Five killed as new Hollywood Hills fire prompts more evacuations in massively destructive LA wildfires: Live

Five people are dead and more than 150,000 are under evacuation orders as a new blaze burns through Hollywood Hills

Firefighters battle Pacific Palisades wildfires as huge flames and smoke sweep hillside

Wildfires continued to rage over more than 27,000 acres in Southern California as crews battled the blazes and more than 150,000 people evacuated.

At least five people have been killed, countless are hurt and more than 1,000 structures are in ruin as the blazes devastate Southern California. The Palisades Fire is now the most destructive in Los Angeles history.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on residents to “conserve water to the extent that you can” as firefighters battle the historic blaze.

“But make no mistake, Los Angeles will rebuild stronger than ever,” she said.

A new blaze erupted in Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, prompting even more evacuation orders in the area. That fire has burned more than ten acres so far.

The Palisades Fire is now more than 15,000 acres, while the Eaton Fire has scorched some 10,600 acres.

The fires have forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents, including more than 60,000 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. More than 450,000 people are without power throughout the region, according to PowerOutage.us.

Homes have been destroyed across the LA area, including those owned by several celebrities.

Key Points

• Mayor Karen Bass speaks on devastating fires: ‘Los Angeles will rebuild’
• New blaze sparked in Hollywood Hills
• California wildfire death toll: Five people killed as more than 150,000 evacuate
• Some 1.5 million California customers are now without power
• Palisades and Eaton fires both at zero percent containment

[9 January 2025 06:00 · Amber Raiken]

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face evacuation and power outages at Montecito home amid LA wildfires

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be ordered to evacuate their home in Montecito, California amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.

[9 January 2025 05:01 · Kevin E G Perry]

Adam Brody, Leighton Meester and Diane Warren among celebrities whose homes burned in LA fire

Diane Warren, Anna Faris, and Adam Brody and his wife Leighton Meester are among the many celebrities to have reportedly lost their homes in the wildfires still burning across Los Angeles.

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

[9 January 2025 04:45 · Katie Hawkinson]

Trump blames Governor Newsom for fires and criticizes him over failure to sign fake document

President-elect Donald Trump has baselessly claimed Governor Gavin Newsom is to blame for the California fires because he failed to sign a “water restoration declaration.”

However, such a document does not exist.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that Newsom “refused to sign the water restoration declaration,” which he claims would have “allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California.”

“I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA,” Trump wrote. “He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

There is no such thing as a “water restoration declaration,” Izzy Gordon, Newsom’s communications director, told CalMatters on Wednesday. Gordon went on to call the claim “pure fiction.”

[9 January 2025 04:30 · Katie Hawkinson]

Watch live: New fire erupts in Hollywood Hills as mandatory evacuations ordered

[9 January 2025 04:15 · Katie Hawkinson]

LAPD helps direct Hollywood evacuation traffic

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has directed the city’s police department to help direct heavy evacuation traffic out of Hollywood.

“We are deploying LAPD officers to respond to Hollywood to help alleviate evacuation traffic,” Bass wrote on X. “We are working urgently to close roads, redirect traffic and expand access for LAFD vehicles to respond to the growing fire.”

The Hollywood Hills blaze sparked this afternoon, city officials said late Wednesday.

[9 January 2025 04:00 · Katie Hawkinson]

All Los Angeles Unified School District schools closed on Thursday

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District will be closed Thursday amid the fires devastating Southern California.

“As the Los Angeles region continues responding to this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our students and employees are of the utmost importance,” the district said in a statement. “All Los Angeles Unified schools and offices will be closed on Thursday, Jan. 9. The confluence of factors – wind, fire, and smoke – have created dangerous, complex situations that present unsafe conditions for our school communities. Select essential personnel will be contacted by their supervisors regarding potential work duties.”

[9 January 2025 03:45 · Katie Hawkinson]

Paris Hilton’s Malibu home burns down

Paris Hilton’s Malibu, California home burned down amid the devastating wildfires on Wednesday.

“Heartbroken beyond words,” Hilton wrote on X. “Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience.”

Several other celebrities — including Adam Brody, Leighton Meester and Diane Warren — have also lost their homes to the blazes.

[9 January 2025 03:30 · Katie Hawkinson]

President Biden cancels final foreign trip of presidency to focus on California fire response

President Joe Biden has canceled his upcoming trip to Italy to ensure he can focus on the federal response to the devastating California wildfires, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday evening.

It was set to be the final foreign trip of his presidency.

“After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where earlier today he had met with police, fire and emergency personnel fighting the historic fires raging in the area and approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, President Biden made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead,” she said in a statement.

[9 January 2025 03:15 · Katie Hawkinson]

New blaze sparked in Hollywood Hills

Yet another wildfire has broken out in southern California, this time in the Hollywood Hills area. The fire is quickly spreading and has already prompted new evacuation orders.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley announced the new blaze during a Wednesday evening news conference.

“I don’t have a lot of information,” Crowley said.

“I can tell you we’re throwing all of our available resources at it as we speak,” she added.

The blaze has burned at least 10 acres as of Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Times reports.

[9 January 2025 03:00 · Justin Rohrlich]

Five football fields a minute: How a perfect storm of extreme weather set off Los Angeles wildfires

Tens of thousands of Southern California residents have evacuated their homes as multiple wildfires continue to devastate the area, abandoning vehicles, property, and other possessions in their haste to escape the flames now spreading at a rate of about five football fields per minute.

In all, more than 27,000 acres have been scorched by the flames, and at least five people have been killed.

“The smoke is a toxic soup,” Brian Rice, president of the statewide California Professional Firefighters union said on Wednesday, imploring tourists to stay out of the vicinity. “It’s not just the brush that’s burning, but homes are burning. Homes contain plastics that are built from petrochemical compounds. If you do not have to be in that area and breathe that environment in, don’t. It’s dangerous.”