A series of wildfires are searing through the Los Angeles area, forcing many to evacuate their homes.
Follow along here for the latest updates.
2:25 p.m. EST: Quebec water bombers in California to help
A pair of Quebec water bombers and their crews are in California helping fight the massive wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area.
A spokesperson for the provincial Transport Department said the two Quebec government planes have been actively involved in fighting the fires since Tuesday.
The two planes are sent to California each fall as part of an annual contract that has existed for more than 30 years.
Stephane Caron of Quebec’s forest fire protection agency, SOPFEU, said the planes are dispatched with their own pilots, co-pilots and technicians.
Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel posted a message of support on X to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying the province is ready to send additional firefighters to the state if they are needed.
“California is currently living through difficult times due to wildfires,” Bonnardel wrote. “The governor … can count on the government of Quebec and on SOPFEU to support him, if necessary, in this fight.”
The Canadian Press
2:10 p.m. EST: 400,000 customers without power
More than 400,000 customers are without power in California, according to third party website poweroutage.us, which tracks power outages across the United States.
1:50 p.m. EST: County officials urge residents to conserve water for firefighters
Municipal water systems are not designed to fight wildfires, said Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
“That’s why air support is so critical to the firefight. And unfortunately, wind and air visibility have prevented that support,” Pestrella said. County and city reservoirs are ready to be used to fight fires from the air once it becomes safe to fly, he said.
Officials are urging residents across the region to conserve water so there’s enough for firefighters to use.
1:24 p.m. EST: Canadian woman recounts telling kids’ friends to flee
“I watched my son’s high school burn down on live TV with him.”
Sitting in an Airbnb north of L.A., Canadian expat Carolyn Day, originally from Pierrefonds, Que., told CTV News she has bags packed by the door. She says she’s keeping an eye on the fire encroaching nearby.
She lives in Topanga Canyon, a large rural area west of L.A., with her husband and two sons. A hobbyist weather-watcher, she says she was looking at satellite imagery that seemed to favour conditions for high winds in her community, which she described as a “a one road in, one road out type place.”
“These sort of really intense winds that drive wildfire. I thought it was a good idea to leave ahead of time.”
They were on their way out of town when they saw the glow of wildfires growing behind them. That’s when they got the evacuation notice on their phones, followed by frantic calls from her kids’ friends.
“There were a lot of teenagers at home without parents,” she recounted. “They were scared. They didn’t know if they should wait for an adult … We were telling them to get on their skateboards grab a backpack and go.”
She says a lot of local landmarks – the lifeguard tower at their beach, their marriage venue – have been destroyed by fire.
And then there’s the school. She says the impact of the fire is weighing “heavy” on her kids.
“Their friends are safe. Their teachers are safe. This didn’t happen on a school day.”
A man walks his bike among the ruins left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Damian Dovarganes / AP Phot)
12:50 p.m. EST: Trump blames U.S. Gov. Newsom for the wildfires
The U.S. president-elect, in a post on Truth Social, his social media network on Wednesday, used a derisive nickname for Newsom and renewed old criticisms against the governor for resisting a plan to send more water to the state’s agricultural Central Valley because of concerns it would imperil endangered species.
Trump has sided with farmers over environmentalists in a long-running dispute over California’s scarce water resources, but it’s not clear how his plan could have mitigated the firestorm in the Los Angeles area.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California,” Trump said in his post Wednesday. “Now the ultimate price is being paid.”
From The Associated Press
12:33 p.m. EST: Water system pushed to ‘extreme’
Water supply cannot meet firefighters’ demands as they fight to contain the flames.
By 3 a.m. this morning, all three local water tanks in Pacific Palisades had been depleted, according to Janisse Quinones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
She says there is water in the supply pipe, but “it can’t get up the hill” because of extreme demands on the system.
“We are fighting a wildfire with urban water systems,” she said. “That is really challenging.”
She says her teams have redirected 20 water tanks from construction sites to firefighter teams. Some residents are under a boil water advisory.
“The water quality is low. We have a lot of ash in the system,” she said.
12:25 p.m. EST: 2 looters arrested
Two individuals were arrested this morning for looting empty homes, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s always sad when I have to say this, but part of our responsibility is to make sure no one loots or steals from our residents, our community members who are already being impacted,” Luna said.
He said looters will be “caught,” “arrested” and “prosecuted.”
“Don’t do that,” he warned.
The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope / AP Photo)
12:05 p.m. EST: California now faces year-round wildfire season, says expert
“I think it’s no surprise that we basically have a year-round fire season in California. However, such a destruction on this scale is not often seen in the month of January,” European Forest Institute senior fire management expert Lindon Pronto told Reuters.
He says compounding drought conditions, due to warmer and drier year-round temperatures, have given way to more forest fires in the state.
