Fires in California decimate Los Angeles area, leave apocalyptic scenes: Live Updates

The Palisades Fire was estimated to have destroyed about 5,316 structures, fire officials said Thursday.

Cal Fire announced the new figure in a statement following an aerial survey that was conducted Wednesday.

The number includes residential and commercial properties as well as RVs, sheds and other minor buildings, according to Cal Fire.

President Biden announced Thursday that, for the next six months, the federal government will pay for 100% of the disaster response costs from the wildfires.

Speaking from the White House during a briefing on the fires, the president said federal funding will cover things like removing debris, setting up temporary shelters, and paying first responders. Mr. Biden said he's surging all federal resources possible to Southern California, including 400 federal firefighters and 30 federal firefighting planes, among other assets. 

"I told the governor and local officials, spare no expense," Mr. Biden said, calling the damage "catastrophic."

Read more here.

None of the Los Angeles fires have reached the famed Hollywood sign, despite viral fabricated images and videos circulating on social media showing the historic landmark ablaze.

The Hollywood sign's official social media accounts confirmed that it "continues to stand tall" and that the images are fakes. One of the images contained a logo for X's generative AI program, Grok.

The Sunset Fire, which broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, is the closest blaze to the famous landmark, and has burned about 43 acres, according to Cal Fire.

The destruction in Los Angeles has been captured in before-and-after photos put together by CBS News Confirmed. The slider tools can be used to show more of either side of the images.

The full set of before-and-after photos can be found here.

Los Angeles officials have confirmed at least five deaths in the wildfires, but the actual death toll continues to be uncertain with nearly 180,000 residents still under evacuation orders.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he received preliminary information about the death toll Wednesday night, but he wasn't fully satisfied with the details when he reviewed them Thursday morning.

"And it's not the fault of our people. The people that are working under very difficult conditions are doing their best to do what they need to do," Luna said during a news conference. "At one point we'll be able to do a more thorough search of these impacted areas. Some of them look like a bomb was dropped in them."

The sheriff asked for patience from reporters on the number of total lives lost in the wildfires. 

"Right now, frankly, we don't know yet," he said.

Flames and smoke aren't the only threats to lives, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Adam VanGerpen told CBS Los Angeles as he urged people to follow evacuation orders.

"We have open gas lines. There's a lot of hazards that are in the debris," VanGerpen said. "We have people who've been riding their bicycles into there. We've had injuries from that. We still have firefighters trying to get in here and put fires out. So we don't want that to be hindered."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the Sunset Fire that ignited Wednesday has been fully contained.

In a post on social media, Bass thanked firefighters for their bravery and urged people returning home to be careful on the roads.

"If you are returning home, please drive SLOWLY and watch the road," Bass said. "Firefighters are still working in some damaged areas."

The game between the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed, the National Basketball Association announced.

The NBA said the game at Crypto.com Arena, located approximately 20 miles east of the ongoing Palisades fire, will be rescheduled at a later date.

"The entire NBA family sends its thoughts and support to the community of Los Angeles during this challenging time. We are grateful for the thousands of local firefighters and first responders who have demonstrated enormous bravery. Our prayers remain with those affected by the unimaginable devastation caused by the wildfires," it said in a statement to CBS News. 

A woman told CBS News Los Angeles reporter Amanda Starrantino that her Altadena home was gone, leaving herself, her husband and their two young children with just the clothes on their backs. She was trying to see her home and learn if anything inside had survived, but police have blocked access to the area, citing looters and dangerous conditions. 

"It's all burned down, everything, my kid's school, our community, our neighbor's houses," the woman said tearfully. "Everything is just gone." 

She said her family was having dinner when she spotted the flames. 

"I told my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old, I told them that we're having a fancy candlelight dinner, because the power went out, and then we looked outside and we saw a huge fire," she said. Leaving was "chaos," but she and her husband thought they'd be back the next day. 

"We didn't even pack anything. We have nothing. We left everything," including sentimental items like her late mother's belongings and photo albums, the woman said. They've been wearing the same clothes for the past two days while staying at a friend's house, and she said she's not sure what the future looks like. 

Her 3-year-old keeps asking when they'll go home, she said. 

"I'm trying to figure out how to tell my 3-year-old we don't have a home, we don't have a school," she said. "We don't know where to go, what to do next." 

Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles neighborhood that's been devastated by the Palisades Fire, is emblematic of the insurance nightmare increasingly facing homeowners residing in regions prone to climate disasters.

About 1,600 policies in Pacific Palisades were dropped by State Farm in July, California Department of Insurance spokesman Michael Soller said in an Thursday email to CBS MoneyWatch. An analysis of insurance data by CBS San Francisco last year found that State Farm also dropped more than 2,000 policies in two other Los Angeles Zip codes, which include the Brentwood, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Monte Nido neighborhoods.

In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, State Farm said, "Our No. 1 priority right now is the safety of our customers, agents and employees impacted by the fires and assisting our customers in the midst of this tragedy."

Read more here.

Climate change is contributing to weather conditions that make wildfire season longer and more intense.

"Fire weather" is created by hot, dry and windy conditions that make the Los Angeles landscape prime for extreme wildfires. Changing climate increases the number and the size of fires, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a nonprofit based in Arlington, Virginia.

The organization's projections show that for every 1°C/ 33.8°F of warming, the median burned area would increase by as much as 600% per year in some forests.

Retired Los Angeles County fire captain Bob Goldman told CBS News that the Los Angeles wildfires are going to "surpass anything we've seen in the past." 

More fires have occurred in the past 13 years than in the previous 20 years, and fire events are up to four-times the size and triple the frequency, according to a study funded by the National Science Foundation.

"It's just unbelievable seeing fire being blown sideways like a blowtorch," Goldman said, referring to the intense Santa Ana winds that contributed to the fires' spread.

Tracy Wholf contributed reporting.

