Major brush fires burning in SoCal amid powerful windstorm

The University of California - Los Angeles is canceling classes for Thursday and Friday.

In a message to students, school officials have canceled undergraduate classes for the rest of the week, moved graduate classes remote.

"The first week of classes is typically a joyous occasion, and I am deeply sorry that the fires in our region have instead brought so much pain and caused so much devastation," Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a statement.

There is no immediate fire danger to the campus, but Frenk said with the expected wind change, the air quality in Westwood is expected to get worse.

The University of Southern California will have classes as scheduled on Monday, Jan. 13.

The TCL Chinese Theatre closed Wednesday night due to the fast-moving fire in the Hollywood Hills.

In a statement posted on X, all employees were sent home.

Anyone with tickets to a Wednesday showing was asked to reach out to the theatre on Thursday for a full refund.

The theatre and the area around it is included in the evacuation order.

The Sunset Fire, which erupted in the 2300 block of Solar Drive in the Hollywood Hills, has grown to 20 acres, according to Cal Fire. The evacuation zone includes the Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held, as well as the Hollywood Bowl.

A fast-moving brush fire has erupted in the Hollywood Hills, near Runyon Canyon.

Mandatory evacuations have been issued for Laurel Canyon Boulevard (on the west) to Mulholland Drive (on the north) to 101 Freeway (on the east) down to Hollywood Boulevard (on the south).

LAFD responded to the blaze and additional crews are being summoned to the scene. Flames appeared to be spreading at a rapid rate uphill, and a large plume of smoke was quickly descending south toward Hollywood.

The fire is at 20 acres, according to CalFire.

A brush fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills just west of Runyon Canyon.