East County News Service
January 8, 2025 (Los Angeles) – No, that’s not a tornado or mother ship descending. Henri Migala snapped this apocalyptic image of the Palisades Fire which is devastating Los Angeles. This photo was taken from the Westin Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. As of today, the fire has burned 15,832 acres, has destroyed many homes and forced evacuation of some 70,000 residents in several communities including Pacific Palisades, Topanga, Malibu, and Santa Monica. It remains zero percent contained.
Anyone in the path of this fire is urged to evacuate. High winds grounded firefighting aircraft last night and some hydrants ran out of water, leaving firefighters without the means to halt the destructive blaze which has burned all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
January 8, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for San Diego County mountains and valleys today and tomorrow due to high winds and extreme fire danger. The strong winds that have fueled two large wildfires decimating Los Angeles County are forecast to move into San Diego County next.
This is the driest winter period measured from October 1 through January 8 since 1850, according to the National Weather Service, increasing fire danger.
Due to high winds and potential power outages, schools in six local districts will be closed today. The San Diego County Office of Education announced the closures for:
- Julian Union Elementary School District
- Julian Union High School District
- Mountain Empire Unified School District
- Ramona Unified School District
- Spencer Valley School District
- Warner Unified School District
“The safety of students and school staff is of the utmost importance to San Diego County school districts,” officials said in a news release.
In Los Angeles County, devastating fires have collectively destroyed over 1,000 homes and two people have died, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Palisades Fire (Photo,left, by Henri Migala) has burned over 2,900 acres and has destroyed many homes, including beachfront houses along Pacific Coast Highway, since it began yesterday morning in Pacific Palisades. Over 30,000 residences have been evacuated in cities including Santa Monita, Topanga, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades.
Photo, left by Henri Migala: Palisades Fire viewed from Westin Hotel near LAX this morning.
The Eaton Fire in Altadena/Pasadena soared to 2,227 acres overnight. In Sylmar, the Hurst Fire has burned 500 acres. All of these fires remain zero percent contained.
Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state emergency due to the Los Angeles County Fires.
The winds fueling these devastating wildfires are moving into San Diego next, posing extreme fire danger here. Some local firefighters are now in L.A. helping to battle those fires.
SDG&E has begun shutting off power to prevent fires in some rural communities, with more outages anticipated.
Please be prepared for power outages and evacuation if necessary.Avoid any actions that could spark a brush fire, such as weed whacking or parking a vehicle atop try brush.
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By Miriam Raftery
Photo by Henri Migala
January 7, 2025 (Los Angeles) – The fast-moving Palisades Fire has burned 2,921 acres as of tonight, according to Cal Fire. The wildfire that began around 10:30 a.m. in Pacific Palisades has now forced evacuation of approximately 10,000 residents from 30,000 homes in Malibu, Topanga and Pacific Palisades, also forcing closure of portions of Pacific Coast Highway.
The fire is expected to worsen overnight, with extremely dangerous winds up to 100 miles per hour possible, the National Weather Service predicts. Already, gusts up to 70 miles per hour have fueled the conflagration. Wind speeds are expected to peak tomorrow, though strong winds are forecast through Friday.
Both Governor Gavin Newsom and the City of Los Angeles have issued emergency declarations. “This is a highly dangerous windstorm that’s creating extreme fire risk—and we’re not out of the woods,” Newsom said.
The fire has forced closure of multiple schools and burned portions of the Getty Museum property, though museum officials say the museum housing precious works of art is expected to remain safe, thanks to prior brush-clearing on the site.
Some residents racing to flee had to abandon their vehicles amid the fast-moving fire, running to the beach or back home to shelter in place. Firefighters responded to numerous calls, rescuing residents trapped at home, the Los Angeles Times reports.
All residents are urged to evacuate immediately when asked to do so by authorities. Travelers should check on road conditions before visiting the area.
ECM reporter Henri Migala, who is visiting Los Angeles,sent the above photo taken from his hotel room. Another ECM freelancer in Los Angeles on other business advises that the fire has caused long traffic delays for commuters attempting to leave the area.
Cal Fire has activated its Incident Management Team II to assist Los Angeles county and city firefighters.
Evacuation details are available via the Watch Duty App at https://share.watchduty.org/i/40335?ts+1736302139000.
