Los Angeles wildfires spread to Hollywood as 100,000 ordered to evacuate; at least 5 dead

Blame the winds and ‘climate change’ ad infinitum but mass housing overdevelopment also has a hand in the tragedy.

SO SAD, some of these location I have been to several times, Beautiful Sunset, Beautiful Beaches, and Beautiful People makes you feel like the perfect place were you want to be all the time.

I pray for the people of LA and all the people involved fighting these merciless winds of fire,

Stay Safe Everyone.

Climate change creates this horror.

Nature is wreaking terrible revenge on the arrogance of Man. No, you cannot build wherever you choose without taking into account the risks of climate and environment. The Palisades is a beautiful place to live if you have the money and the neighborhood will of course recover when the wealthy return to rebuild their dream homes.

Climate change creates this horror.

Not this time. I grew up a couple of blocks from the evacuation zone for the Hurst Fire. 80+ mph Santa Ana winds in the fall and even into the winter are normal. It was the fall ritual. You couldn't sleep during the winds because they shook the house so hard and wind screeched and farted through poorly sealed old wooden frame windows. The noise was deafening. After such winds my dad and I would collect all the roofing shingles strewn across the back yard, put the ladder up against the house and go on the roof to nail the shingles back on. Sometimes we had to buy a few new ones. Then while you were up there you would put the TV antenna back up and re-secure the guy wires that were supposed to keep it from blowing over. After you were done fixing the roof you would put the fences that blew down back up.

I have seen countless fires in those mountains since I was a kid there in the 1960s. Big fires. We used to love watching the water dropping aircraft, old B-17s, B-24s and PBY Catalina's plus what was brand new at the time, helicopters dropping water, dropping bright red retardant or ride our bikes up to the top of "Cycle Hill" (Cycle was pronounced like Sickle) to watch the old PBYs skimming water off the big LA city reservoir across the street.

When I was a school bus driver I can recall one Santa Ana where the bus was blown sideways across two lanes of traffic with enough force to blow the door open against the pneumatic mechanism. Luckily no traffic so just a good scare. This was in a big 78 passenger transit style bus btw.

The problem is that people keep building into these mountains. Places that were open land with creeks and trees when I was a kid are now buried beneath pavement, tan stucco and pink tile roofs.

Nothing to do with climate change. Everything to do with far left democratic politicians who defund the fire departments, fail to cleanup areas that could be impacted by fires, and now the firefighters are claiming there’s no water in the hydrants!

A full frontal display of ignorance. LA City and LA County fire departments are lavishly funded. They are among the best equipped fire departments in the US. LA County has eight medium lift fire fighting helicopters based on the UH-60 Blackhawk. They are called the Firehawk and LA County paid Sikorsky to develop that helicopter for their specific needs. They were until about three or four years ago the only fire fighting agency to fight wild fires at night using Night Vision Goggles. NVG training is not cheap nor is the equipment. LA County was the first agency to use helicopters to drop water on fires, developed most of the equipment and made it in-house then worked with the FAA to certify their equipment and tactics for safety of flight. None of that was cheap. They always send at least four fire fighters per truck. The county I live in now only sends two. There are only three fire fighters on duty in any station where LA County has 8-12,, sometimes more per station. They can't do much more when a house burns than hose down the neighboring houses and let the one on fire burn.

LA City Fire has five medium lift fire fighting helicopters from Leonardo. That is more fire fighting helos than many states have. That is 13 helos between LA City and LA County. But what you are missing is that most helos cannot engage rotors in winds above 45-50 knots. Why? As the rotor starts to turn on engagement the blades will flap enough to strike the tail boom. You also can't taxi safely in a 50 knot cross wind, and at most airports you have to ground taxi from your ramp to a runway or other designated area to take off. Taking off from the ramp risks damaging the other helos, ground equipment and buildings. Same with the stiff wingers. You get a 50 knot cross wind under the wing and it will lift the wing up and tip the plane over. Even worse is a 50 knot tail wind. It will tip you on your nose. LA was experiencing 80-100 mph winds. In winds like those you can't fly and firefighters on the ground can't stop the fire either. No amount of firefighters is going to stop that kind of fire.

