UPDATE, 3:33 p.m.:
More mandatory evacuations were ordered Thursday afternoon after a new fire erupted at the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, near L.A.’s Woodland Hills neighborhood.
Designated the Kenneth Fire, according to the Los Angeles time it ignited alongside a trailhead near Victory Boulevard.
The evacuation order applies to residents between Vanowen Street south to Burbank Boulevard, County Lane Road east to East Valley Circle Boulevard. A separate evacuation warning has been issued for residents of Oak Park, Ventura County, in the area near Kanan Road and Agoura Road, east of Kanan Road to Deer Hill.
UPDATE 2:35:
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the federal government will cover 100% of the costs of dealing with the L.A. wildfires for the next 180 days.
“We are with you. We are not going anywhere. To the firefighters and first responders, you are heroes,” Biden said in remarks delivered at the White House.
UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: A mandatory evacuation was instated midday Thursday for Mount Wilson and its Observatory as the Eaton Canyon wildfire continued to spread. Mount Wilson is the site of many television and radio transmission towers for the greater Los Angeles area.
Zone information: North of Mount Wilson Toll Road and Mount Wilson Circle Road; South of Rincon Red Box Truck Trail; East of Mount Wilson Toll Road and Mount Wilson Red Box Road; West of Mount Wilson Circle Road.
The wildfire continues at 0% containment.
ORIGINAL STORY: While the Santa Ana winds may be dying down, the wildfires plaguing Los Angeles remain rampant as firefighters enter Day 3 of combating the county-wide blazes.
After starting up on Tuesday, the Palisades and Eaton fires remain at 0% containment, while the Hurst fire is at 10%. The Palisades fire has burned 17,234 acres, the Eaton fire 10,600 acres and the Hurst fire 671 acres. The more northern Lidia fire has burned 348 acres, currently at 40% containment.
The critical wind event is over, though the winds themselves are expected to continue through Friday. Still, at least 180,000 locals are currently under evacuation orders due to the urban wildfires, including an expanded area of Santa Monica as of Wednesday night north of Montana Avenue to 11th Street.
Five people have been reported dead in relation to the fires, with at least 2,000 structures destroyed. Additionally, 24 local school districts are closed for Thursday and 20 people have been arrested for looting in impacted areas.
“In the midst of the emergency, we’ve all seen individuals who are targeting vulnerable communities by burglarizing and looting homes. This is simply unacceptable,” Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors chair Kathryn Barger said in a Thursday press conference. “I promise you, you will be held accountable. Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis. The emergency order will be strictly enforced by the Sheriff’s Department who are proactively patrolling to protect these communities from looting and any criminal activity. They have made 20 arrests of individuals who will be held accountable for the actions that they’ve taken.”
Thankfully, Wednesday night’s fire in the Hollywood Hills has been handled by the Los Angeles Fire Department, which was able to expertly deploy water-drops.
“The Sunset fire is under control. It’s a great example of the power of our air support … within an hour, a bulk of the fire had been knocked down,” LAFD Public Information Officer Margaret Stewart told KTLA on Thursday morning. “Everyone can return home safely.”
However, the Eaton fire has now spread to Mount Wilson above the San Gabriel Valley, from which many local TV stations house their communication towers.
“More than 7,500 firefighting personnel are on the ground working with local and federal partners to respond to California’s ongoing historic wildfires,” Gov. Gavin Newsom shared in an update late Wednesday night.
That number comes from local firefighters, as well as from stations upstate and additional departments from five other states: Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
The red flag warning remains in effect until Friday evening.