For the latest fire updates from Cal Fire, visit https://fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/palisades-fire .
As CAL FIRE positions resources and staff, residents are urged to prepare too
Source: CAL FIRE
January 7, 2025 (Sacramento) - In response to a forecast of critical fire weather conditions, CAL FIRE has increased firefighter staffing and pre-positioned resources throughout Southern California. The National Weather Service predicts strong offshore winds, low humidity, and high fire risk from Tuesday through Thursday.
Key Actions by CAL FIRE:
- CAL FIRE is strategically moving firefighting resources from Northern California into Southern California including 45 additional fire engines and six additional hand crews to Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
- In addition to resources from Northern California, CAL FIRE San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Units will staff additional firefighting resources above normal levels including fire engines, handcrews, bulldozers, water tenders and supervisory personnel 24/7.
- Staffing additional aerial firefighting resources in the region.
- Augmenting regional intelligence, dispatch and investigative resources.
“As we experienced in Ventura County in November with the Mountain Fire and again in December with the Franklin Fire in Malibu, wildfire is a year-round threat,” said CAL FIRE Director/Chief Joe Tyler. “Please be vigilant and don’t be the cause of the next wildfire in your community.” Chief Tyler reminds residents what while CAL FIRE and our partners are bolstering staffing and resources, 95% of wildfires are human caused. We need the public’s vigilance to prevent new fires.
Fire Prevention Reminders:
- One small spark can quickly become a large fire when it’s windy.
- When towing, ensure chains are not dragging.
- Avoid mowing or trimming dry grass on windy days.
- Do not park vehicles in dry grass.
- Ensure campfires are fully extinguished.
- Report suspicious activities promptly to prevent arson.
Take steps to ensure your family’s safety by being prepared ahead of a wildfire.
- Ensure everyone in your home knows your evacuation plan
- Have your go-bag ready
- Have a plan for your pets.
- Remove flammable items from the first five feet around your home
For fire prevention tips and emergency planning resources, visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
Stay prepared. Stay safe.
Source: SDG&E
January 6, 2025 (San Diego) – Due to extreme fire weather conditions and forecasted Santa Ana winds, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has notified 64,866 customers that it may have to turn off power to reduce wildfire risk as early as Tuesday. Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) are approved by state regulators as an important safety tool of last resort to mitigate fire risk during dangerous weather conditions.
This week marks the driest start to the rainy season in San Diego County in 174 years. As a result of these dry conditions and expected Santa Ana winds, the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of Orange and San Diego Counties beginning Tuesday evening through late Wednesday night. SDG&E’s meteorology team is closely monitoring weather conditions.
Power shutoffs are possible in the following areas:
- Alpine
- Barona Reservation
- Boulevard
- Campo
- Campo Reservation
- Capitan Grande Reservation
- Chula Vista
- Descanso
- East San Juan Cap
- El Cajon
- Escondido
- Fallbrook
- Jacumba
- Jamul
- Julian
- La Jolla Reservation
- La Mesa
- La Posta Reservation
- Lakeside
- Los Coyotes Reservation
- Manzanita Reservation
- Mesa Grande Reservation
- Pala
- Pala Reservation
- Pauma and Yuima Reservation
- Pauma Valley
- Pechanga Reservation
- Poway
- Ramona
- Ranchita
- Rancho Bernardo
- Rancho Santa Fe
- Rincon Reservation
- San Diego
- San Pasqual Reservation
- Santa Ysabel
- Santa Ysabel Reservation
- Santee
- Sycuan Reservation
- Valley Center
- Viejas Reservation
- Warner Springs
SDG&E has activated its Emergency Operations Center and staffed it with key personnel to monitor weather conditions throughout the duration of the event, especially the wind speeds in the high fire risk areas of the county.
If SDG&E implements a PSPS for public safety, it will open Community Resource Centers to support impacted customers.
Given the potential for extended power outages, SDG&E encourages customers to be prepared. Outage preparedness tips can be found at sdge.com/outage-center; safety guidelines for generator use can be found at sdge.com/generator.
Never approach a downed line; report it by calling 911 or SGD&E’s call center at 800-411-7343.
Real-time information about unplanned power outages can be found at www.sdge.com/outage.
Updates about this PSPS can be found at sdge.com/Ready and SDGEToday.com or by following SDG&E’s X channel, @SDGE.