On January 7, the Palisades fire started in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in the western part of the City of Los Angeles. Since then, it has destroyed thousands of structures there and in neighboring Malibu.
The fire started last week due to a wind event in which a pressure gradient over Los Angeles caused the dry Santa Ana winds to blow from the north at over 50 miles per hour in much of the Los Angeles area, and reaching 100 mph in some places. In the Pacific Palisades, wind gusts reached 38 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
First reported at around 10:30 a.m. on January 7 in the mountains north of the neighborhood, it only covered about ten acres at the time. Having spread quickly due to the severe drought and high winds, it had already started destroying structures by that afternoon. By 2:10 p.m, over 250 firefighters were already fighting it. As winds picked up during the evening, the firefighting effort was hindered by the worsening windstorm, with firefighting aircraft being grounded due to the strong gusts. By 12:29 a.m. on January 8, the fire’s area had reached 2,921 acres, according to Cal Fire.
Over the past weeks, the fire has continued to spread quickly due to high winds and dry weather, with its total area reaching 23,448 acres as of January 21. Containment of the fire had reached 65%. With over 6,500 structures destroyed, the Palisades Fire has become the second most destructive in California’s history, behind only the simultaneously burning Eaton Fire.
In order to expedite the firefighting effort, a curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. was instituted in the evacuation areas, and remains in effect as of January 21. A prohibition of uncrewed aircraft systems, or drones, was also put in place, due to a first-of-its-kind use of drones to track the spread fire from above.
Tragically, in addition to its destruction of buildings and other structures, the Palisades fire has also proved fatal with a death toll of at least ten people as of January 21. This number is expected to continue to rise as search-and-rescue efforts continue in the area affected by the fire.
