Daniel Herrera Carbajal
ICT
Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.
Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could allow firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Here is where containment of the fires currently stands:
Pasadena: 0 percent
Eaton: 0 percent
Hurst: 10 percent
Sunset: 0 percent
The causes of the fires are still under investigation.
January 9, 2025 at 2:55 p.m. PT
Klamath Tribes of Oregon sent a Type 3 fire engine and crew to assist in the Los Angeles fires, according to the tribe’s Facebook page.
“The engine and crew departed Chiloquin Wednesday at 11 a.m. and are now assigned to the Eaton Fire,” states the Facebook post. “The Incident Command Post for the Eaton Fire is at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.”
The Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena, is estimated to be 10,600 acres with zero percent containment with two civilian casualties, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“Additional Klamath Tribes firefighters will depart tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 10) as part of a joint Forest Service-Klamath Tribes engine crew. This crew has not yet been assigned to a specific fire. Both crews are equipped and available for 14-day assignments,” the tribe wrote.
January 9, 2025 at 10:45 a.m. PT
Highly trained firefighters from the Navajo Nation are en route to help fight the devastating fires in the Los Angeles basin.
Twenty-three members of the Navajo Scouts headed west Wednesday afternoon to join the fight against what is shaping up to be the worst wildfire outbreak in Southern California history.
“I ask that we, as a united Navajo people, keep our Navajo Scouts in our thoughts and prayers,” said Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren. “Let us send them our heartfelt wishes for protection, so that they may return home safely after aiding our relatives in Southern California during this challenging time.”
The scouts are elite crews known as Type 2 Initial Attack firefighters who are highly skilled and undergo extensive training. The Navajo crew is run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is based out of Window Rock, Arizona. — Stewart Huntington, ICT
January 8, 2025 at 3:15 p.m. PT
Firefighters are battling three separate blazes ranging from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena that erupted Tuesday while winds fanned the flames and spread embers.
Fueled by the Santa Ana winds, these fires are gearing up to be historic and have already destroyed more than 1,000 structures and injured many people, including first responders. More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and another 100,000 have been warned to evacuate – two numbers that are constantly increasing as new evacuation orders are issued.
“This is unprecedented,” said Aaron Yazzie, Diné, a mechanical engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who lives in Pasadena. “This is something that I’ve never experienced before. The Santa Ana winds come almost yearly but combined with several giant fires it’s gonna be history making.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department said the Palisades fire began Tuesday with winds reaching at least 40 mph and quickly spread to about 200 acres. The Palisades fire has currently grown to more than 11,000 acres, according to fire officials.
The fires have consumed an area nearly the size of the city of San Francisco.
President Joe Biden declared the fires a national emergency, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency. California secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help mitigate and manage the fires.
During a press conference Wednesday morning, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said there are “not enough firefighters in LA County to address four separate fires of this magnitude.”
The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office announced it would be sending 12 firefighting crews to help. In an X tweet, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said, “@PHXfire has been called on to help fight the devastating blazes in Los Angeles.”
The fires have destroyed thousands of buildings and homes.
According to the U.S. Census, Los Angeles County is home to the largest concentration of American Indian or Alaska Native people with 111,096 as of 2022.
As the fires spread, many Native people began marking themselves safe from the fire on Facebook, including Bird Runningwater, Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache, who led the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program for 20 years and is now co-chair of the Indigenous Alliance for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“A lot of our friends have been evacuated and have lost their homes already.” said Candice Dalsing, Apache Mescalero descendant, a director and producer who lives in Sherman Oaks. “My best friend is under pre-evacuation right now. He just bought a home next to the Palisades fire that’s currently on watch. If the Palisades fire moves farther east, then that’s going to be gone.”
People fleeing from the fires have found refuge in neighboring communities, Dalsing said.
“I have seen the support now of local places like gyms, organizations and people who even own buildings that have nothing in them, have cleaned the space out and have been using them as refugee places for the community,” she said. “A lot of things are happening right now within our community, which is a beautiful thing to see.”
While the fires have not reached Dalsing’s area, she said she and her family are ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“We have our evacuation bag packed,” she said. “Our plan is to pack up the important documents we have and our dogs, hopefully make our way down to San Diego or to Arizona to family there.”
The ravaging fires have disrupted much of daily life in the Los Angeles area. Yazzie said he does not know when he will get to return to work.
“Today, they closed down the lab and said you absolutely cannot come in,” he said. “Our lab is actually in an evacuation zone. It’s affecting all of our jobs right now and we’re sitting and waiting to see what happens tomorrow and the day after that.”
The ravaging fires have disrupted much of daily life in the Los Angeles area. Yazzie said he does not know when he will get to return to work.
“Today, they closed down the lab and said you absolutely cannot come in,” he said. “Our lab is actually in an evacuation zone. It’s affecting all of our jobs right now and we’re sitting and waiting to see what happens tomorrow and the day after that.”
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