Fabian Herrera, a lifeguard and firefighter, said he was on a beach in Malibu Tuesday when he saw a "plume of smoke with flames" that he later learned was the origin point for the Palisades Fire. Within an hour, the situation had quickly escalated, he said.

"As the wind started picking up and kind of raging in a northwesterly direction, the fire just kind of exploded," Herrera said. He said he watched the fire climb to the top of the Palisades neighborhood.

Now, thousands of homes have been destroyed by the fire, including houses on the opposite side of the Pacific Coast Highway. Surveying the damage in Malibu, Herrera noted that the roadway usually serves as a "large perimeter" for fires, but it "stood no chance to the flames being delivered by the wind," which blew embers across large distances.

"Now you have areas like this .... These beachfront homes, all destroyed or affected in some sense," said Herrera, whose own home has not been in the path of the fires.  

At least 20 people have been arrested for looting amid the Southern California wildfires, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Thursday.

Luna said he expects that figure to rise and emphasized he will order deputies to step up enforcement in evacuation zones, saying looting is "absolutely unacceptable."

"When we have any evacuation order, by law, if you remain in that area, you're guilty of a misdemeanor," Luna said during a news conference. "If you commit certain crimes, it could jump up to a felony."

L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman also warned looters, as well as those seeking to scam victims, to expect "maximal punishment." 

"The reason I want to send this warning now is that I don't want any mistake later, that somehow they thought it's not a huge deal," Hochman said. "These acts are despicable."

Officials are calling the Los Angeles fires historic.

"It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said Thursday.

Los Angeles fire captain Adam VanGerpen told "CBS Mornings" that the fire was historic and "unlike anything" he had seen in a quarter-century with the fire department.

President Biden said he will deliver remarks on the Los Angeles wildfires on Thursday.

He said the remarks will be about the federal response to the fires, which have forced tens of thousands of Los Angeles residents to evacuate and burned thousands of acres of land.

Mr. Biden said his comments would follow former President Jimmy Carter's funeral.

Shortly after the remarks were announced, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the U.S. military "stands ready to assist in any way it possibly can to help the people of California." He said "few requests have been made so far," but that the military will "stand ready to surge capability in."  

The Sunset Fire, which ignited in Hollywood Hills Wednesday and prompted a wave of Los Angeles evacuations, "was stopped" and evacuation orders were lifted, an official says.

Los Angeles Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley said at a news briefing Thursday morning that the fire was "rapidly and aggressively attacked" with coordinated air and ground fire suppression efforts. 

Crews were working to "put out spot fires within the perimeters to keep the wind from spreading any additional embers" which could spark further blazes, Crowley said.

The fire burned over 40 acres and threatened iconic landmarks.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called out two ways people can help city residents amid the devastating fires.

During a news briefing on Thursday morning, Bass said people can support the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as its employees battle multiple blazes. People can also donate to the California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund, Bass said, which helps rebuild homes and provide other aid in the aftermath of wildfires. 

"This, as we know, is a regional crisis, so working together is the only way we will get through this," Bass said. 

Bass has been criticized for being on a trip to Ghana as part of a U.S. presidential delegation when the fires broke out on Tuesday. She flew back to Los Angeles on Wednesday, and said Thursday that she has been in "constant contact" with state, local and federal partners. 

Photos show that parts of Malibu have been devastated by the Palisades Fire, with images capturing homes burned to the ground and palm trees charred in the coastal neighborhood. 

One image shows a burned-out car on the highway, with burned vegetation and buildings visible in the background. 

Another shows the spiral staircase of a home still standing, even as most of the structure was destroyed.

 A third photo shows a home on a dock over the ocean completely burned. 

The damage continued inland. A photo taken in Pacific Palisades shows the destruction of the Sunset Boulevard House, known as the Bridges House, which was built by architect Robert Bridges in the 1970s. 

CBS News' data team has created an updating graphic showing the containment rate of the various Los Angeles-area wildfires as firefighters battle the flames. 

Evacuation orders that were in effect for Hollywood Hills due to the Sunset Fire were all lifted as of 7:30 a.m. local time Thursday, fire officials said. 

Residents had been ordered or warned to evacuate after the Sunset Fire broke out on Wednesday evening. The fire burned about 43 acres of vegetation. 

Firefighters will continue working in the area, the Los Angeles Fire Department said, and residents are urged to use caution while returning home.  

Roughly 179,700 Los Angeles County residents were under evacuation orders as of early Thursday and about 199,600 residents were under evacuation warnings, the county's Office of Emergency Management said.

In the mandatory evacuation zones, 60,120 structures were at risk. Another 61,288 structures were at risk in areas affected by evacuation warnings, the office said.  

The largest wildfires in the Los Angeles area are burning so hot that their heat signatures can be detected by NASA satellites in space, CBS Los Angeles reported. 

Heat signature maps can be viewed online on NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management website. CBS Los Angeles' Matt Liu explained that the lighter colors on the map are older. As the colors get darker, they're more recent, with red blocks as the most recent. 

"You would never want to see a heat bloom over a populated area, and these heat signatures match almost exactly the populated areas that burned in Pacific Palisades," Liu said, talking about the damage wrought by the Palisades Fire. "You can really see how that heat affected the area, those flames destroyed homes." 

Heat signatures from the Eaton Fire showed a massive impact over Altadena and the surrounding areas. 

"It was putting up so much heat from the burning homes there that it was being detected by satellites in orbit," Liu said. 

Even as the NASA FIRMS site tracks the fires, the agency has had to close its Jet Propulsion Lab, which is within the mandatory evacuation zone for the Eaton Fire. It will remain closed until Monday, Jan. 13, NASA said online. Some space operations have been moved to a back-up operations site offsite, the agency said. 

A spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified, the city's school district, said three schools sustained "significant damage" because of the Palisades Fire. 

