Major brush fires burning in SoCal amid powerful windstorm

Last updated: Thursday, January 9, 2025 7:13AM GMT
ABC7 Eyewitness News
Stream Southern California's News Leader and Original Shows 24/7

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Firefighters are battling several wildfires across Los Angeles County, including in the Pacific Palisades, San Gabriel Valley, Sylmar and in the Hollywood Hills.

Red flag warnings are in effect and will and remain in place until 6 p.m. Friday for the Malibu coast, the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando Valley, Calabasas, the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the 5 Freeway and 14 Freeway corridors.

KABC logo
Jan 09, 2025, 6:46 AM

Wildfires burning in SoCal: Numbers at a glance

Here are all the wildfires burning in Southern California at a glance.

Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills area

- 60 acres

- Mandatory evacuations

Eaton Fire in San Gabriel Valley

- 10,600 acres
- 100+ structures destroyed
- 5 deaths

Palisades Fire

- 15,832 acres

- 1,000 structures burned

Hurst Fire in Sylmar

- 855 acres

- 10% contained

Lidia Fire in Acton area

- 348 acres

- 40% contained

Woodley Fire in Sepulveda Basin

- 30 acres, contained

Tyler Fire

- 11 acres, contained

Jan 08, 2025, 2:22 PM GMT

210 Freeway shut down in Sylmar

The 210 Freeway was completely shut down Wednesday morning due to the Hurst Fire burning in the Sylmar area.

Both sides were closed between Roxford Street and the 5 Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. It's unclear when the road would be reopened.

Drivers were urged to avoid the area.

KABC logo
Jan 08, 2025, 1:49 PM GMT

Eaton Fire's evacuations expand to La Cañada Flintridge, including JPL

Evacuation orders were expanded Wednesday morning to parts of La Cañada Flintridge, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as the Eaton Fire that began in the foothills above Altadena continued to burn uncontrolled.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Crescenta Valley station released a map that showed the new evacuation area.

A fast-moving brush fire continued raging in the Eaton Canyon area, forcing widespread evacuations and school closures while destroying an unknown number of homes and other structures.

"Residents in affected zones should evacuate immediately," the Sheriff's Department said. "Gather essential items Have an evacuation plan Stay informed through official channels such as Genasys Protect at protect.genasys.com."

The Eaton Fire was reported at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Altadena Drive and Midwick, according to Cal Fire.

As of 5:30 a.m., Cal Fire reported the fire was 2,227 acres and was 0% contained.

Jan 08, 2025, 1:02 PM GMT

New brush fire breaks out in Riverside County

Another brush fire, dubbed the Tyler Fire, broke out in Riverside County Wednesday morning.

According to Cal Fire, the fire was reported around 3:30 a.m. at Tyler Street and 47th Avenue in the Coachella area. At least 15 acres have burned.

Additional details about the fire were not available.

KABC logo
Jan 08, 2025, 12:44 PM GMT

Assisted living facility destroyed in Altadena

An assisted living facility in Altadena was among the structures destroyed by the Eaton Fire, which has scorched about 1,000 acres so far.

Everyone at The Terraces at Park Marino was evacuated late Tuesday night after the wind-driven flames engulfed the building.

Zion Brown, an employee of the facility, described what those moments were like.

"The fire started coming from down the moment, we noticed it moving pretty quickly so we did start evacuating everybody," he said. "I was running up to the third story, second story, carrying people down, just picking them up because we do have a lot of wheelchair people in here... We were able to get everybody out of here in a timely manner before the building actually went into flames."

An assisted living facility in Altadena was among the structures destroyed by the Eaton Fire, which has scorched about 1,000 acres so far.