“The obvious impact of climate change in this situation is that the average number of days per year where the vegetation is very available for fire has doubled since the 1980s. So, the fire season has been growing longer and longer in California.”
11:35 a.m. EST: U.S. Vice President Harris’ home in Los Angeles is affected
A spokesman for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris says her neighborhood in Los Angeles was put under an evacuation order Tuesday night.
Ernesto Apreza said in a Wednesday post on the social platform X that no one was in the house at the time.
The Associated Press
11:20 a.m. EST: ‘Absolutely not out of danger yet’
All fires remain out of control.
“We are absolutely not out of danger yet,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley during a Tuesday morning news conference. At least two people have been reported dead as a result of the fires, though officials had few details to share on those fatalities.
She says her department is working to fight the fire while maintaining regular 911 services to the city. Officials have responded to over 3,000 calls since the fire broke out – double the typical amount.
Firefighters have also had to battle the blazes without the aid of airplane water drops. Aircraft in the area were grounded last night due to high winds, though official said they hope conditions will improve today.
Several schools were closed due to deteriorating air quality overnight.
The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope / The Associated Press)
10:50 a.m. Where are the fires currently burning?
Palisades fire: West of Los Angeles, by the sea. It has burned about 4.5 square miles (11.6 square kilometers).
Eaton fire: Altadena area, north of Pasadena. It has burned about 1.6 square miles (4 square kilometers).
Hurst fire: In the San Fernando Valley. It has burned about 500 acres (202 hectares).
Tyler fire: In Coachella, near Joshua Tree National Park. It has burned about 15 acres (6 hectares).
All four fires are currently at zero per cent containment.
A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope / The Associated Press)
10:30 a.m. EST: Eaton fire grows
Fire crews assigned to the Eaton fire burning in Pasadena are working to contain the blaze. Much of the city is under an evacuation order.
The fire rapidly grew to more than 3.13 square miles (8.11 square kilometers) overnight amid dangerous fire weather conditions caused by strong winds and low levels of relative humidity.
10 a.m. EST: Winter fires not unprecedented
California’s wildfire season typically begins in June or July and runs through October, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, but January wildfires are not unprecedented — there was one in 2022 and 10 in 2021, according CalFire.
Recent data show the season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change. That means rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, the association says.
The Associated Press
9:40 a.m. EST: ‘Persons trapped’
L.A. firefighters have responded to several calls for house fires with people trapped inside, according to online response tracker LA Fire Alerts.
The latest involves a home on the north side of L.A. “Deputies on scene of a house fire with persons trapped,” reads the post on X.
A rec centre in Westwood – a busy neighbourhood home to the sprawling UCLA campus, shops and offices – has been turned into an evacuation shelter.
A map published by the Los Angeles Fire Department shows active evacuation zones as of 9:44 a.m. EST.
9:35 a.m. EST: Canada updates travel advisory
Canada has updated its travel advisory to the United States, warning of blocked roads, heavy smoke, power outages and deteriorated air quality.
A life-threatening windstorm warning has been issued for Jan. 8 and 9 in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Firefighters are still battling the fire.
One lifelong Malibu resident tells CNN: “I’ve seen tons of fires. This is nothing. I was scared for my life. It’s terrifying.
9:10 a.m. EST: More than 30,000 people flee
A major blaze in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood – an upscale quarter home to several celebrities – and at least two others in the L.A. area has pushed the number of those seeking shelter above 30,000, Reuters reports.
Numerous buildings were destroyed and nearly 3,000 acres burned in the Pacific Palisades. Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate further through today. The governor has declared a state of emergency.
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope / The Associated Press)
8:50 a.m. EST: Evacuee recounts escaping fire
The Associated Press
Sheriece Wallace was unaware there was a fire burning around her in that area until her sister called at the moment a helicopter made a water drop over her house.
“I was like, ‘it’s raining,’” Wallace said. “She’s like, ‘No, it’s not raining. Your neighborhood is on fire. You need to get out.’”
“As soon as I opened my door, it was like right there,” she said. “The first thing I did was looked at the trees to see where the wind was blowing. Because it hit me. It blew me back.” She was able to leave.
8:30 a.m. EST: Ripping winds worsen blaze
Winds blowing overnight sped to 112 km/h by the morning. Some areas – mainly in the mountains and foothills – could see winds up to 160 km/h, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. Some of those areas haven’t seen rain in months.
The weather service warned: “This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen (since) 2011.”
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope / The Associated Press)
8 a.m. EST: Over 1,400 ‘boots on the ground’
Hundreds of additional fires have been dispatched to fight the fires.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X that the firefighters were heading south to “join 1,400+ boots already on the ground.”
“Thank you to our first responders quickly jumping into these firefights,” he wrote.
With files from The Associated Press, The Canadian Press and Reuters