Los Angeles Firefighters in ‘Race Against Time’ as Death Toll Rises
Neighborhood in San Fernando Valley becomes the latest in danger after flames there spread rapidly
Critical fire conditions looked set to continue Friday as flames raged across more than 35,000 acres in the Los Angeles area and 10 people were confirmed dead.
More than 10,000 structures had been destroyed and mandatory evacuation orders issued for more than 360,000 people as at least five infernos burned around the city.
The two largest fires, one in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and one near Pasadena, were largely uncontained early Friday, according to California’s fire authority, known as Cal Fire.
Dangerous conditions are likely to persist through Friday with strong winds reaching 40 miles an hour in some areas, forecasters said, subsiding slightly into the weekend.
Lidia Fire
Hurst Fire
Eaton Fire
5
210
Kenneth Fire
405
TOPANGA
STATE PARK
GRIFFITH
PARK
Pasadena
Sunset Fire
Malibu
Downtown
Palisades Fire
LOS ANGELES
8 miles
Palisades Fire
Pacific Palisades
1
Santa Monica
PACIFIC OCEAN
Malibu
2 miles
Note: As of Thursday 11:19 p.m. local time.
Source: Cal Fire
Emma Brown, Carl Churchill and Max Rust/WSJ
“We expect the winds to weaken tonight going into Saturday and that’s really what’s going to help alleviate the fire danger,” Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Friday.
“Unfortunately it will worsen again by Monday, so it really is a race against time for fire crews to get things under control before the strong, hot winds pick up again,” he said.
A brush fire that broke out in the Hollywood Hills overnight Wednesday was stamped out as authorities were finally able to conduct water drops. The so-called Sunset fire, which forced further evacuations, was fully contained late Thursday and residents were able to return to their homes.
With hundreds of thousands of people forced to leave their homes, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Friday that a number of arrests had been made related to looting. California National Guard units were on the ground to support local law enforcement.
A man was taken into custody over a possible arson near the West Hills neighborhood, where a new blaze broke out Thursday afternoon, according to the LAPD. That fire was still 0% contained as of Friday morning.
The overnight death count, reported by the county medical examiner’s office, proved a grim confirmation of predictions made by officials.
“The obvious question is, do you think it’s going to grow?” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a media briefing Thursday evening. “I am praying it doesn’t, but based on the devastation—it looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas—I’m not expecting good news.”
The devastating Palisades fire, which was first reported on Tuesday morning, had destroyed more than 5,000 buildings and wiped entire neighborhoods from the map. It was just 6% contained by early Friday. The nearly 20,000-acre blaze is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the city’s history.
The Eaton fire in the Pasadena area had razed more than 5,000 buildings, spanning more than 13,600 acres with 0% containment Friday.
The West Hills blaze, known as the Kenneth fire, started Thursday afternoon and quickly spread to nearly 1,000 acres, prompting authorities to issue new evacuation orders and warning it was likely to grow due to windy conditions.
Firefighters from as far as Canada have been called to provide support to the more than 7,500 personnel already on the ground trying to combat the blazes.
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the country’s second largest, were closed again Friday. More than 200,000 customers were without power early Friday across Southern California.
While strong winds are likely to continue into Friday and through the weekend, even a slight drop in speeds could give firefighters a foothold in their attempts to tame the fires.
The weather service said it didn’t forecast any rain in the region for the next seven days.
The Los Angeles wildfires could prove the costliest in U.S. history: One JPMorgan analyst estimated total economic losses at close to $50 billion. With the fires still gaining ground and the true extent of the damage unknown, the final tally of insurance losses is likely to vary markedly from initial estimates.
Forecasters warned of a significant risk of fires further south in the San Diego area over the coming days. “Conditions down there east of San Diego could be even worse than we’ve seen in Los Angeles,” Hurley, the NWS meteorologist, said. “It looks like really favorable conditions for wildfires.”
Write to Gareth Vipers at gareth.vipers@wsj.com
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10/01/2025
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