What happened on Thursday, Jan. 23 as multiple new fires erupt in Southern California

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday that her brother was among the thousands of people who lost their homes in the Palisades fire.

“The loss that you’re going through, I share indirectly. It’s hit my family too,” Bass said at a meeting of the Pacific Palisades Community Council. “My brother, who has lived in Malibu for 40 years, been through many fires, evacuated many times — this time didn’t get away.”

Moments after the morning bell rang Thursday, the kindergartners at Pasadena’s Willard Elementary School — back in class for the first time since the Eaton fire roared through the area — were fully engaged in what 5-year-olds do best: play.

Four children were putting on a dinner party, complete with plastic food and dolls. “Ice cream and tomato — yucky!” one girl told a classmate. “If you eat it, you’re gonna get doo-doo.”

Fire crews responded to two new brush fires that ignited in Riverside County on Thursday afternoon as the region contended with another day of dry and dangerous fire weather.

The Reche fire ignited around 4:15 p.m. by Reche Canyon Road and High Country Drive in Moreno Valley, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Aerial and ground crews responded to the three-acre fire, which was burning through light vegetation at a moderate rate. No injuries or evacuations were reported.

Fire crews made quick progress battling the blaze. They released all of the aircraft and canceled some of the ground resources around 5 p.m., according to a department spokesperson.

Another brush fire ignited near State Street and Gibbel Road in Hemet at 4:40 p.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Aerial and ground crews responded to the incident, which was near the Hemet Ryan Airport and Diamond Valley Lake reservoir, according to Cal Fire.

Aerial resources were able to use the reservoir to make quick and repeated water drops. Forward progress on the blaze was stopped at 15 acres on Thursday evening, fire officials said. No evacuation warnings were issued.

Riverside County is part of a wide swath of Southern California under a red flag warning until 10 a.m. Friday due to wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph and humidity rates of 5% or lower, according to the National Weather Service. Light rainfall is forecast in the county over the weekend.

Some policyholders who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are not getting claims advances that are due to them, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara alleged Thursday.

In response, Lara issued a bulletin reminding all California insurers that the law requires victims who have suffered total losses to get advance payments for their living expenses and loss of contents.

Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, along with several other Pacific Palisades property owners, have sued the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power over damage to their properties during the Palisades fire, adding to the growing litigation against the city in the wake of the disaster.

The “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” reality stars, who lost their home in the fire, filed their lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging inverse condemnation — a legal concept that gives property owners compensation for damage caused by public use.

In this case, the reality TV personalities, along with more than 20 other property owners, tenants and individuals who suffered as a result of the Palisades fire, blamed the city and the utility’s operation of its water supply and related infrastructure for causing damage to their properties.

The complaint cited reports about the Santa Ynez Reservoir — the reservoir meant to service Pacific Palisades — being offline and emptied before the fire erupted Jan. 7. According to Los Angeles Times reporting, the 117-million gallon reservoir had been offline for repairs since early 2024. The reservoir remains empty, and DWP’s chief of water operations told The Times that repairs requested “ASAP” in January 2024 would not be done until April or May 2025.

In a milestone in the grim search for victims of the Jan. 7 firestorms, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Thursday that all those reported missing in the Palisades fire within its jurisdiction had been accounted for.

However, the work is not yet over. The search is still underway for missing people in Malibu, which was also hit by the Palisades fire, and in areas of Altadena ravaged by the Eaton fire.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday that 22 people remained unaccounted for in the areas it patrols, including 17 in the Eaton fire and five in the Palisades fire.

The overall death toll from the two fires stands at 28.

A fast-moving brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon within the Otay Mountain Wilderness area of San Diego County.

The Border 2 fire was reported around 2:30 p.m. west of the neighborhood of Doghouse Junction, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and by Thursday night had burned about 600 acres and remained 0% contained.

There were about 200 fire personnel battling the fire, with several helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Another brush fire, the Gilman fire, ignited shortly after 2 p.m. in La Jolla just south of UC San Diego. The blaze scorched about 2 acres near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante before firefighters halted its forward progress.

Evacuations that had been issued for nearby homes and an elementary school were lifted by late afternoon.

A small brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon along the northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Seal Beach, snarling traffic and prompting lane closures.