A full frontal display of ignorance. LA City and LA County fire departments are lavishly funded. They are among the best equipped fire departments in the US. LA County has eight medium lift fire fighting helicopters based on the UH-60 Blackhawk. They are called the Firehawk and LA County paid Sikorsky to develop that helicopter for their specific needs. They were until about three or four years ago the only fire fighting agency to fight wild fires at night using Night Vision Goggles. NVG training is not cheap nor is the equipment. LA County was the first agency to use helicopters to drop water on fires, developed most of the equipment and made it in-house then worked with the FAA to certify their equipment and tactics for safety of flight. None of that was cheap. They always send at least four fire fighters per truck. The county I live in now only sends two. There are only three fire fighters on duty in any station where LA County has 8-12,, sometimes more per station. They can't do much more when a house burns than hose down the neighboring houses and let the one on fire burn. 

LA City Fire has five medium lift fire fighting helicopters from Leonardo. That is more fire fighting helos than many states have. That is 13 helos between LA City and LA County. But what you are missing is that most helos cannot engage rotors in winds above 45-50 knots. Why? As the rotor starts to turn on engagement the blades will flap enough to strike the tail boom. You also can't taxi safely in a 50 knot cross wind, and at most airports you have to ground taxi from your ramp to a runway or other designated area to take off. Taking off from the ramp risks damaging the other helos, ground equipment and buildings. Same with the stiff wingers. You get a 50 knot cross wind under the wing and it will lift the wing up and tip the plane over. Even worse is a 50 knot tail wind. It will tip you on your nose. LA was experiencing 80-100 mph winds. In winds like those you can't fly and firefighters on the ground can't stop the fire either. No amount of firefighters is going to stop that kind of fire.

Making excuses for an inept admin and how these liberal politicians mismanaged this crisis will not help, nor will it make it go away. I hope and pray that people now will see what the Dems and Newsom have done to that State and finally kick this out and these people out of office.

One thing that we non-Americans always find gruesomely fascinating is what seems to be an instinctual response for Americans to take even a dire situation like this and turn it into a political issue before even considering the human aspect. I mean, it sounds almost like certain people are celebrating these fires because they're occurring in a state that pretty much always votes Democrat.

I assume that next time the lights go out in Texas because the grid fails, it will be down to an act of God or something, which nobody could have stopped, and how dare you even suggest that the local politicians had anything to do with it...

Making excuses for an inept admin and how these liberal politicians mismanaged this crisis will not help, nor will it make it go away. I hope and pray that people now will see what the Dems and Newsom have done to that State and finally kick this out and these people out of office

An asinine comment. If you want to blame anyone it is developers who build homes in increasingly stupid places because once they make their money they have no skin in what happens after, and city councils and county boards of supervisors that are either afraid to stop them or who get sued by developers and loose. Land use decisions are local. The state doesn't dictate zoning. The state cannot tell a county to not approve a project or stop one themselves. That is up to local government.

An asinine comment.

No, no it's not.

If you want to blame anyone it is developers

I blame the politicians and the policies that made it harder for the developers to do their jobs properly.

There were numerous calls for clearing the dry underbrush that carries a lot of these fires; they could have hired people and paid them well to clear it, but California officials laughed at the idea, Trump suggested that as well, that too, was ignored and here we are.

I blame the politicians and the policies that made it harder for the developers to do their jobs properly.

Laughable. Completely upside down. The county and city try to prevent developments in high fire danger areas so these tragedies won't happen but the developers sue and win. They get their way, sometimes as in a Verdugo Hills development the developers sue existing homeowners for millions each for publicly opposing their project.

There were numerous calls for clearing the dry underbrush that carries a lot of these fires; they could have hired people and paid them well to clear it, but California officials laughed at the idea.

Because the idea is laughable. Why should my tax dollars pay to clear a defensible space around the homes of hillside landowners? Screw that. They want to live there let them pay to clear the brush behind and around their homes. I oppose using tax money for that purpose. A better idea is for insurance companies to charge higher rates to home owners who do not clear brush, maybe even refuse to pay for a loss unless specific brush removal criteria are met. I made a choice to locate my home someplace with no fire or flood danger. I am not willing to have my taxes used to pay for brush clearance for people who make more in a year than I will make in ten. I also think there should be a premium on their property taxes to pay for fire suppression and clearance but when the state tried to do that the courts ruled it was unconstitutional.

