LA fires latest updates: Wildfire sweeps through Hollywood Hills and threatens landmarks as chaos grips Los Angeles – BBC.com
Wildfires in Los Angeles have killed at least ten people, and forecasters warn more high winds may fan the flames furtherLos Angeles’s medical examiner confirmed ten fire-related deaths on Thursday eveningLos Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna says it hasn’t been safe to reach many hard-hit areas and the death toll is “absolutely going to change”A man has been detained on suspicion of lighting the latest fire, which broke out on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties on ThursdayArson investigators are looking into the start of another fire, in the Palisades, which has gone on to destroy more than 5,300 structures The Eaton fire is estimated to have destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structuresA curfew is planned for some areas after police arrest 20 people for looting abandoned homesCrews dealing with the blaze tell our reporter they are desperately short of water – and fear they are fighting a losing battle.Our live coverage continues hereEdited by Gavin ButlerThanks for joining our rolling coverage of the California wildfires. It’s a dynamic situation, and we’re going to keep bringing you live updates as we get them.We’re moving our coverage here.This video can not be playedSpent cartridges found amongst fire wreckage in Los AngelesThe BBC’s Emma Vardy described hearing bangs and pops coming from the fires as they tore their way through the Pacific Palisades. Visiting the area in the fire’s aftermath, she found one possible cause: the exploded remains of ammunition casings. A firefighting aircraft struck a drone while it was operating over the Palisades Fire on Thursday evening, aviation authorities say.The aircraft, nicknamed a Super Scooper, suffered a hole in its wing but landed safely. Nobody was injured, the Federal Aviation Administration said, adding that the incident was under investigation.”Flying a drone near a wildfire is dangerous and can cost lives,” it said, noting that this could cause aircraft to be grounded.”Delaying airborne response poses a threat to firefighters on the ground, residents, and property in nearby communities, and it can allow wildfires to grow larger.”Flying a drone in the midst of firefighting efforts is a federal crime, and punishable by up to 12 months in prison or a fine of up to $75,000. Las Vegas officials have warned drivers to avoid heavy use of their cars due to disruptions to a fuel pipeline from Los Angeles, more than 500 miles away.Officials say the announcement was being made “in an abundance of caution” after a key pipeline was hit by a power cut.Fuel pipeline operator Kinder Morgan says its CalNev pipeline – which transports petrol, diesel and jet fuel from California to Las Vegas – has been shut since 8 January.The firm also says its SFPP West pipeline – which carries fuel from the Los Angeles Basin to the cities of Colton and Imperial, California, and to Phoenix, Arizona – is closed due to a power outage.Kinder Morgan says neither of the pipelines have been directly impacted by the blazes and it expects them to start working again as soon as the outages are over.California’s military department has deployed to support law enforcement, amid a rise in looting and theft in some evacuated neighbourhoods. “Taking advantage of evacuated communities is absolutely sick. Looting will not be tolerated,” California governor Gavin Newsom said in an X post on the army officers’ arrival.At least 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting during the wildfires. This video can not be playedWatch: BBC’s Emma Vardy walks through fire-wrecked Pacific PalisadesEarlier today, the BBC’s Emma Vardy found utter devastation in what was until recently a typical American neighbourhood in the Pacific Palisades.Among the debris are burned out cars, people’s possessions and other remnants of homes that have been destroyed in the blaze. The death toll from the wildfires has risen to 10, authorities say.The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner says the remains of these people are still being identified. “The identification may take several weeks as the Department of Medical Examiner is not able to respond to all death locations due to the fire conditions and safety concerns,” they said in a statement on Thursday night.The process of notifying the victims’s legal next of kin is also under way.Los Angeles police say they have detained a man suspected of trying to light a fire in the Woodland Hills area of the city.A statement said that, at 16:32 local time on Thursday (00:32 GMT on Friday), officers received a call about a “possible arson suspect on the 21700 block of Ybarra Road”. “Comments of the call stated a male was heard stating a suspect was ‘attempting to light a fire’,” it said.”The suspect is in custody and was transported to Topanga Station.”Ybarra Road is immediately north of the area where the Palisades fire has been burning since Tuesday, but police stressed that an investigation was continuing and that they could not confirm “any connection to any fire by this suspect at this time”.Claire BetzerReporting from DCCalifornia’s Department of Corrections confirmed to the BBC that nearly 800 incarcerated individuals are embedded with CalFire to slow the spread of the wildfires, as part of a voluntary program. CalFire has about 4,700 of its own first responders deployed now, so it’s a surprisingly significant number of incarcerated people supporting the response.The California department of corrections and rehabilitation runs firefighting training camps across the state for prison inmates, who support authorities’ disaster response.Over 1,800 incarcerated volunteer firefighters are housed in these camps, officials said. They