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The former Los Angeles fire chief who was ousted by Mayor Karen Bass after the most destructive wildfire in city history failed to win back her job Tuesday, falling short with her argument that her dismissal was based on false accusations about her conduct and decision-making. Former Chief Kristen Crowley appealed to the City Council to reverse Bass' decision, which followed finger-pointing between Crowley and City Hall over the wildfire devastation and the fire department's funding. The council voted 13-2 to shelve the proposal in what amounted to a show of support for Bass, a first-term Democrat who has been criticized for being in Africa as part of a presidential delegation on the day the fires started, even though weather reports had warned of dangerous wind and wildfire conditions in the days before she left. The rift between the mayor and the chief created a sensitive political situation for Bass who has been trying to show a unified front as the city confronts the massive job
A California utility said Thursday that its equipment may have sparked a small wildfire in Los Angeles that broke out the same day as two massive blazes in the area that killed at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Southern California Edison said the Los Angeles Fire Department is investigating the cause of the Hurst Fire and believes the utility's equipment caused the blaze, which did not destroy any structures or cause any deaths. In a required filing with state utility regulators, SCE said absent additional evidence, SCE believes its equipment may be associated with ignition of the Hurst Fire. In a second filing, the utility said it is looking into whether an idle transmission line became energised and possibly sparked the deadly Eaton Fire, which also sparked January 7 devastated Altadena. But it still maintains there's no evidence that its equipment was responsible for starting that blaze. The utility acknowledged last month that fire agencies are investigating
After weeks of windy and dry weather, rain has fallen in parched Southern California and is expected to aid firefighters who are mopping up multiple wildfires. But potentially heavy downpours on charred hillsides could bring new troubles such as toxic ash runoff. Los Angeles County crews spent much of the past week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighbourhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds Jan. 7. Most of the region was forecast to get around an inch (about 2.5 centimeters) of precipitation over several days, but the threat is high enough to prepare for the worst-case scenario of localized cloudbursts causing mud and debris to flow down hills, the National Weather Service said on social media. So the problem would be if one of those showers happens to park itself over a burn area, weather service meteorologist Carol Smith said. That could be enough to
Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings. The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day had charred nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brush near Lake Castaic, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week. Though the region was under a red flag warning for critical fire risk, winds were not as fast as they had been when those fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant on the latest blaze. By Wednesday night, about 14% of the Hughes Fire had been contained. The situation that we're in today is very different from the situation we were in 16 days ago, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone .
Weary and anxious from a week of massive blazes burning around Los Angeles, Southern California residents faced dire new wildfire warnings and power shutoffs Tuesday while they prepared to flee at a moment's notice as fire-fuelling winds blasted across the scarred landscape. The winds, predicted to reach near hurricane-force in some areas, were expected to peak Tuesday morning before easing and then regaining strength later in the day. A beefed-up firefighting force was in place to attack flareups or new blazes. A week after the first fires began, the flames have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people. Life threatening and destructive and widespread winds are already here, LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a news conference. Residents gathered up their pets and family photos in case they had to make a hasty escape. In other developments, nine people were charged with looting, including a group that stole an Emmy award from a house that had been evacuated,
A lawsuit filed on Monday against Southern California Edison claims the utility's equipment sparked the deadly Eaton Fire burning just outside Los Angeles and Edison has acknowledged fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment may have started a smaller LA-area fire that broke out the same day. Authorities still haven't determined an official cause for any of the fires, which began last Tuesday amid hurricane-force winds and have killed at least 24 people in and around Los Angeles. A team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is taking the lead on the investigations and whether there is a connection between any of them. Firefighters are still battling to contain the Eaton Fire that broke out near Pasadena, destroying at least 7,000 homes and other structures and laying waste to entire neighbourhoods. Attorneys representing a homeowner who lost their home said that it is their belief that Edison's equipment caused it. Video taken during the fire's earl
