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LIVE BLOG: Latest on wildfires burning in Southern California

California Wildfires
Chris Pizzello/AP
A Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy, left, talks to a resident as the Altadena Community Church burns in the background, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in the downtown Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif.
California Wildfires
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and last updated

Wednesday, 1/8 - 9:00 pm:

A new fire — The Sunset Fire — started Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, prompting a new round of mandatory evacuations.

There have been "a number of significant injuries" from the fires, according to officials, and tens of thousands of structures are threatened.

Wednesday, 1/8 - 8:54 pm:

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that more than 7,500 firefighting and emergency personnel have been deployed to protect California communities.

The Governor also issued an executive order to support communities affected by the ongoing fires. Text of the executive order is available here [mclist.us7.list-manage.com].

Earlier today, President Joe Biden quickly approved Governor Newsom’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration [mclist.us7.list-manage.com] to support ongoing response efforts.

On Tuesday, Governor Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency [mclist.us7.list-manage.com].

"We are putting all available resources behind fighting these wildfires, including leveraging local and federal assets. California has thousands of boots on the ground working to combat these fires. The state is leaving no stone unturned to protect California communities."

Governor Gavin Newsom

By the numbers: All-in state response

California’s emergency response to wildfire impacts has involved nearly every part of the state government. Assistance on the ground includes:

Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)

Coordinating the state’s response through the activation of the State Operations Center, including the deployment of 1,040 firefighters and 260 fire engines through the state’s Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System.

  • Neighbor helping neighbor: California has requested and received commitments for 75 engines from Oregon, 45 engines from Washington, 5 engines from New Mexico, 10 engines from Utah and 25 engines from Idaho, accounting for hundreds of additional firefighters through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
  • Coordinating with local fire departments, county emergency managers and weather officials ahead of this extreme weather event, while increasing public messaging to encourage overall community resiliency. 
  • Previously, Cal OES prepositioned 65 local government fire engines, 7 water tenders, 7 helicopters, 9 dozers and more than 105 specialized personnel in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties in advance of the wind event.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)

  • 4,700+ firefighting personnel deployed, including local and federal partners
  • Air assets include 6 air tankers and 31 helicopters
  • 1,002 engines
  • 138 handcrews
  • Equipment including 53 dozers and 23 water tenders

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

  • 600 personnel mobilized to clear debris and handle traffic equipment power outages on two 12-hour shifts, including six maintenance stations without power and are mobilizing generator backups.
  • Replenishing batteries that are servicing 40 traffic signals affected by power outages.

California Highway Patrol (CHP)

  • 19 CHP officials deployed to embed with incident command. 

California National Guard (Cal Guard)
600+ Cal Guard service members and equipment deployed to support firefighting and law enforcement operations:

  • 2 hand crews assigned to CALFIRE already on incident, with another 8 crews deploying from Task Force Rattlesnake 
  • 10 Rotary Wing Aircraft deployed 
  • 2 C-130 airplanes staging for wildland firefighting operations

To learn more about active emergencies, visit ready.ca.gov [mclist.us7.list-manage.com]. 

Wednesday, 1/8 - 5:50 pm:
The Kern County Fire Department posting on IG that they have sent more than 160 firefighters to help battle the Southern California fires.

Wednesday, 1/8 - 5:32 pm:
Scripps News Reporter Max Goldwasser gives a tour of the fire damage in Southern California, watch clip below.

Tour of Fire Damage in Southern California

Wednesday, 1/8 - 5:18 pm:
Here is a list of the road closures due to the wildfires in LA per ABC 7.

Palisades Fire road closures
These roads are closed due to the fire:

  • Pacific Coast Highway closed from Las Flores Canyon Road to Santa Monica Freeway, SR-10
  • Coastline Drive and Southbound Pacific Coast Highway
  • Southbound Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Drive
  • Scheuren Road at Stunt Road
  • Southbound Tuna Canyon Road at Saddle Peak Road
  • Old Topanga Canyon Road at Mulholland Highway

Hurst Fire road closures
The Hurst fire ignited near Diamond Road in Sylmar.

These roads are closed due to the fire:

  • Westbound 1-210 closed between Roxford and I-5

Eaton Fire road closures
The Eaton fire ignited near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in Altadena and Pasadena.

These roads are closed due to the fire:

  • Altadena Drive from Allen Avenue to New York Drive

Wednesday, 1/8 - 4:57 pm:
The death toll in the fires has risen to 5, up from 2 earlier. More than 1,000 structures have been destroyed. Several thousand people have been told to evacuate.

Wednesday, 1/8 - 3:31 pm:
Here are the latest acres burned from the 3 major wildfires in Southern California
- Palisades Fire (15,832 acres)
- Eaton Fire (10,600 acres)
- Hurst Fire (505 acres)

View the latest updates from CalFire here on this website.

Wednesday, 1/8 - 3:28 pm:
Several wildfires are burning in Southern California causing a lot of destruction. Evacuation orders remain in place for specific communities. Traffic in and out of the area continues to be impacted.

For the latest traffic conditions, follow the CHP Incident page:

https://cad.chp.ca.gov/traffic.aspx?__EVENTTARGET

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Copyright 2025 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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