Over 1000 Structures Destroyed As CA Wildfires Rage

January 8, 2025 Climate Change, Disaster

At least two people are dead and many more injured as several fires broke out across Southern California amid historically dry and windy conditions. Tens of thousands were evacuated as more than 15,000 acres burned in the Palisades Fire. At least 1,000 structures are estimated to have been destroyed in the fire.

Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire — which broke out miles away from the Palisades Fire, in Altadena — has grown to more than 10,000 acres with 0% containment. Another blaze, the Hurst Fire, has also erupted and spread northeast of San Fernando, burning at least 700 acres. And in Sepulveda Basin, the Woodley Fire has burned 30 acres.

CBS News reports:

Nearly 400,000 customers were without power in California as of mid-morning Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us. That includes 260,000 without power in Los Angeles County amid the fires. Tens of thousands of customers in neighboring counties were also out of power.

“Under current conditions, customers experiencing outages should expect crews to respond between 24-48 hours from the time the outages are reported,” the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said on its website, alongside an outage map. “Restoration of outages may take longer.”

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports:

Daylight brought the extent of the devastation into clear focus as entire neighborhoods and commercial centers were leveled in this affluent coastal community.

With 1,000 structures destroyed, the Palisades Fire is already far more destructive than the second-most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, the Associated Press reported. The last most destructive fire was the Sayre Fire in November 2008, which destroyed 604 structures in Sylmar.

Evacuations were ordered for the entire Pacific Palisades area down to the Pacific Ocean. The evacuations, which also included warnings for Santa Monica and Calabasas areas, impacted tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

Videos below are live.

This is what’s left of the Pacific Palisades. The mall survived. Most everything else is gone. Homes, apartment complexes… businesses. pic.twitter.com/Vfz721V48J

— Jonathan Vigliotti (@JonVigliotti) January 8, 2025