The blaze was reported about 1:30 p.m. Two lanes on the northbound 405 Freeway and the transition road from the 405 to the 605 Freeway were closed as firefighters worked in the area, said California Highway Patrol Officer Duane Graham.

Firefighters were able to stop forward progress of the fire within 45 minutes, holding it to about 1 acre. No structures were threatened.

It was not clear when the lanes would reopen. Orange County fire officials did not have immediate details about the size of the blaze or how it started.

Red flag warnings, which warn of critical fire weather and rapid spread of fire should ignition occur, are set to continue in much of Southern California through Friday morning.

The time of greatest danger will be through Thursday at 6 p.m., with the risk gradually lowering through Friday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Kittell.

Gusts over Los Angeles and Ventura counties could reach 25 mph to 40 mph over the course of Thursday night, then will weaken to gusts between 15 and 30 mph for early Friday morning, Kittell said.

“The moral of the story is that the worst of it is through today [Thursday],” Kittell said. “but there’ll still be some lingering winds that, if a fire were to get started in one of those windier areas, it could still cause an issue and grow fairly fast, all the way into tomorrow [Friday] morning.”

The air will still be very dry, with relative humidity below 10% through that time period, keeping the risk of fire spread significant. Red flag warnings are set to end at 10 a.m. Friday for much of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Rain is forecast to start as early as Saturday and last as late as Monday night, but the exact timing of the rain is uncertain. Rain has the highest chance of falling between Saturday night and Sunday.

Over a three-day period, downtown L.A., Long Beach and Santa Clarita could get three-fifths of an inch of rain, while Thousand Oaks and Redondo Beach could get a little more than a half an inch of rain. Rainfall could be higher or lower than anticipated, depending on the path of the low-pressure system as it drops in Southern California — if it shifts to the west, it could be wetter; if it shifts to the east, it could be drier, Kittell said.

Most likely, the rainfall will be of a light intensity, spread out over many hours.

But there is a 10% to 20% chance of thunderstorms across the region, which could happen at any time, and could bring isolated, brief heavy rainfall at rates of half an inch an hour. As a result, there is a 5% to 10% chance of damaging debris flow in recently burned areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Kittell said.

There is also a moderate risk of small hail.

Snow levels could fall to an elevation of 3,500 to 4,500 feet above sea level. There could be 5 to 10 inches of snow in the San Gabriel Mountains, with a potential for 1 to 2 inches on the Tejon Pass, also known as the Grapevine section of Interstate 5.

A smoke advisory will remain in effect for areas of western and northwestern Los Angeles County until at least tonight, as crews continue their work to contain the Hughes fire near Castaic.

The advisory is valid until 10 p.m. Thursday, and warns that smoke is expected to most heavily affect areas “near and to the southwest” of the fire, including Santa Clarita, the Interstate 5 corridor near Castaic Lake and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Smoke could also affect the western L.A. County coast, “primarily west of Malibu,” according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

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The district has also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory, cautioning that blustery conditions could disperse ash from recent burn areas — including the Palisades and Eaton fires. That advisory is in effect until 6 p.m.

“Predicting where ash or soot from a fire will travel, or how winds will impact air quality, is difficult, so it’s important for everyone to stay aware of the air quality in your area, make plans and take action to protect your health and your family’s health,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, L.A. County’s health officer, in a statement. “Smoke and ash can harm everyone, even those who are healthy.”

Those at higher risk include children or older adults, those who are pregnant and those who have lung/heart conditions or weakened immune systems, Davis said.

Strong winds in Southern California have brought severe fire danger and widespread power outages across Southern California.

Residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the Los Angeles firestorms are being offered mortgage relief by nearly 270 state-chartered banks, credit unions and other financial companies, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

The announcement follows a decision by five major banks last week to offer mortgage relief to the fire victims.

When the flames destroyed Ria Cousineau’s Altadena house and damaged the home of her partner, Emily Allen, a horrific situation gave way to what felt like an impossible task.

In an effort to find a semipermanent home while they rebuild, Cousineau estimated the couple toured about 10 houses over four or five days, with one house seeing at least 30 families stroll through in just 10 minutes. Under pressure, they offered to pay $250 more per month than the asking price on a Pasadena rental.

