Mass Evacuations as Wildfires Ravage Los Angeles and Neighboring Regions – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
8:12 AM – Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Mass evacuations are underway in Southern California, with tens of thousands being ordered to leave their homes as the wildfires rage on in the Pacific Palisades and neighboring areas.
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Wind gusts exceeding 100 miles per hour have caused several fires to rapidly escalate from manageable to uncontrollable in mere moments across affected regions.
The blaze that started Tuesday evening close to a nature reserve in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles spread rapidly, compelling staff at a senior living facility to wheel dozens of residents out to safety.
A separate fire that ignited a few hours earlier swept through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, known for its hillside coastal properties that many celebrities call home.
In their desperate attempts to escape, countless individuals were seen abandoning their vehicles on impassable roads and fleeing on foot, some with suitcases in hand.
Kelsey Trainor, a resident of Pacific Palisades, reported that the only access road to her neighborhood was impassable. Ash fell continuously while blazes raged on both sides of the road.
“We glanced across the road and saw the flames jump from one side to the other,” Trainor described. “People were exiting their cars with dogs, infants, and bags, crying and screaming.”
A wind report indicated gusts of up to 100 mph were recorded near Pasadena, according to Fox Meteorologist Christopher Tate, highlighting the ongoing Santa Ana wind event.
Expected wind gusts remain high, ranging from 60 to 80 miles per hour, with some areas potentially experiencing gusts exceeding 100 mph until around noon Pacific time.
The winds are expected to ease slightly in the afternoon, with gusts reducing to between 30 and 60 miles per hour, making it sufficiently calm for firefighting aircraft to take off and engage the fires from the air,” Tate stated.
Local fire authorities have characterized the extreme conditions as a “worst-case scenario” for wildfire response efforts.
“The key ingredient for fire spreading is a source of oxygen,” Tate elaborated. “With the winds capable of carrying smoke and burnt debris away from the fires, there’s ample oxygen fueling the flames, contributing to their rapid spread.”
As reported by Cal Fire, the Pacific Palisades fire surged overnight, covering over 2,921 acres with no containment yet achieved.
The Eaton fire, situated near Pasadena, has also quickly expanded, now encompassing at least 2,227 acres and remains at 0% containment, according to fire authorities.
A third wildfire ignited around 10:30 p.m., leading to immediate evacuations in Sylmar, a northern Los Angeles neighborhood, while a fourth fire was noted early Wednesday in Coachella, Riverside County. The origins of these fires are currently under investigation.
As it stands, more than 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders, and over 200,000 people in Los Angeles County were without power as of Tuesday evening.
A total of four wildfires are actively burning across the state, including in Palisades, Woodley, Eaton, and Hurst, with Los Angeles positioned centrally among these four blazes.
The wildfires are being exacerbated by powerful Santa Ana winds from the east, with officials cautioning that the most severe conditions are yet to come.
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