Having destroyed perhaps hundreds of multimillion-dollar homes, the Pacific Palisades fire looked set to be one of the costliest blazes on record.

AccuWeather said it estimated up to $57 billion of losses.

Flames rise from a beachfront home along the road to Malibu, as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate. Source: Reuters

Devastating footage from the California wildfires, as animals get evacuated. 

Wildfires threatened to engulf parts of Hollywood on Thursday as a growing number of blazes raged across Los Angeles, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and claiming at least five lives.

This is absolutely heartbreaking 😢.
Our thoughts are with you at this very frightening time 🙏.#CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/hUUo7pBrUt

— PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) January 9, 2025

Up to 1,500 buildings have burned in fires that have broken in Los Angeles California, forcing over 1,00,000 people from their homes.

Thousands of acres (hectares) have burned, with around 1,500 buildings razed, and a large number of people have been hurt -- many because they did not heed warnings to leave, authorities have said.

Fire authorities in the area have ordered over 100,000 people to leave their homes.

They issue frequent exhortations to get out as soon as an order is posted, and speak often of their frustration with people who stay behind.

Fires have sprouted all over the Los Angeles area in little more than 24 hours, with the latest breaking out in the Hollywood Hills, mere yards (meters) from storied Hollywood Boulevard.

Vicious winds have flung embers up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers), sparking new spot fires faster than firefighters can quell them. That has combined with tinder dry countryside to create the perfect fire storm -- and a nightmare for firefighters who have also struggled with water supplies.

In the Pacific Palisades fire, hydrants stopped working after massive storage tanks ran dry.

David Stewart said he was not prepared to just surrender his neighborhood to the flames.

"The county turned off our water supply so we're out there with shovels throwing dirt on fires," he told AFP.

Firefighters have begun to make progress in containing some of the out of control blazes. The Hurst Fire, in the San Fernando Valley, is 10 percent contained and now 855 acres, the Angeles National Forest said in a statement.

Amid water shortage, the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water has warning residents of Pacific Palisades, which has been devastated by the Palisades fire, about unsafe water. 

The department asked people to use boil tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking because of low water pressure in the distribution system.

Santa Monica has reportedly declared a curfew from sunset to sunrise for the part of the city under a mandatory evacuation order because of the Palisades fire. 

According to New York Times report,  a proclamation signed by city manager David White said the curfew was necessary because of the risk of theft in areas under evacuation orders.

Maxar’s satellite caught wildfires in the Altadena area of Los Angeles, where nearly every building in the area was on fire.

#BREAKING : Maxar shortwave infrared satellite image of burning buildings in Altadena, California.#California #wildfire #wildfires pic.twitter.com/iELqkt6N6y

— Sujon Ahmed (@SAexploring) January 9, 2025

In what was an awkward "good news" announcement during a press briefing about wildfires causing massive devastation in Southern California, outgoing US President Joe Biden said he had become a great-grandfather today.

The Angeles National Forest is temporarily closed due to fires is areas including Eaton. Lidia and and Hurst. The order will remain in effective until January 15 midnight.

The Angeles National Forest is temporarily closed due to fires such as the #EatonFire, #LidiaFire, and #HurstFire and the potential for new fires. This order will remain in effect until midnight on 1/15/25. pic.twitter.com/757csVYKhy

— California Wildfire Tracking (@CaliFireTracker) January 9, 2025

South California is experiencing a very dry winter, which makes vegetation more flammable.

"Star Wars" star Mark Hamill told followers on Instagram that he had fled his Malibu home with his wife and pet dog, escaping down a road flanked by active fires.

Fellow Emmy-winning actor Billy Crystal said the Pacific Palisades house he and his wife lived in for 46 years burned down on Wednesday. "Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing," he said in a statement to People magazine. "Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love," he said.

Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis was also forced to evacuate, later writing on Instagram: "Our beloved neighborhood is gone. Our home is safe. So many others have lost everything."

As thousands flee their homes in California due to wildfires, US President-Elect Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Governor Gavin Newsom, saying "this is all his fault" and he must quit

US President Joe Biden announced the approval of Governor Gavin Newsom's request for a major disaster declaration and assured that the federal government would provide necessary assistance to affected communities.

Sharing a post on X, Biden wrote, "We're prepared to do anything and everything, as long as it takes, to contain the Southern California fires and help reconstruct. But we know it'll be a hell of a long way. The federal government is here to stay as long as you need us.