The schools are Palisades Charter High School, Palisades Charter Elementary School and Marquez Charter Elementary School. The Palisades Charter High School has about 2,900 students, according to state statistics, and the Palisades Charter Elementary School has about 400 students. The Marquez Charter Elementary School has about 300 students. 

"We are currently working with local authorities and emergency response teams to assess the situation and determine next steps," the spokesperson said. "Plans are being developed to minimize disruption to instruction." 

An interactive map created by CBS News' data team shows the active fires that are burning in the greater Los Angeles area. 

A number of iconic Hollywood landmarks were threatened by the Sunset Fire burning in Los Angeles' Runyon Canyon. 

The Hollywood Bowl was within the mandatory evacuation zone, as was the historic TCL Chinese Theater, maps show. Other landmarks inside the zone included the Academy Awards site the Dolby Theatre, The Magic Castle, the Capitol Records Building and the Hollywood Heritage Museum, which is in the building that was Golden Age director Cecil B. DeMille's former office. 

The Hollywood sign and nearby Griffith Observatory were near the mandatory evacuation zone, maps showed. 

Fire officials said they're continuing to experience some "erratic winds" and extreme conditions that have fueled the wildfires in the L.A. area.

"This is unlike anything that I've ever seen in my 25 years on the fire department," Capt. Adam Vangerpen with the Los Angeles Fire Department said on "CBS Mornings."

Amid issues with some fire hydrants, Vangerpen said they have to adapt and overcome the challenges.

"As we arrive on scene we expect there to be water in the hydrants," he said. "If there's not then we have to shuttle water sometimes. We have to use water tenders that can bring water to us or we have to do relays to get water there."

Vangerpen said their top priority is saving lives and helping people evacuate.

"Then we do as much good as we can for what resources we have on scene," he said. 

The Hollywood Hills fire, called the Sunset Fire, is a "very dangerous and explosive" brush fire, firefighters said. A map shows which parts of the residential neighborhood are under evacuation orders and warnings as of early Thursday morning.

People in red zones are required by law to leave, Cal Fire says. Yellow zones mean there is a potential threat to life and/or property in those areas, and that people who need additional time to evacuate — and those with pets and livestock — should leave immediately. 

The Sunset Fire burned 43 acre and was 0% contained as of Thursday morning, Cal Fire said.

The Hurst Fire, which erupted in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles late Tuesday night and has burned more than 800 acres, was 10% contained as of Thursday morning, Cal Fire said.

The Lidia Fire, which started late in the day Wednesday and grew to 348 acres as of late Wednesday night, was 40% contained, according to Cal Fire.

The Palisades, Eaton and Sunset Fires — which combined burned more than 27,000 acres so far — were 0% contained as of early Thursday, Cal Fire said.

Santa Monica has issued an emergency order due to the impact of the Palisades Fire.

City Manager David White signed the order late Wednesday. The city council has to call a special meeting within a week to certify it.

The order includes a sunset-to-sunrise curfew in areas of the city where mandatory evacuation orders are in effect.

Mayor Lana Negrete said the order is intended to aid firefighting efforts and prevent looting.

It "helps us ensure nobody enters impacted areas who is not supposed to, particularly those with nefarious intentions attempting to take advantage of the mandatory evacuations," she said.

Just weeks after having their lives threatened by the Franklin Fire in Malibu, one couple was forced to literally run for their lives when the Palisades Fire descended on their home. 

Alec Gellis and his girlfriend, who lives in Carbon Canyon, were among the thousands of people forced to evacuate on Tuesday when the fire erupted that consumed large swaths of the Pacific Palisades, destroying homes and well-known businesses.

Video on his phone shows embers and thick smoke flying across the screen as he runs for safety on Tuesday. 

"It was like a vortex of embers," he said. "There was no oxygen. I couldn't breath. I barely even made it to my car."

He narrowly escaped as he had just a month ago, when he fended off the flames from the Franklin Fire that were threatening his and his neighbors' houses.

"It's just not real. I mean, a month — less than a month, my lungs weren't even better from the last time. I'm still coughing from the last time," Gellis said. 

Both were able to get out unscathed, though Kelly Lauren lost a lifetime worth of her writing. 

"It's just hard," Lauren said, fighting back tears. "Everything I'd, like, written for my whole life. I journal and write a lot, it's just the little things you remember afterwards."

She says that despite the loss of her home and collection of writings, she's happy that she and Gellis got out when they did. 

"It reminds me of, like, the value of what is not tangible," she said.

- Dean Fioresi, Laurie Perez

The Academy Awards nomination voting process and announcements have been delayed by two days each because of the wildfires  ravaging large parts of Los Angeles County, according to a letter sent Wednesday to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that was obtained by CBS News. 

According to the letter from Academy CEO Bill Kramer, voting for nominations for the 97th edition of the Oscars was extended until Jan. 14. The nominations announcement show has been pushed back to Jan. 19. 

"We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California," the letter said. "So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you."

Academy officials also canceled a number of other events that were slated to take place in coming days. Among them was a series of talent "bake-offs" that included Los Angeles makeup visual effects and sound branch crews, as well as hairstylists and makeup artists. 

The Oscars are scheduled to be handed out on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The entire Angeles National Forest will be closed to the public through January 15 as the area is impacted by the Eaton Fire, according to a statement released by the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

It will be closed "for public safety and the protection of natural resources," said an alert posted on the USDA website.

Officials issued a number of actions that will also be prohibited in the ANF and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument areas.

State, federal and local officers and people working with organized rescue or firefighting forces are exempt from the order, as are people who have a Forest Service Permit that lets them use roads, trails or areas restricted by regulations.

Officials say violations of the prohibitions are punishable by a up to six months in prison or a fine of up to $5,000 for individuals and up to $10,000 for an organization.

A full list of the areas impacted by the week-long closure can be found here. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department issued an unsafe water alert for Pasadena residents in Eaton Fire evacuation areas. 

Deputies advised residents to refrain from drinking tap water if they live within areas impacted by evacuation orders or warnings.