The Laguna fire broke out about 9:40 a.m. Thursday and was burning near Camarillo and the campus of Cal State Channel Islands. The fire had burned nearly 94 acres and was 70% contained by Thursday night.

Evacuations

The state unveiled its revamped fire relief website on Thursday, offering a one-stop shop to help Los Angeles County firestorm survivors access vital services.

Fire victims can use the website to find information on how to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief, file insurance claims, replace documents and return to their homes safely. It also offers assistance with accessing food, expense reimbursements and shelter, and provides real-time updates via fire maps, air quality information and road closure maps as well.

Rep. Judy Chu has called for an independent investigation into why it took so long to evacuate parts of Altadena during the Jan. 7 Eaton Fire.

A Times investigation reported earlier this week that residents of Altadena living west of Lake Avenue did not get evacuation warnings until many hours after the fire started. All of the 17 confirmed deaths from the fire occurred in that part of Altadena.

Chu said in a statement she was “dismayed and deeply concerned that evacuation warnings and orders were significantly delayed.”

“We owe it to the victims, survivors, and their families to ensure that these evacuation notification delays and failures are not repeated. I urge Los Angeles County emergency officials to conduct an immediate, independent investigation into the handling of these emergency notifications to examine the timeline of alerts, the coordination between agencies, and changes needed to be made to strengthen our systems to save lives. Transparency and accountability are critical so that every community is treated equitably in future emergencies,” she added.

Fifteen days after fire ripped through Pacific Palisades, destroying his house on Iliff Street and reducing a good part of his school to rubble, Jonathan Fuhrman pulled up to the kitchen table of his temporary Brentwood home, logged into his laptop and launched Zoom.

“Here we go again,” said the Palisades Charter High School senior, who spent most of middle school in virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic and started out high school wearing a mask and taking weekly coronavirus tests. “I wonder if people will be on camera.”

The Sepulveda fire was burning east of the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass early Thursday morning.

Evacuation warning

The wildfires that have torn through Pacific Palisades and other parts of Los Angeles this month have damaged or destroyed about $350 million in public infrastructure, including streetlights, recreation centers and a library that burned down, according to a city report.

The initial cost estimate, which examined damage from the first four days of the fires, was presented Wednesday to the City Council as part of a larger discussion on the impact of the emergency on the city budget.

A real estate agent in La Cañada Flintridge is facing criminal charges for allegedly raising the price of a rental property by 38% after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Wednesday.

“May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything,” Bonta said in a release. “DOJ is aggressively and relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to make a quick buck off someone else’s pain.”

As the sun began to set over Castaic Lake on Wednesday, the hills to the north and east were engulfed in flames, casting an eerie orange glow across the valley below.

The Hughes fire ignited earlier in the day north of Castaic and by evening had grown to more than 9,000 acres, forcing the evacuation of about 31,000 people.

A fire ignited late Wednesday in Bel-Air on the eastern side of the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass and burned into the early morning hours Thursday.

The fire, across the freeway and a mile north from the Getty Center, moved uphill amid wind gusts in the area that at one point reached 25 mph, according to Todd Hall, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Contributing to the fire conditions was extremely dry air; relative humidity was 3% to 8%.

A stretch of Interstate 5 in northern Los Angeles County that was closed because of the nearby Hughes fire reopened Wednesday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, officials closed the freeway in both directions through the Grapevine, with northbound lanes shut down at the interchange with Highway 126 and southbound traffic closed at Grapevine Road on the southern edge of Kern County.

“For a variety of reasons, we will reopen the freeway so that people can go back and forth again,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said during a news conference.

However, Luna stressed that those who do not need to travel should still avoid the area.

“If you do not live in this area, if you’re following the smoke, if you want to go see what the firefighters are doing, turn on the television set,” he said. “Do not drive into these areas. You are impacting the ingress and the egress of emergency vehicles. We don’t need more traffic. We want less traffic.”

Moments after the Hughes fire exploded, L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami said he raced out of the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster and drove back to Santa Clarita, where his children and hundreds of others were being evacuated from West Creek Academy as the sky overhead darkened with smoke.

“You had some parents crying. You had younger kids ... they were crying. You could see the smoke from the school, everybody is kind of on edge,” said Hatami, whose children are 8 and 10.