In California forest management is a Federal responsibility. The majority of the states forests are Federal land. The state has no control over it. Nearly all the rest are private property. The state owns just 3% of the forests in California. Despite that the state spends more money each year on brush clearance than the Federal Government does.

Truly hell on earth.

100,000 evacuated....

Shocking pictures.

Kudos to the courage bravery of the firefighters, first responders, rescue services.

President Trump three months ago was on Joe Rogan episode talking about how California refuses to build water reservoirs and manage their forests to prevent wildfires.

The left: ”why is he talking about thaaaaat”?

well, now ya know.

Climate change. You reap what you sow?

The fire is spreading to other areas and shows no signs of stopping.

Biden declared a major disaster for California and pledged any help he could provide in his final days in office before handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

Hopefully the help goes to those who need it.

President Trump three months ago was on Joe Rogan episode talking about how California refuses to build water reservoirs and manage their forests to prevent wildfires.

The state of California controls 3% of the forested land in the state. The Federal government controls over half and the remainder is private land, often owned by lumber companies and utility rights of way. The state has no jurisdiction on Federal lands. It is up to the USFS and BLM to manage their lands. State laws do not apply there. Private property owners are responsible for their property. California spends more on fire prevention than the Federal Government does even though it owns a small fraction of the amount of land the Federal Government owns in California.

In any event these are not forests that are burning. The vegetation in those mountains are scrub oak and chaparral. No forests. If you looked at the fire in Alta Dena, it burned through the town fed by the trees and landscaping in people's yards. These were homes on flat ground miles from the mountains. Not a forest to be found. It was the city itself burning.

Climate change. You reap what you sow?

Absolutely. I just found out that one of my best friends who is a big time fashion photographer is packing as I’m writing this, the guy lives in the Hollywood Hills and just got the order to evacuate. He has to leave all of his camera gear behind worth a million alone and just take a loss. Newsom will never recover for this. I think this is the nail in his coffin that will seal his fate and ultimate demise.

In any event these are not forests that are burning. The vegetation in those mountains are scrub oak and chaparral. No forests. If you looked at the fire in Alta Dena, it burned through the town fed by the trees and landscaping in people's yards. These were homes on flat ground miles from the mountains. Not a forest to be found. It was the city itself burning.

Newsom and the Dems had enough time to prepare that state and they didn’t. Where is the mayor by the way?

Fire hydrants dry? Now how on earth does that ever happen??? Especially in a state that is prone to fires? Everyone knew that the heavy winter rains would increase underbrush growth. Newsom should have easily been able to figure out that major fire possibility and do something about it.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/01/08/dry-hydrants-firefighting/

Absolutely. I just found out that one of my best friends who is a big time fashion photographer is packing as I’m writing this, the guy lives in the Hollywood Hills and just got the order to evacuate. He has to leave all of his camera gear behind worth a million alone and just take a loss. Newsom will never recover for this. I think this is the nail in his coffin that will seal his fate and ultimate demise.

Anyway, a pro photographer will have everything insured, and unless he was using cameras which were literal one-of-a-kinds, he can get them replaced, maybe with something even better. The technology's always improving.

Anyway, a pro photographer will have everything insured,

I never said he didn’t. No need to put words in my mouth. Careful.

and unless he was using cameras which were literal one-of-a-kinds, he can get them replaced, maybe with something even better. The technology's always improving.

If the insurance companies have enough money to pay out, doubt it with the damage that is ongoing and not stopping, doubt it, but we shall see.

So you’re saying essentially The governors job in California is just to extort the people all their taxes, eat and dine in fine restaurants and just look down on the people and smile why they suffer?? Wow!

You want state control over federal and private lands. How does that work?

Anyway, the point is, California is now waking up and I hope all of the people and my friends get out safely, a few I can’t get ahold of, four of them I was able to make contact with. Beautiful area, just gorgeous, know that area well, it’s just sad that Pacific Palisades is no more. Seems like the fires are getting closer to Hollywood blvd. seems like the Laugh Factory comedy club could be in trouble.

reports are that it started from an accidental small fire in someone's backyard. santa ana winds spread it immediately.

the hawaiian fires last year killed over 100 people.

relentless development without infrastructure to support it. the curse of real estate developers controlling city councils.

the developers made their money. they're delighted deep down inside at the prospect of getting to make more money building again on the same spots. they'll even buy up the land on the cheap to make even more money.

there's a lot of money in disasters.