"Failure to follow this advisory could result in illness," deputies said.

Authorities recommended that residents only drink bottled water until further notice and use it for baby formula and other mixed drinks as well as for washing dishes, making ice and food preparation.

The alert applies to animals, including pets and livestock. 

Residents should not try to treat the water. Authorities said boiling, freezing, filtering adding chlorine or other disinfectants will not make the water safe. 

Pasadena Water and Power will perform tests and announce when the water has been found to be safe again. The timeframe will depend on the Eaton Fire, wind and related conditions. 

The White House announced Wednesday night that President Biden has canceled an upcoming diplomatic trip to Italy because of the wildfires burning in Southern California. 

The decision came after Mr. Biden met with fire officials and California Gov. Gavin Newsom in L.A. earlier Wednesday and was briefed on the wildfire response. 

"After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where earlier today he had met with police, fire and emergency personnel fighting the historic fires raging in the area and approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, President Biden made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. 

Mr. Biden's trip was to include meetings with Pope Francis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. 

A beloved staple of Altadena for nearly three decades was burned to the ground on Wednesday, as the devastating Eaton Fire continues to ravage the area in northeast Los Angeles County.

The Bunny Museum, which touted nearly 50,000 bunny-related items and was marketed as "the world's only museum about everything bunny," was one of many buildings destroyed by the massive blaze that has consumed more than 10,000 acres and killed at least five people since igniting on Tuesday evening. 

Steve Lubanski, the co-owner of the museum, said that though he was able to save their pets and a few select items, the building and most of their collection were completely consumed by the flames. 

"It took my wife and I almost 40 years to put it together, but the way it is, so, it will still go on," Lubanski said.

Read more here. 

The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings' home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area.

The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play Wednesday night at the Kings' downtown arena. The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers are scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena on Thursday night.

The NFL is paying close attention to the potential impact of the fires on the two playoff-bound Los Angeles teams' preparations and the Rams' wild-card postseason game against the Minnesota Vikings scheduled for Monday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The NFL said Wednesday evening if the game had to be moved, it would take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the home of the Arizona Cardinals.

In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular-season game between the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, due to wildfires.

A new brush fire broke out in the Runyon Canyon area in the Hollywood Hills Wednesday evening, prompting a fresh set of evacuations for some residents. 

The Sunset Fire was first reported just after 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time near Wattles Park, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire has burned at least 20 acres of vegetation, officials said.

Multiple water-dropping helicopters could be seen dropping liquid near the spot of the fire while several ground crews with both LAFD and Los Angeles County Fire worked below.

"We cannot emphasize enough: We need people to adhere to our immediate evacuation," LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart said. "We are asking people to evacuate early in the warning zones because this has the potential to move quickly."

Read more here.

The Palisades Fire has threatened or destroyed landmarks many Americans have come to know from television and in the movies.

Flames crept dangerously close to the Getty Villa, located right off the Pacific Coast Highway and home to more than 40,000 priceless works of art.

The museum was spared by an extensive effort to clear brush.

Meanwhile, the normally stunning PCH that runs through Los Angeles and Malibu was unrecognizable as flames raged on both sides, destroying businesses and homes.

That included the Reel Inn, a Malibu seafood destination for celebrities, locals and visitors alike, now gone after nearly four decades.

Further east, CBS News cameras captured the flames that engulfed and destroyed Palisades Charter High School, which had served as the backdrop for movies like "Freaky Friday" and "Carrie."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences told members in a letter Wednesday that the nominations announcement for the upcoming Oscars has been delayed from Friday, Jan. 17, to Sunday, Jan. 19, because of the wildfires.

The academy also noted that in a corresponding move, it has extended the voting window deadline by two days, until the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Several academy events scheduled for this week have also been canceled or postponed, the group said.

"We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California," the academy told its members in the letter provided to CBS News. "So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you."

America's military has sent resources to Los Angeles to help contain the wildfires.

President Biden posted on social media that 10 Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets were sent to help firefighting efforts. The helicopters left from the naval base in San Diego, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told CBS News.

The California and Nevada Air National Guards activated their Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units and were expected to drop fire retardant on the Palisades and Eaton fires, according to Singh.

Wildfire smoke can be harmful to health, especially for children, the elderly, those who are pregnant and people with respiratory or cardiovascular issues.

Hazardous air quality can affect people's health in multiple ways, ranging from headaches and eye irritation to trouble breathing and even heart failure. Here's how to tell if you're in an area at risk.

The Air Quality Index, often referred to as AQI, is a federal measure of the amount of air pollution, reported on a six-color spectrum from green (good) to hazardous (maroon). There are five pollutants evaluated as part of the index: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Read more here.

As dawn broke in Pacific Palisades, a CBS News crew found a scene that can only be described as apocalyptic.

A once vibrant coastal community off the iconic Sunset Boulevard had been reduced to ash. The destruction to downtown Pacific Palisades was overwhelming. Aside from Palisades Village, a popular outdoor mall, most businesses in the area had been destroyed.

Fire officials reported at least 1,000 structures have been destroyed by the blaze. Many evacuees will return to homes that are lost and, even more important, a community that is completely gone.

At least 37,000 Palisades residents remain under mandatory evacuation orders. And for some, the orders came too late. As flames moved in, people panicked and abandoned their cars on gridlocked roads, thinking their only option was to flee on foot.

Firefighters battling the Palisades Fire have dealt with water shortages, a fire official told CBS News on Wednesday.

Along with erratic Santa Ana winds that have helped fuel the fire, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Erik Scott told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell on Wednesday that crews faced water pressure issues while battling the blaze.

"We did experience some challenges with water pressure while battling the Pacific Palisades fire, particularly yesterday," Scott said. "We worked real closely with the Department of Water and Power, and they did proactively fill all of the available water storage tanks. But the problem is, the water availability was impacted at the higher elevations. The pressure wasn't quite what we needed, and so it affected some fire hydrants."

