It's morning in Los Angeles, and the region's biggest wildfire is moving inland. Catch up here
The Palisades Fire that devastated coastal communities in Los Angeles this week is moving east, with students at University of California, Los Angeles, and staff at the renowned Getty Center among those awaiting updates from officials.
At last update, the Palisades Fire — which destroyed thousands of homes and other structures when it broke out in the Pacific Palisades community near Malibu — was 21,596 acres and 11% contained. Flames are now spreading east in the Mandeville Canyon area, approaching Interstate 405, one of LA’s busiest freeways.
Firefighters are racing to make progress and protect new communities from the blaze, ahead of more wind and dry conditions later this weekend and early next week.
Here are some key areas near the developing firefight:
UCLA: The school in LA’s Westwood neighborhood is one of the state’s largest universities with its more than 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students. New evacuation warnings have extended to an area close to the school, and a campus alert warned students that — while it is not under an evacuation order — they should be ready to go if called upon. The university has ordered all classes Monday to be conducted remotely.
Brentwood: Another tony area reaching into the hills inland from Pacific Palisades and extending to I-405, Brentwood is home to the Getty Center, a cultural institution in the city. The center has evacuated all of its staff except for a small team of emergency personnel, after the museum was included in an expanded evacuation order on Friday evening. Some residents in the nearby Bel Air community also face evacuation warnings.
West LA: The US Department of Veterans Affairs evacuated veteran residents at its West Los Angeles Medical Center on Friday night, as evacuation warnings grew closer to that area, as well.
Encino: The San Fernando Valley community of Encino borders the expanding firefight to the north, with a new evacuation order issued Friday night extending to the Encino Reservoir.
Travel around other valley communities will also be impacted, as multiple off-ramps on the I-405 freeway have been closed, according to the California Department of Transportation.
Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly described the neighborhood where UCLA is located. The school is located in Westwood.
It's just past midnight in Los Angeles. Here's where things stand
While fire departments have reported progress in combating a number of blazes in Los Angeles County, new evacuation orders and road closures late Friday demonstrated risks remain for residents and first responders.
The Palisades fire stretched further east Friday, with fire crews and aircraft focusing additional effort in the Mandeville Canyon area.
Here are the latest updates on the fires:
- Palisades fire: 21,596 acres, 8% contained
- Eaton fire: 14,117 acres, 3% contained
- Kenneth fire: 1,052 acres, 50% contained
- Hurst fire: 771 acres, 70% contained
- Lidia fire: 395 acres, 98% contained
- Archer fire: 19 acres, 0% contained
The damage: More than 10,000 structures were likely damaged or destroyed by just the Eaton and Palisades fires, according to Cal Fire. Those are preliminary figures that could rise, and include anything from a home to a shed; damage inspectors are still on the ground tallying the damage.
The forecast: The area remains under a red flag warning, though firefighters hope winds may ease Friday night allowing them to gain ground on some of the biggest fires.
However, Cal Fire warned, winds are expected to pick back up over the weekend, and there could be a Santa Ana wind event early next week — bringing hot, dry, powerful gusts that could fan the flames of any ongoing fires.
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