typically earn little to no pay, according to rights groups.Entire houses have been torched to the ground as the worst wildfires in Los Angeles’ history tear through the city’s neighbourhoods.As firefighting efforts continue for a third day, some residents have returned to clear the debris that’s left of their homes.Resources to combat the California wildfires are being pulled in from multiple states – including Oregon, Utah and Nevada – said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The department also announced that firefighters, aviation assets, and other support staff from the California National Guard have joined firefighting efforts.This comes in addition to the Cal Guard’s earlier deployment of helicopters, aircraft, and personnel to Southern California.There are currently five fires burning in the Los Angeles area. Here’s the current status for each: As fires continue to burn in California, the European Union’s Earth observation program, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, has revealed another global warming milestone: 2024 was the warmest year since records began in 1850. It was also the first year that global temperatures reached more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.The Paris Agreement aims at “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.California was no exception. Last year, the US state experienced a remarkably warm summer. It also faced a lack of rain in recent months.The dry conditions, combined with the naturally-occurring Santa Ana winds, can produce the sort of fast-moving and dangerous fire outbreaks we are currently seeing in Los Angeles and its neighbouring Ventura county.”Forward progress of the Kenneth fire has been stopped, and the fire is currently holding at 960 acres with 0% containment,” the Ventura County fire department just announced on X. The department says that about 400 firefighters will remain on scene through the night, though there has been no reported damage to structures. Evacuation orders have been downgraded to warnings in Los Angeles County, while evacuation warnings in Ventura County have been lifted.Tiffanie TurnbullBBC News, SydneyDespite being in the midst of its own bushfire season, Australia has offered to help authorities in Los Angeles.North American fire crews and aircraft were crucial when Australia faced its own unprecedented Black Summer fires, in 2019-20, and government minister Jenny McAllister has stressed that there is a “long history of cooperation between our countries on firefighting”.”We are yet to receive any response for assistance… We’d assess, of course, our own needs. But we’ll do everything we responsibly can to help our colleagues in the United States if they ask us,” she told Sky News Australia on Friday morning, local time.The breakout of fires in the middle of LA’s winter has caused anxiety here in Australia, which has a comparatively small aerial firefighting fleet and relies on leasing aircraft from others. That leaves the country increasingly exposed as the northern hemisphere fire seasons expands and cuts into ours.There are currently more than a dozen fires blazing in the Australian state of New South Wales alone, although none of them are currently at emergency status.The Kenneth Fire, which broke out on Thursday afternoon on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, is the latest to have ignited in Southern California.Within hours the blaze has grown to nearly 1,000 acres and prompted mandatory evacuations.Authorities say they’re expecting the fire to spread quickly due to strong winds.A man was detained by citizens about 30 minutes after the fire started, and the LAPD has confirmed that he has been arrested for suspected arson.In a matter of 24 hours, Accuweather has nearly tripled its preliminary estimate for total damage from the California wildfires. Its latest projection says losses could amount to as much as $150bn. That’s revised from an estimate of up to $57bn yesterday.“These
fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire
disasters in modern US history,” AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist Jonathan
Porter said. The blazes have ripped through areas that are home to some of the most expensive property in the United States. Fire authorities say more than 5,300 structures have been destroyed by the Palisades blaze, while between 4,000 and 5,000 structures have potentially been damaged or destroyed by the Eaton Fire. The insurance industry is also bracing for a major hit, with analysts from firms such as Morningstar and JP Morgan forecasting insured losses of more than $8bn.Read more hereTwenty to 30 minutes after the Kenneth Fire started, a suspected arsonist was detained by citizens in the Woodland Hills area, LAPD senior lead officer Charles Dinsel has told NewsNation.When asked if “someone purposely set the Kenneth fire”, Dinsel confirmed that this is what the police currently believe.When asked if police knew why or how the suspect did that, Dinsel said: “That I don’t know.” The incident is being investigated as a crime, he added.Captain Karl Patterson, Watch Commander with Ventura County Sheriff’s office tells the BBC that the LAPD has an arson suspect in custody regarding the Kenneth Fire, and that Ventura County is sending a detective now to question the suspect.He says the suspect is male and was detained “in the vicinity of the fire, which is why LAPD got there first”.Containment of the Palisades fire is at 6% as of 18:00 local time (02:00 GMT), California governor Gavin Newsom announced in a post on X.”Thank you to our brave firefighters working around the clock to combat the blaze fueled by hurricane-force winds,” Newsom wrote. “Please continue to heed emergency orders from local officials and first responders.”© 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