When pressed whether water would be available when needed by a firefighter, Scott responded, "Yes."

"We're using maybe four times the normal amount of water because we're having to use so many hose lines to put out the fires," Scott added.

Three large water tanks designed to hold a million gallons each ran out, Janisse Quinones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told reporters. The first ran out at 4:45 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday, the second by 8:30 p.m. and the third was dry by 3 a.m. Wednesday.

"We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades, we pushed the system to the extreme," Quinones said.

Santa Ana winds coupled with dry conditions have created the perfect storm for the fires to spread.

The winds flow east to west through Southern California's mountains, according to the National Weather Service. They begin when winds from the desert flow westward toward an area of low pressure, near the coast, like L.A. 

The winds usually originate in the Great Basin of the United States between September and May. This area, east of California, is at a higher elevation than L.A., and as the air drops, its temperature rises, according to Dr. Robert Fovell, a UCLA professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

Read more here.

Timelapse satellite video taken from space shows the rapid expansion of the California wildfires, offering a harrowing look at how quickly the blazes exploded over the last two days.

Footage published by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere shows an aerial view of the Palisades Fire breaking out Tuesday morning along the coast in Los Angeles County.

Read more here.

At least five people have died in the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Wind gusts that fanned the Los Angeles fires peaked at over 75 mph Wednesday, according to CBS Los Angeles meteorologist Paul Deanno, but conditions are expected to soon improve.

Localized wind gusts carried embers "at near highway speeds" through the day, Deanno said, but they are expected to slow down as the sun sets on the West Coast. 

"The winds are going down. I know they ramped up quickly. They're not going to lower that quickly," the meteorologist said. Even though winds in some areas have slowed down to about 35 mph, they're still a challenge for firefighters and conditions are still ripe for new fires to start.

The Santa Ana windstorm was forecast to be the worst since 2011, but the wildfires couldn't have been predicted.

"In the middle of 70-80 mph wind, there's nothing that any human, or any plane, or any firefighter can do to stop that. Mother Nature wins that battle whether we're prepared or not," Deanno said.

President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California on Wednesday.

The approval will allow residents impacted by the wildfires to immediately access funds and resources for their recovery, the White House said in a statement.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also approved a fire management assistance grant to reimburse California for firefighting costs on Tuesday.

"President Biden and Vice President Harris are praying for those who lost loved ones, had property damaged, were injured, and for everyone affected by this and other devastating fires in the area," the White House said.

When David Hansen was driving Tuesday morning, he didn't pay much attention to early reports about the Palisades Fire. In less than half an hour, though, it became apparent to him that the fire had grown in scale and that his mother, who lived in the Palisades Highlands, needed help evacuating from her home. 

The neighborhood has about a thousand homes, Hansen told CBS News, but only one road in and out. A neighbor tried to help his mom evacuate, but the two were told to turn around and shelter in place because burned cars and trees at the foot of the road had blocked traffic. Luckily, Hansen remembered a fire access road and drove down it to get to his mother's house. 

"I was probably the last car to cross the fire road as the flames were about to touch it," Hansen said.

He was able to get to his mom's house, but when he and his mother, followed by friends, tried to use the fire road to leave, it was "completely engulfed in flames," he said. They were again instructed to shelter in place, and spent two stressful hours at his mother's house until the Los Angeles Fire Department was able to use a bulldozer to clear burned cars off the road. They left the area around 3 p.m. local time, he said. 

"She was in shock then, she's in shock now," Hansen said of his mother. "I think she thought this was never going to happen. She's experienced fires, she's experienced evacuations … this was an inferno that none of us foresaw." 

Hansen said they don't know if his mother's home is still standing. His sister's Malibu home was destroyed, he said. 

"I've never seen anything this extreme. Everybody thought they were in a war zone," he said.

At least four TV productions in Los Angeles have been delayed amid wildfires.

Productions for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Dr. Odyssey" will not take place Wednesday, a company spokesperson confirmed to CBS News. The taping for CBS gameshow "After Midnight" has also been canceled.

Kimmel broadcasts from El Capitan Entertainment Centre in the heart of Hollywood, just 15 miles away from the Palisades fire.

Meanwhile, the NFL said it is monitoring the wildfires with a playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and L.A. Rams scheduled for Monday at SoFi Stadium, which is located approximately 22 miles southeast of the Palisades fire.

It appears the Palisades Fire has more than tripled in size from around 2,900 acres earlier Wednesday. 

Cal Fire says on its website the fire is now 11,802 acres. However, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a briefing Wednesday the fire was 10,802 acres.

The blaze has already burned at least 1,000 structures. Tens of thousands of residents are under evacuation orders related to the fire.  

President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom were briefed about the California wildfires at a Santa Monica firehouse on Wednesday afternoon.

Biden had been visiting Los Angeles earlier in the week. His trip home was canceled on Tuesday.

During the briefing, fire officials updated the two leaders on the status of the wildfires and the efforts being made to battle the blazes. While the briefing was ongoing, the White House announced on social media that Mr. Biden has directed the Department of Defense to provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities, including air support, to the state. 

"We're in it, here to stay," Mr. Biden said. 

During the briefing, Mr. Biden offered his support to the state. He also announced that his great-grandchild had been born at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

The Eaton Fire has jumped in size to burn at least 10,600 acres, Cal Fire said Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the fire had burned just over 2,000 acres. Fire officials announced the jump in size shortly after 10 a.m. local time. 

The fire has caused two deaths and a number of injuries, officials said during a news briefing Wednesday. The two fatalities were civilians. There is zero percent containment of the blaze, officials said. 

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."

A California man told CBS News Los Angeles that his home was saved from the flames of the Eaton Fire, but said that many of his neighbors in the tight-knit community of Hastings Ranch, near Pasadena, lost theirs.

