or by using the FEMA App. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service, or others, give FEMA the number for that service.
LA County Natural Disaster Risk Profile
FEMA’s National Risk Index provides an in-depth view of risks for each county in the U.S., including Los Angeles County, which is at the high end of the risk chart for wildfires.
One a scale of 0 to 100, LA County has a Risk Index Score of 99.9 related to wildfires and a risk value of more than $110 million. The expected annual loss (EAL) to wildfire, according to FEMA, is nearly $109 million.
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FEMA also looks at each county’s social vulnerability and its community resilience. For LA County, social vulnerability is classified as very high, while community resilience is categorized as very low.
Based on the National Risk Index score for LA County, the top five natural disaster threats typically are:
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