At least two civilians died and many more were injured in the fierce, wind-whipped wildfires that exploded overnight and were still burning out of control on both sides of Los Angeles County on Wednesday.
LA County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone announced the fatalities as a press conference where he said the exact circumstances of the deaths were not yet known but that the victims were civilians. He said they perished in the fast-moving Eaton Fire that sparked around 6:30 pm Tuesday evening in the Altadena and Pasadena areas of northeastern LA County and grew to about 1,000 acres by midnight before doubling in size to more than 2,000 acres by sunrise.
“The fire continues to grow with zero percent containment,” Marrone said, adding that an estimated 100 structures were destroyed in that blaze.
He said the devastating Palisades Fire also was still burning out of control with no containment. That fire sparked around 10:30 am Tuesday in an area of the Santa Monica Mountains near the Pacific Ocean, just south of Malibu. The fires have been fueled by drought-stricken vegetation and nearly hurricane-force winds of up to 100 mph. Marrone confirmed the damage in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood and surrounding areas was devastating. He said a thousand structures including homes and businesses were destroyed. There were no immediate reported fatalities, but that there were “a high number significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate.”
Two larger fires also were burning with no containment Wednesday. The Hurst Fire erupted around 10:10 pm Tuesday not far from the 5 Freeway in the Sylmar area north of Burbank, in the footprint of the historic Saddleridge Fire that burned the area in 2019. It grew to 500 acres in a matter of hours. The Woodley Fire in the Sepulveda Basin near the intersection of the 405 and 101 freeways started around 6:15 am Wednesday and was burning about 30 acres. Tens of thousands of residents were under evacuation orders around the county.
Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the fires were “intense” but that the powerful winds had grounded water-dropping aircraft overnight. She said the flights would resume when weather allowed.
“Together, these fires are stretching the capacity of emergency services to their maximum limits,” Crowley said, adding that “several” firefighters were among those injured in the Palisades Fire. “We are absolutely not out of danger yet with the strong winds that continue to push through the city and county today.”
LA County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said that as he was approaching the podium to speak Wednesday, he was receiving messages about employees who had lost their homes. He said the Altadena sheriff's station was partially on fire at one point.
“This is a tragic time in our history here in Los Angeles, but a time where we're really tested,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. “The winds were like something that I have never seen before.” He called conditions around the city “unprecedented.”