"I keep going from not crying to starting to cry again, because I know a lot of these people and they've lost everything," the man, Michael, said.

Michael said he had left his home around midnight, "when the house just above me was burning," and returned around four in the morning. He said the Ring camera device at his home was offline, so he believed he'd "come home to ashes." He found the home was still standing, and said he believed it was saved by firefighters' efforts to save a nearby school.

"A lot of people are praying for us, but I know there's people that other people are praying for and they weren't so lucky," he said. "It really hits you hard."

Michael said the tight-knit neighborhood will have to work together to recover. He said he had already been able to text some neighbors to let them know what condition their homes were in.

"I guess calamity brings people together, right?" he told CBS News Los Angeles.  

CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti posted a video online showing the devastation in Pacific Palisades, which is a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Images of the area before the fire show a bustling street lined with shops and palm trees. Vigliotti's video showed destroyed structures and some flames still burning amid the charred wreckage.

"This is what's left," Vigliotti wrote on social media, noting that while the mall survived, "most everything else is gone."  

Vigliotti said the damage is "beyond comprehension." He also said, while reporting on-air, that he is "overwhelmed by the scale of loss."

"Many people are going to return to homes that were lost," Vigliotti said.

CBS News Los Angeles' Mark Liu said the video shows the extent of the spread of the wildfires, even in areas like Pacific Palisades, which are not usually threatened by wildfires. The site is thousands of feet from the Palisade Fires' fire line, but hurricane-force winds have carried embers "so far through these communities," Liu said.

"Everyone needs to know that they are in danger because of these embers that are blowing from these just once-in-a-decade winds that are coming through our area, and they're still blowing," Liu said.

Firefighters are coming from Nevada, Oregon and Washington to support the fight against multiple wildfires in Southern California, Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Anthony Marrone said.

CBS News Los Angeles previously reported that firefighters from Arizona and northern California were coming to support the firefighting efforts. The Los Angeles Fire Department asked its firefighters to call and report their availability to assist in firefighting efforts. It's the first time such a call has been put out in 19 years, CBS News Los Angeles reported. 

California officials are urging the state's residents to pay attention to evacuation orders and warnings.

Those who aren't under evacuation orders but are under evacuation warnings should be prepared to leave at any time, officials said. Those who will need more time to evacuate should leave immediately, they said.

"You need to be prepared," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news briefing on Wednesday. "If you are in a warning area, make sure you have your essentials; Your important paperwork, your medications, things that you can take, your phone charger, to survive for at least a week. But if you are told to evacuate and given an order, there is nothing worth your life."

"Please listen to the police and fire officials that are out there, and be prepared to evacuate," Luna added.  

CBS News Los Angeles reporter Joy Benedict was on the scene Wednesday in a residential area in Altadena, California – where black smoke billowed as flames raged.

"We're just watching this city burn, and it's absolutely devastating," Benedict said. 

The area is under a mandatory evacuation order because of the Eaton Fire. Vehicles could be seen driving on the road, navigating through the smoke near flames.

Benedict said people should not attempt to drive through the area. The roads are not blocked because fire officials do not have the resources to do so, she said, but cars could bar fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. 

"Do not come to check on your home, do not block roadways," she said, adding later that "if you are not familiar with how to handle yourself in a fire, you do not need to be here." 

Benedict said the scale of the destruction was beyond belief. Strong winds are blowing embers, and houses are burning quickly, she said. The fire is at 0% containment. Fire officials said during a news conference that multiple simultaneous blazes are pushing resources to their limit. 

At least 70,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires threaten several areas across Los Angeles County, officials said Wednesday. That figure includes 30,000 residents ordered to evacuate near the Palisades Fire.

The fires threaten at least 28,000 structures.

CBS/AP 

Two arrests have been made for looting amid the raging wildfires in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said at a news briefing Wednesday.

Luna did not give any more information on the arrests, such as when they were made and if the two people were arrested together or in separate locations.

"If you are thinking about coming into any of these areas to steal from our residents, I'm going to tell you something: you're going to be caught, you're going to be arrested, and you're going to be prosecuted," Luna said. "Don't do that."

Luna said the sheriff's office is aiding in fire efforts. He said a sheriff's department vehicle had been "lost to the fire," but that the deputy using the vehicle was OK.  

The Palisades Fire has destroyed 1,000 structures, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference Wednesday.

Extreme winds are challenging firefighters, according to a Cal Fire status report. Wind gusts are expected to continue through Tuesday. Thousands in the area are under evacuation orders or warnings, according to Cal Fire.

"Despite the severity of the conditions, our department remains fully committed to safeguarding lives and property," Los Angeles Fire Department fire chief Kristin Crowley said.

Two people have died amid the Eaton Fire, Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Anthony C. Marrone said in a news briefing Wednesday. 

Marrone said they were civilians and their causes of the deaths were unknown.

There have also been "a number of significant injuries" from the fire, Marrone said. 

The Palisades Fire, another blaze burning in the area, has also resulted in a "high number of significant injuries to those who did not evacuate," Marrone said. Firefighters have also sustained injuries, Marrone said, but did not elaborate. 

Over 100 structures have been destroyed in the Eaton Fire, which is zero percent contained and 2,227 acres.

CBS News' Jonathan Vigliotti reports that embers from the fire flames were being blown more than a mile. Those embers could spark new spotfires, Vigliotti reports.

"Simply put, this is a hellscape," Vigliotti said. "There are so many homes on fire it's unusual to see a home that is not."  Watch his report:

While the fires blazing in Los Angeles are not unusually large for the region, their specific locations, as well as strong winds, make them a threat.

An updating map from CBS News' data team shows the Palisades Fire area.

Readers can zoom in or out to see where the fire is. The map will be updated hourly with data from Cal Fire.

The Palisades Fire is the largest of the wildfires in Los Angeles.

Another fire has broken out in Los Angeles. The Woodley Fire started on Wednesday morning around 6 a.m. PST. 