If only 'fire season' had spread beyond its boundaries, then yes, the increased population and human activities in fire prone areas would be a candidate for significant blame.

But 'hurricane season' and 'tornado season' have undergone just as much spread as 'fire season'. That makes climate change the primary cause.

Which is 'problematic' because the number one contributor to climate change is prolific American overconsumption, and that's not something that voting for a different party, developing a specific industry, or boycotting specific products/companies will fix.

It is going to take a fundamental change to American society to address the problem, and if America chooses not to, well, we're not that far from the point where the rest of the world is going to realize that they are going to have to MAKE America change for their own protection.

Onee result may be that fewer, but more expensive, homes will be built in the area. Many will not be able to afford the replacement costs and the uber wealthy will consolidate properties and build on larger lot sizes. Selling the land will be the best option for many who lost their homes.

People who don't live in So Cal and have no idea what the terrain and vegetation look like or how our water delivery system operates are making a lot of incorrect assumptions.

Number one there has been no rain in Southern California for eight months. No rain in December, which is if not a first extremely unusual. Second, the winds were on the high side, more a typical Santa Ana condition. Winds like this happen and I have seen them but they are rare. 100 mph winds in the mountains above the Palisades Fire. 80 mph winds at Van Nuys and Hollywood Burbank Airports that grounded fire fighting helicopters. You can't even start your rotors in winds like that. Grounded the fixed wing aircraft too. A fire driven by 60-80 mph winds is impossible to stop.

The second is that the LA City reservoirs are full. The water tanks in those hillside regions were full. The city still has full reservoirs in the Owens Valley which I have seen in the past two weeks with my own eyes. Haiwee Reservoir is full to the brim. They are not short of water. The entire system from Mono Lake to LA is gravity feed all the way to the ocean. A few hillside neighborhoods need water pumped into hill top water tanks. The pumps that fill the hill top tanks were working just fine. But fire trucks have big pumps on them that literally suck water out of the hydrant and boost the pressure so the hoses can deliver the high volumes of water necessary to put fires out. Fire trucks were simply pulling so much water out of the storage tanks that the big pumps that fill them could not keep up. They were not designed for that kind of demand. This has never happened before but there has never been a fire with so many fire trucks pulling so much water out of those tanks all at once.

If you look at what made the fire spread in Alta Dena, it wasn't brush. What burned was the city itself. The winds pushed the fire from tree to tree in landscaped yards and down landscaped business streets. Vegetation lit up homes and the winds carried embers miles downwind to start new fires further south in the city. The fire wasn't burning through wild lands but through a many decades old established city. It started on the edge of town but most of the footprint of the fire was in a built up urban area miles from the mountains.

As for the LAFD budget, it was reduced less than 1% over the previous year. The entire city budget was reduced compared to 2023 due to a reduction in revenues. Many departments were reduced more to allow the city to hire more police officers and paramedics since the majority of LAFD calls are for medical emergencies.

LA County Fire Department is the primary agency for the region and has a budget of over $1.6 Billion. They dwarf LA Fire Dept in size and capability. There are 29 firefighting agencies in LA County counting LA Fire Dept. and those of other cities in the county that have their own municipal fire department. All of them have all of their equipment and manpower committed fighting these fires.

If anyone wonders why those of a certain mindset are trying to make about everything BUT what is actually to blame, remember that this event involves unusually strong gusts of hot air blowing burning hot detris around that cause destruction and injuries when they land if people can't cool them down fast enough, and those trying to do that cooling down being overwhelmed despite almost superhuman efforts.

Newsom and the Dems had enough time to prepare that state and they didn’t.

It should not be the state's responsibility to provide brush clearance for wealthy landowners in exclusive mountainside neighborhoods. Let them pay for it out of their abundant wealth, or form a tax district to fund brush removal.

I did my homework when I chose my current home to ensure it was not in a flood zone, near a major fault or in any kind of fire danger area. I don't believe the state should subsidize the stupidity of those who choose to live in high fire danger areas by clearing brush for them on the taxpayers dime.