Oscar nominations delayed by Los Angeles wildfires: ‘We are thinking of you’

Fires have killed at least five people and burned nearly 1,000 homes

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended the deadline for Oscar nomination voting by two days in view of the raging wildfires around Los Angeles.

A series of wildfires has killed at least five people and left nearly 1,000 structures in ruin in southern California. The Palisades fire is now the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles.

Voting for the members opened on 8 January and was scheduled to end on 12 January. However, with the extension, the deadline is now 14 January. The nominations announcement, which was originally set for 17 January, has been moved to 19 January.

In an email sent to the members on Wednesday by CEO Bill Kramer, the Academy said it offered its “deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California”.

“So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you.”

Follow live updates on the wildfires here.

The email also detailed a few more events that have been pushed back or cancelled.

The International Feature Shortlist screening set for Wednesday night was being postponed to later in the week.

The news comes as several events in and around Los Angeles have been cancelled or postponed amid the fires.

The wildfires have forced the evacuation of over 150,000 residents, including 30,000 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood alone.

Homes have been destroyed across the LA area, including those owned by celebrities such as Diane Warren, Anna Faris, and Adam Brody and his wife Leighton Meester.

The fires have also led to the suspension of multiple television productions.

Premieres for Amazon MGM Studios’ Unstoppable and Universal Studios’ Wolf Man were cancelled on Tuesday, as was a live event to announce the nominations for the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards, which instead unveiled the names in a press release.

The AFI Awards luncheon scheduled for 10 January, the BAFTA Tea Party set for 11 January, and the Critics Choice Awards on 12 January have all been postponed.

“The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony has been postponed from January 12th to January 26th due to the catastrophic fires ravaging Southern California,” a statement released on Wednesday read.

“The rescheduled event will remain at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and will broadcast live on E! and around the world.  It will also be available on Peacock the next day.”

The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles (AP)

The Palisades and Eaton fires, which together have burned more than 25,000 acres, are both at 0 per cent containment, according to CalFire.

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said: “Conserve water to the extent that you can. We want to make sure that we are ready if we need more water. But make no mistake, Los Angeles will rebuild stronger than ever.”

Dangerous wind conditions were not expected to let up until the end of the week. California governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency and the state’s National Guard was working to aid firefighters.

“This is not a normal Red Flag,” Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, told residents.