Maps from Cal Fire show the fire is on the border of the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve and Woodley Park. The area runs along Interstate 405. Cal Fire warned that the fire is being driven south by strong winds and poses a threat of crossing Burbank Boulevard. 

The fire has burned about 75 acres, Cal Fire said. Crews are working to contain the blaze. 

An official in the Los Angeles area described the wildfires as unusual for California in January.

Lindsey Horvath, a Los Angeles County supervisor, recalled that record rainfall in February last year caused flooding and landslides.

"So this is incredibly unusual," Horvath said on "CBS Mornings." "We know that climate change has impacted our region."

While acknowledging the difficulties of leaving their homes, Horvath asked people to continue to follow evacuation orders, saying, "if we don't get people safely evacuated, it's not only a danger to the people who are living in those communities but also for the people who are on the frontlines." 

Maps from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, show areas that are under evacuation orders and warnings. Areas under mandatory evacuation orders are highlighted in dark red, and warnings are in orange.

People in red areas are required by law to leave, and those areas are closed to the public.

There is a potential threat to life and/or property in yellow zones. People needing additional time to evacuate, and people with pets and livestock, are also advised to leave immediately if they are in yellow zones, according to Cal Fire. 

The latest Los Angeles Fire Department updates about evacuation orders can be found here. Cal Fire has updated information about evacuation orders and resources available for those affected. 

Sheila Kelliher, a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain, called the winds driving the wildfires "ferocious" and advised people who live in the areas around Los Angeles that are impacted to adhere to the evacuation warnings.

"It is hurricane-force winds and you can imagine trying to fight fire in those winds," Kelliher said on "CBS Mornings." "It is really incredibly challenging and volatile and unpredictable."

"Get out when those warnings come," she advised people who are affected. "Pack up, get ready to go. ... Sometimes as you can see the cars had to be left behind and a lot of times just even getting out on foot, you've got to get going."

She said fighting three fires simultaneously is a "big strain and stretch of resources."

"It takes a small village, a small city actually, to run each one of these fires," she added. 

Amid mandatory evacuation orders in Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena is being used as an evacuation center for large animals, officials said on social media.

Small animals can be evacuated to the Pasadena Humane Society, according to the post. 

The annual Rose Bowl was played at the stadium just last week, on New Year's Day. The Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Oregon Ducks. 

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Service said in a post on X early Wednesday that, "Dangerous fire weather conditions are ongoing in southern California with the most extreme conditions expected this morning."

They added that, "Winds should gradually weaken somewhat through the day, but critical fire weather conditions are expected to persist into Thursday."

Firefighters had their hands full, with flames from three wildfires being fanned by those winds.

The Screen Actors Guild says it canceled its live announcement of nominations for this year's SAG Awards "due to the wildfires and adverse wind conditions in Los Angeles."

The guild says it was observing "an abundance of caution for the safety of our presenters, guests, and staff."

Instead, nominations were unveiled Wednesday morning in a press release and the SAG Awards website.

The awards, the guild's 31st annual, are scheduled to be handed out on Feb. 23.  

Footage from the scene of the Eaton Fire showed some homeowners running through the streets while leading horses by hand, with flames burning on the hillsides behind them.

Another video showed at least one home with flames emitting from the roof. Firefighters say that it is one of multiple homes burning.

- Dean Fioresi, Matthew Rodriguez

The intense Santa Ana winds and a trio of large wildfires caused power outages for more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles County Tuesday night and early Wedsnesday. 

Ahead of the strong storm, officials predicted this weather will "likely be the most destructive windstorm seen since 2011."

As of 12:30 a.m., the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had roughly 127,000 customers without power. Crews had restored utilities to 24,400 residents earlier in the day. For perspective, LADWP provides electricity to 1.5 million residences. 

Southern California Edison, which provides electricity to LA County residents outside of city limits, reported that more than 52,000 customers without power as of midnight. The largest outage was centered in Duarte with 7,930 residents without electricity at around 10 p.m. 

Ahead of the windstorm, SoCal Edison said it was considering public safety shutoff for roughly 409,000 Southern California residents, mainly in Riverside and Los Angeles counties. An estimated 123,400 and 113,735 customers were expected to be affected in the respective areas.

Firefighting resources across the Los Angeles region have already been stretched so thin that the L.A. Fire Department asked all off-duty firefighters to call in to their supervisors to report on whether they're available to assist in the firefight.

LAFD firefighter Margaret Stewart said it's the first time in 19 years the department has done that.

The strong winds forced officials to ground all aircraft, including water-dropping helicopters and flame-retardant planes.

But in an overnight post on X, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state "has deployed 1400+ firefighting personnel & hundreds of prepositioned assets to combat these unprecedented fires in LA. Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives."

And CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO-TV reports that officials with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management say the state sent firefighting teams to Los Angeles to support local firefighters.

California has secured assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Fire Management Assistance Grant for both the Palisades and Eaton Fires. The grants allow for local departments to apply for up to 75% reimbursement of expenses incurred fighting the flames. 

- Dean Fioresi, Matthew Rodriguez, Brian Dakss

Firefighters are battling yet another brush fire — one that broke out in Sylmar, the northern-most neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles. It's been dubbed the Hurst Fire, CBS Los Angeles reports.

It was first reported shortly after 10 p.m. local time behind the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Crews said the flames were moving rapidly and quickly charred about 100 acres of brush. California Highway Patrol officers at the scene said an entire mountainside appeared to be burning.

Later, CalFire reported that it had spread across 500 acres.

Some evacuation orders were issued.

A 25-year-old female firefighter battling the Palisades Fire suffered a serious head injury at about 8:30 p.m. local time, according to Capt. Erik Scott, a spokesperson for the L.A. Fire Department. It wasn't clear how it happened. She was treated at the scene, then brought to a hospital for evaluation, Scott said.