Aircraft battling fires raging through the Los Angeles area are dropping more than water -- hundreds of thousands of gallons of hot-pink fire suppressant ahead of the flames in a desperate effort to stop them before they destroy more neighbourhoods. The fires have killed at least 24 people, displaced thousands and destroyed more than 12,000 structures since they began last Tuesday. Four fires driven by strong Santa Ana winds have charred about 160 square kilometres, according to Cal Fire. Fire agencies say the suppressants -- most often used to fight forest fires -- are an invaluable tool. But what is in them and are they safe? Why they are being used in Los Angeles The fires are burning quickly through canyons and other rugged areas that are difficult for firefighters on the ground to reach, Cal Fire said. While fire suppressants can be very effective, they do have limitations, the agency said, "Strong winds can make it too dangerous to fly at the low altitudes needed for drops a
More powerful winds were expected to trigger new wildfires that could set back the recent progress made in containing blazes in the Los Angeles area that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people. Much of Los Angeles area to remain under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday A large portion of southwest California spanning eight counties around Los Angeles is under a red flag warning for extreme fire danger through Wednesday. Certain areas of LA and Ventura counties, including valleys, foothills and mountains throughout the Santa Monica and Santa Susana ranges, were in what the National Weather Service calls a "particularly dangerous situation". The Palisades and Eaton fires are burning on the southern side of that area, and hurricane-force winds are forecast to return on Tuesday. The weather service urges residents to "stay aware of your surroundings. Be ready to evacuate. Avoid anything that can spark a fire". Interactive maps show locations of
The Oscar nominations are being pushed back almost a week from their original date amid the ongoing California wildfires. Nominations will now be announced on January 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday. We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement. The Academy has always been a unifying force within the film industry, and we are committed to standing together in the face of hardship. With fires still active in the Los Angeles area, the film academy also extended the nominations voting period for its members through Friday. Originally, nominations were to be announced that morning. The organisation that puts on the Oscars has also made the decision to cancel its annual nominees luncheon, an untelevised event best known for the class photos it produces annually. The Scientific and Technical Awards, previou
Firefighters scrambled Sunday to make further progress against wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed 24 people in the Los Angeles area as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. At least 16 people were missing, and authorities said that number was expected to rise. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 80 kilometres per hour and gusts in the mountains reaching 113 kilometres per hour. The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, said weather service meteorologist Rich Thompson. "You're going to have really strong gusty Santa Ana winds, a very dry atmosphere and still very dry brush, so we still have some very critical fire weather conditions out there," Thompson said at a community meeting Saturday night. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help crews fend off flames spread by ..
Fires ripping through the Los Angeles area have killed at least 16 people, displaced thousands of others and destroyed more than 12,000 structures while burning through an area larger than the city of San Francisco. The blazes started last Tuesday, fuelled by fierce Santa Ana winds that forecasters expect to kick back up through at least midweek. Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 160 square kilometres. Five deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire along the coast and 11 deaths resulted from the Eaton Fire further inland, the LA County medical examiner's office said. At least 16 people were missing, and authorities said that number was expected to rise. While a cause for the fires has yet to be determined, early estimates indicate they could be the nation's costliest ever. Preliminary estimates by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses at between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. Thousands remain evacuated or without ..
For Irina Contreras, a programme manager for Los Angeles County's Department of Arts and Culture, outdoor education was a refuge for both her and her daughter during the pandemic. Now, much of that refuge has been burned in the raging wildfires around Los Angeles. Her daughter Ceiba (7) hikes with a kids' adventure group called Hawks and attended Matilija, a bilingual forest school for preschool and kindergarten. Rain or shine, she and her friends would spend their days climbing, jumping, hiking, and swimming in places like Eaton Canyon Nature Area, a 190-acre preserve near Altadena, now destroyed by fire. Ceiba learned to ask plants for permission before taking samples to glue into her nature journal. Once, her group discovered a hidden path that led behind a waterfall. Ceiba couldn't stop talking about it for days. For parents like Contreras, the wildfires have been devastating not just because of the loss of life and thousands of homes. They are mourning natural and educational