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Firestorm Disaster in Los Angeles County -- 10s of 1000s Forced to Evacuate, Biden Unable to Leave [1]
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Date: 2025-01-07
This is almost unbelievable — Los Angeles is facing perhaps its most severe wildfire threat in its history as Santa Ana winds gusting up to 100 mph helped ignite and spread at least three four separate wildfires in the LA area today. President Biden, who had been scheduled to announce the creation of two new national monuments in California today, is now unable to leave LA due to the extreme winds. From Deadline:
The President of the United States has been forced to spend an unexpected night in Los Angeles due to the powerful winds and wildfires pounding the county. Originally set to depart LA around 2:15 p.m. PT this afternoon after designating two national monuments, Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will now try to fly out of town at 2 p.m. PT on Wednesday, according to the White House. As the already fierce winds gusts are picking up, a decision was made that it was “not advisable” to move the First Couple to Air Force 1 at LAX and attempt to take off into strong turbulence, I’m told. Also, having AF1 taking off would have increased the air restrictions in the region for presidential security – a move that could have hampered helicopters and other aircraft from working on fighting the fires before it gets too dark.
Governor Newsom has already declared a state of emergency (from KCAL):
Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for the Pacific Palisades after a massive wildfire erupted on Tuesday, quickly growing to engulf more than 2,900 acres and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. The fire was first reported at around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning and quickly grew to engulf hundreds of acres while fueled by one of the strongest Santa Ana wind events to hit Southern California in the last decade. By 6:30 p.m. Los Angeles Fire Department crews said that the blaze had engulfed more than 2,900 acres with room to continue its growth as the winds remained a threat through Thursday evening. Gov. Newsom was on hand in Los Angeles at a press conference with local officials as they discussed the severity of the fire, paired with the windstorm. "This is a highly dangerous windstorm that's creating extreme fire risk – and we're not out of the woods. We're already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes," Newsom said in a statement. "Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. If you're in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials."
And now this evening we have the Eaton Fire in the San Gabriel foothills forcing more evacuations in the Altadena/Pasadena area on the other side of Los Angeles County. From SFGate:
Two major fires are burning in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday night as gusting winds fuel the flames toward heavily populated neighborhoods. Here’s what to know: Palisades Fire The Palisades Fire started southeast of Palisades Drive on Tuesday morning. It’s ballooned up to nearly 3,000 acres in a matter of hours, consuming homes, school buildings and other structures in its path. Gusts of up to 60 mph are expected through Thursday, and “extreme fire behavior, including short and long-range spotting, continues to challenge firefighting efforts,” Cal Fire said. Eaton Fire With resources stretched thin already by the exploding Palisades Fire, firefighters got more bad news Tuesday evening when the Eaton Fire began in Altadena, the community tucked between the mountains and Pasadena. It started at approximately 6:30 p.m., and by 9 p.m. was already 400 acres. Dense residential neighborhoods are under evacuation warnings and orders. You can follow live updates on both fires with our live blog.
And now there is a third fire out in Sylmar according to the LA Times:
Evacuations ordered as Hurst fire burns in Sylmar The Los Angeles Fire Department issued mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday night for areas of Sylmar threatened by a new fire near where Interstate 5 and the 14 Freeway split. The Hurst fire was approximately 50 acres as of 10:10 p.m., according to a statement by Margaret Stewart, a spokeswoman for the LAFD. By 10:49 p.m. it was approximately 100 acres and had “jumped the freeway,” according to a post on the social media platform X by the U.S. Forest Service. The mandatory evacuation orders were “in place for North of the 210 Freeway from Roxford to the Interstate 5 / 14 Freeway split,” Stewart said in the 10:10 p.m. statement, which cited 15986 W. Yarnell St. in Sylmar as the associated address.
And now yet a fourth fire (south of the Eaton Fire) reported by the Sacramento Bee:
A new wildfire was reported today at 8:26 p.m. in Los Angeles County. Bert Fire has been burning on private land. At this time, there is no data on the containment status of the fire and the cause has yet to be determined. Read more at:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article298157128.html#storylink=cpy
Not much more info on this one yet, but it looks like it could pose a potential threat to the Huntington Library in San Marino, and appears to be just 2-3 miles from where I grew up. It’s going to be a very long and difficult night, to say the least.
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