"In another post, he wrote, "I've approved Governor Newsom's request for a major disaster declaration and ordered Federal assistance to supplement response efforts in areas affected by wildfires, ensuring impacted communities and survivors have immediate access to funds and resources to begin their recovery.

Two men and a dog were trapped in their Pacific Palisades home as a wildfire engulfed the Los Angeles hillside.

The wildfires raging across Los Angeles County have forced makers to stop filming for the time being. As per The Hollywood Reporter, more than a dozen TV shows have paused filming, and permits for some locations have been withdrawn.
Among the shows stopping production are Max's Hacks, NBC's Happy's Place and Suits LA, Apple TV+'s Loot and Peacock's Ted, all from Universal Studio Group; CBS' After Midnight, NCIS, NCIS: Origins, The Neighborhood, Poppa's House (all produced by CBS Studios) and The Price Is Right (Fremantle); and ABC's Doctor Odyssey, Grey's Anatomy and Jimmy Kimmel Live, all from 20th Television, and The Rookie, produced by Lionsgate TV and 20th. The Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank closed Wednesday, meaning no filming several shows based there, including ABC's Abbott Elementary, The CW's All American and Max's The Pitt. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Victor Shaw, one of the five victims of the Los Angeles fire, died while trying to save his family home that his parents had for almost 55 years.

Wildfires threatened to engulf parts of Hollywood on Wednesday as a growing number of blazes raged across Los Angeles, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and claiming at least five lives.

Fast-moving flames fanned by powerful winds have levelled 1,500 structures, many of them multi-million dollar homes in a rolling tragedy that one forecast said could end up costing over $50 billion. 

Over 100,000 people have been told to flee at least five separate blazes, including in the heart of historic Hollywood, just a few hundred meters (yards) from the storied theaters of Hollywood Boulevard.

The scale and spread of the California wildfires have exhausted firefighting crews beyond their capacity. Retired firefighters have been called in to help with the dousing efforts. 

Firefighters from six other states were being rushed to California, while an additional 250 engine companies with 1,000 personnel were being moved from Northern California to Southern California, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told a press conference.

President Joe Biden officially approved a major disaster declaration in the state on Wednesday, as per a White House statement.

President-elect Donald Trump took to his social media platform on Wednesday to claim that the lack of water was the result of the state's environmental policies.
However, the fact is that much of Los Angeles' water comes from the Colorado River, and farming -- rather than residential use or firefighting -- takes the lion's share of all water that flows into Southern California.

Earlier, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power chief executive Janisse Quinones pleaded with people to save water after hydrants in Pacific Palisades ran dry.

US President-elect Donald Trump lashed out at Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, calling the fires "virtually apocalyptic" and pointing a finger at state rules protecting endangered species for limiting the amount of water that gets sent south from Northern California. He also called for the Democrat leader's resignation.
Mr Trump's close aide Elon Musk echoed the incoming President's sentiments and shared a screengrab of his Social Truth on X.

💯 https://t.co/1DLUkaVm2j

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2025

Next week's unveiling of the Oscar nominations was pushed back until January 19, to give Academy members affected by fires more time to cast their ballots this week.

Emmy-winning actor James Woods posted a video on X showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his Pacific Palisades home as he got ready to evacuate, and shortly afterwards said all the fire alarms were going off. 

 "I couldn't believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one," Woods said.

Our neighbor’s friend sent this video evacuating our area… pic.twitter.com/n8zLWgi3gR

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 8, 2025

Mandy Moore, the singer and "This Is Us" actress, told followers on Instagram she had fled with her children and pets from the path of a blaze that had left her Altadena neighborhood "leveled." 

"My sweet home. I am devastated and gutted for those of us who've lost so much. I'm absolutely numb," she wrote, in a caption to footage of the destruction.

Up to 1,500 buildings have burned in fires that have broken in Los Angeles California, forcing over 1,00,000 people from their homes.

Tesla boss Elon Musk showed the aftermath of the fire in one of the suburban areas in LA with cars, homes and trees completely charred.

A friend in LA just took this video pic.twitter.com/WJBWCHmCUs

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2025

South California is experiencing a very dry winter, which makes vegetation more flammable.

Raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles spread to the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, after other fires in the area killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit. More than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate as dry, hurricane-force winds hindered firefighting operations and spread the fires, which have burned parched terrain almost unimpeded since they began on Tuesday.

"This firestorm is the big one," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference after rushing back to Los Angeles upon cutting short an official trip to Ghana.

A new fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference, forcing more evacuations and raising to six the number of wildfires burning in Los Angeles County.