About a half-hour later, Scott said, "multiple burn victims were reported walking toward a nearby restaurant." Medical personnel were dispatched to treat the victims at the scene.

In a statement late Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris, a California native, said that her "heart goes out to all those being impacted by the devasting wildfires in Southern California."

Harris said that "as a proud daughter of California, I know the damage that wildfires have on our neighbors and communities. I also know that the impact is often felt long after the fire is contained. As we respond and as Californians recover, I will ensure that our administration is in constant contact with state and local officials."

Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, have a home in the Westside Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, which is located about 5 miles east of Pacific Palisades. 

Dozens of seniors were evacuated from a Pasadena assisted living center after the Eaton Fire got within about a block of their facility.

The residents of the Terraces at Park Marino, many in wheelchairs and on gurneys, were huddled together in the dark, windy parking lot of a 7-Eleven to escape the flames.

A supervisor told CBS News that about 95 residents had been evacuated. It was unclear where the seniors would be taken. 

The exact extent of the devastation from the Palisades Fire is still unknown, but footage from on the ground gives an idea of its potential scope.

CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti captured apocalyptic images from one Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where home after home was engulfed in flames.

"The firefighters here, they're not trying to save these structures, they're trying to prevent these flames from jumping to other neighborhoods," Vigliotti reported Tuesday night. "You see all these embers. In some cases, they're being carried more than a mile in advance of these source flames, lighting other homes on fire."

The city of Santa Monica announced mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday night for a huge swath of the city because of the Palisades Fire. 

"City of Santa Monica is issuing an Evacuation Order for all areas of the city north of San Vicente," the city said in a post to social media. "Evacuation Order: Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is closed to public access."

Santa Monica, a coastal city with a population of about 90,000, is located between Malibu and Los Angeles, and just to the west of Pacific Palisades.   

Los Angeles County firefighters Tuesday night were battling a second brush fire with a large potential for growth in the Eaton Canyon area near Altadena.   

The Eaton Fire was first reported at around 6:40 p.m. Pacific Time in the area above Altadena. Evacuation orders had been issued for portions of Altadena and nearby Pasadena. 

Altadena is located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, on the border of the Angeles National Forest. The fire had scorched at least 400 acres, the U.S. Forest Service reported. Later, the total had grown to 1,000 acres, CalFire said.

Firefighting resources across the region have already been stretched thin to the point that the city of L.A. Fire Department requested that all off-duty firefighters call in to their supervisors to report if they're available to assist in the firefight.   

Read more here.

President Biden announced Tuesday night that is monitoring the wildfire activity in Southern California.

"I am being frequently briefed on the wildfires in west Los Angeles. My team and I are in touch with state and local officials, and I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire," Mr. Biden said in a statement.

The president added that FEMA approved a "Fire Management Assistance Grant to support areas that are impacted and help reimburse the state of California for the immediate firefighting costs. I urge the residents of the Pacific Palisades and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles to stay vigilant and listen to local officials."

Mr. Biden also urged "the residents of the Pacific Palisades and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles to stay vigilant and listen to local officials."

As dangerous wildfires spread rapidly in Southern California, images of the blazes began to emerge. 

Evacuation orders for the Palisades Fire were expanded Tuesday night. The entire Pacific Palisades community was under an evacuation order, while Malibu and Calabasas were under a combination of mandatory and voluntary evacuations.  

All areas south of the 101 Freeway between Malibu Canyon and Topanga Canyon roads were either under mandatory or voluntary evacuation zones.

The latest evacuation map is here:

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the Pacific Palisades wildfire exploded in size, fueled by one of the strongest Santa Ana wind events to hit Southern California in the last decade. 

"This is a highly dangerous windstorm that's creating extreme fire risk — and we're not out of the woods. We're already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes," Newsom said in a statement Tuesday.

He urged Southern California residents to pay attention to local weather reports and follow guidance from emergency officials.

Read more here.

The number of structures damaged or destroyed by the Palisades Fire so far was unclear. 

However, CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reported that at least six homes had been destroyed in one neighborhood, as CBS News captured footage of heavy flames, smoke and billowing ash. 

CBS News correspondent Carter Evans resides in one neighborhood that was under threat. 

"I'm in the back of this home, trying to help the firefighters, so they asked me for help, because he couldn't get over the gate," Evans said. "So I'm trying to get the flames out."

As the Pacific Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles quickly grew Tuesday afternoon amid a destructive windstorm, some fleeing residents stuck in gridlock were forced to abandon their cars as dangerous flames approached. 

Sunset Boulevard was jammed with cars as people tried to evacuate. Resident Marsha Horowitz was walking down Sunset with her dog and said the fire department told people to get out of their cars. "The fire came right down to the road, and the fire department came up and said 'get out of your cars now,' because the fire was right up against the cars," she said. 

"We're all freaked out everywhere, all shaking," Pacific Palisades resident Sue told CBS Los Angeles. "The fire department have been the most amazing humans. They hugged us and said don't worry we'll take care of you. They have been amazing." She estimated winds earlier at 50 mph.   

Read more here.

The famous Getty Villa, a museum located near the Los Angeles coast in Pacific Palisades, announced that it will remain closed through at least early next week as a wildfire tears through the area. 

"We swiftly closed the Villa to non-emergency staff, and the site is closed to the public on Tuesdays. The Getty Villa will remain closed at least through Monday, January 13," J. Paul Getty Trust President Katherine Fleming said. "We, of course, are very concerned for our neighbors in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and the surrounding areas."  

Fleming said the facility utilized its irrigation system throughout the day and that the galleries and collections have measures to protect them from the smoke.   

Read more here.

The growth of the brush fire burning in Pacific Palisades has been aided by high winds that weather officials have called "life-threatening and destructive," with isolated wind gusts potentially reaching up to 100 miles per hour in some areas.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning through Wednesday evening for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. 

The Santa Ana wind event is expected to be the worst the region has seen in more than a decade, according to the National Weather Service. 

Read more here.