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Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious
wildfires erupted on Jan. 7 and roared across the Los Angeles area,
killing at least 28 people, including some who died trying to prevent the
fires from engulfing their homes, and destroying thousands of structures.

A Los Angeles County fire official said an untold number of significant injuries were linked to two of the fires, and a city official in Los
Angeles described the night of Jan. 7 as “one of the most devastating and terrifying” that she had seen in her corner of the city.

Here’s what we know about the fires.

Where are the fires?
The Palisades Fire erupted the morning of Jan. 7 in Pacific Palisades, a
Los Angeles neighborhood east of Malibu, as a brush fire. The blaze, which
had grown to 23,448 acres, was 75% contained by Thursday night, according
to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. Cal Fire said the fire damaged or destroyed more than 6,810
structures.

The Eaton Fire ignited hours after the Palisades Fire near a canyon in the sprawling national forest lands north of downtown Los Angeles. It had
exploded to 14,021 acres and was 95% contained, according to Cal Fire. The agency has reported more than 9,418 structures as being confirmed damaged
or destroyed in the blaze.

The Hughes Fire began near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County on Wednesday morning and quickly grew to over 10,000 acres. It had night
10,396 acres and was 36% contained by Thursday evening.

As firefighters were battling the largest blazes, additional fires broke
out in the Los Angeles area. Crews were able to stop the forward spread
and contain the blazes.

As of Friday night, the Lidia, Archer, Woodley, Sunset, Kenneth, Hurst and
Auto fires were 100% contained and no longer considered active, according
to Cal Fire. Between them, the fires scorched 2,399 acres.


Have there been deaths and injuries?
As of Thursday afternoon, at least 28 people had died in the fires,
according to Los Angeles County officials.

The county medical examiner’s office is still investigating many of the
deaths. The department noted that it cannot confirm human remains until it processes them at its facility.

At least 17 of the deaths were in the Eaton Fire and 11 in the Palisades
Fire, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The medical examiner’s office said it could take weeks to confirm the identities of those killed.

Officials have warned that the death toll could grow.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said a significant number of people who did not heed evacuation orders have been injured in the
Palisades Fire. He also said there have been significant injuries in the
Eaton Fire.

How many people are affected?
At one point there were close to 200,000 people under evacuation orders as crews tried to battle back the fires. By Tuesday morning the number had dwindled to around 88,000 with another 84,800 in evacuation warning zones throughout Los Angeles County.

On Thursday, officials announced limited repopulation for some areas
evacuated amid the Palisades and Eaton fires.

The fires have destroyed entire neighborhoods and blocks, leaving an
unknown number of people homeless.

How much damage have the fires done?
The insured losses from last week’s fires may exceed $20 billion, and
total economic losses could reach $50 billion, according to estimates
published by JPMorgan on Thursday.

Those losses would far exceed the $12.5 billion in insured damages from
the 2018 Camp Fire, which until now was the costliest blaze in the
country’s history, according to data from Aon.

What led to the fires?
The official cause of the fires has not been determined.

The combination of drought-like conditions — Southern California has had
less than 10% of average rainfall since Oct. 1 — and powerful offshore
winds that hit the region last week prompted fire weather that was, in the words of the National Weather Service, “about as bad as it gets.”

The agency issued a red flag warning — indicating an increased risk for
fire danger — to 19 million people. Wind gusts topping 70 mph were
recorded at several locations across the region.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain pointed to the weather whiplash California
has experienced in recent years — lurching between drought and heavy
rainfall — and said such swings are a key element of the fire weather
gripping the region.

“It’s not just that drier conditions are perpetually more likely in a
warming climate,” he said, according Inside Climate News. “It’s that this oscillation back and forth between states is something that is
particularly consequential for wildfire risk in Southern California.”

More coverage of the wildfires
‘Are u OK?’: Angelenos share their text exchanges amid wildfire
devastation
Beloved Black-owned bookstore in Pasadena becomes a safe haven for fire
victims
See how large the California wildfires are
How to help the victims of the Los Angeles fires
Are arsonists responsible for the Los Angeles wildfires?
Electrical tower a focus as Eaton Fire's potential origin after video
clues emerge

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-wildfires-what-we-know- palisades-eaton-los-angeles-rcna188239

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