Los Angeles authorities are urgently preparing for the return of high winds as multiple wildfires continue to burn in the area.
At least 24 people are dead and about 92,000 people are under evacuation orders, while nine people have been charged with looting.
Look back on the day's events in our live blog.
Key Events
-
NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner wants more help from Meta, X
-
New fire breaks out in Ventura County
-
Suspect faces possibility of life in prison for looting due to previous charges
Thanks for joining us
We're going to wrap up our live coverage of the wildfires in Los Angeles here for the night.
To recap, there have been 24 deaths and three active fires continue to threaten the city, according to stats from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection:
- The Palisades fire — the most destructive in the city's history — is still only 14 per cent contained. It has burnt through more than 9,596 hectares
- The Eaton fire is 33 per cent contained. It has burnt though more than 5,712 hectares
- The Hurst fire is 97 per cent contained. It has burnt though more than 323 hectares
Jimmy Kimmel turns backlot into donation centre
One of the few Hollywood productions to resume filming — Jimmy Kimmel Live — has turned its backlot into a donation centre.
In an Instagram post, the show said it was accepting supplies such as bottled water, baby food, pet food and more.
Kimmel broke into tears while addressing the disaster during his Monday show monologue.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say it’s been a sickening, shocking, awful experience," he said.
"It's also been, in a lot of ways, a beautiful experience because, once again, we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other.
"People who lost their own homes are out volunteering in parking lots for others who lost theirs."
Los Angeles vet hospital offers help to animals
Sevilla Vet Hospital in Los Angeles is one of the clinics that has been helping and treating animals during the fires.
Owner Antonio Pedraza said the clinic is seeing many injuries among animals, including smoke inhalation, conjunctivitis and broken bones.
"You need to choose which side are you, just watching TV and see what's going on, or you can be helping," he told Elias Weiss Friedman, the author behind the New York Times bestseller The Dogist.
"This is a business, but we are first people."
Auto fire's 'forward progress' stopped
The "forward progress" of a new brush fire, dubbed the Auto fire, has been stopped, according to local officials.
CalFire reports the blaze broke out in Ventura County, north-west of Los Angeles, covering more than 22 hectares.
The Ventura County Fire Department announced on social media that, while the fire has been stopped, it remains at 0 per cent containment.
UCLA moves to remote learning
Are UCLA and other universities safe?
– Jon Craig
Hi Jon,
Thanks for the question!
The UCLA campus is currently running on an emergency status but not under an evacuation warning at this time.
On January 10, an evacuation warning was issued for the zone adjacent to UCLA, due to the Palisades fire.
Undergraduate and graduate classes have moved to remote instruction up to January 17.
LA bathed in hot pink flame retardant
Houses, cars, businesses and hillsides have been blanketed with hot pink fire retardant, dropped over the city by water-bombing aircraft.
Thousands of litres of the substance have been dropped in the last week.
The powder, called Phos-Chek, stops the spread of fire by depleting it of oxygen and changing the composition of plant matter to make it less flammable.
You can read more on it in my colleague Brianna Morris-Grant's piece here.
Hurst fire now 97pc contained
Governor Gavin Newsom says the Hurst fire is now 97 per cent contained.
Spanning more than 323 hectares, the governor says officials are continuing to improve the blaze's containment lines.
NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner wants more help from Meta, X
Rob Rogers, the commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), says companies, including Elon Musk's X and Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — could save lives by giving first responders back-end access to data.
The RFS runs a network of some 74,000 volunteer firefighters and full-time staff protecting one of the world's most fire-prone regions.
It has a software program that uses artificial intelligence to predict where fires might spread.
The program could be made more powerful by better integrating it with posts from social media users on wildfires as they started and spread, Rogers told Reuters.
X and Meta, however, have both been unwilling to provide back-end data to emergency services at no cost, he said.
"We've got a lot better tools than we had even in 2019 [and] 2020 … but certainly that integration of social media, it remains a challenge for us.
"They're unwilling to give us the data."
Meta and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reuters: Alasdair Pal)
Reporting with Reuters.
In pictures: Firefighters assess damage as Eaton fire continues
Firefighters have been attending burning building sites to assess the damage of the Eaton fire.
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
Workers spray fire retardant on poles and vegetation
The workers at Pacific Gas and Electric are spraying fire retardant on the electricity poles and the vegetation to help reduce the impact of the fires.
"It's always difficult to see any type of hardship, but by coming in here maybe we could minimise a bit of that," one worker said in an Instagram video.
🎥: Global insurance 'wallet' becoming depleted by worsening disasters
As natural disasters become more severe and frequent, reinsurance costs for insurance companies are rising.
Paula Jarzabkowski, a strategic management professor at University of Queensland, says insurance is like a "large wallet" that is used to collect premiums to pay for losses and future reconstruction costs.
Local restaurants offer a helping hand
Thousands of people have been volunteering their time and giving donations in the wake of the fires.
And many Los Angeles businesses have also offered a helping hand, including providing food to those impacted by the blazes.
La Sorted's Pizzeria is one of the local restaurants which has been feeding volunteers and those in need.
'Huge' demand for nappies and baby food, charity says
Baby2Baby is a not-for-profit organisation which provides nappies, clothing and necessities to children living in poverty.
The charity's co-CEO, Kelly Sawyer Patricof, said many families didn't have time to take necessities when they evacuated.
"At this time we are seeing a huge need for diapers, formula, baby food, blankets," Sawyer Patricof said to CNN earlier.
"Families have lost their homes … they are living with three or four families in one apartment or hotel room."
Baby2Baby has distributed 2 million emergency supplies in response to this crisis, according to its website.
New fire breaks out in Ventura County
Updates on the Auto Fire that's cropped up recently?
– Wes
Hi Wes, thank you for question.
A fourth fire known as the Auto Fire has sparked up in Ventura County.
Firefighters and water bombers are battling the brush fire that is about 90 kilometres north-west of Los Angeles.
The fire has burnt through at least two hectares of bush.
Paris Hilton volunteers at animal shelter
In an Instagram post, Paris Hilton says she volunteered at the Pasadena Humane shelter which has been rescuing and caring for hundreds of animals during the fires.
Hilton says she brought home Zuzu, her new foster dog, whose family had to surrender her after their home was destroyed.
"Fostering is such an important way to help when you’re able to—if you can, please consider giving a temporary or permanent home to animals in need," she says.
Los Angeles resident recalls having 20 minutes to flee
Fran Perez evacuated last Tuesday, but when she returned a few days later she discovered that her home had been destroyed by the fires.
"There is nothing. It is just flat, a wall or two standing," she told ABC's News Channel.
"The best part is we all got out, the pets, and no-one was hurt."
Only having 20 minutes to evacuate, Perez fled with little more than the clothes on her back.
"I opened my front door and it [the fire] was right there so I started calling my husband, 'We have got to go,'" she said.
"And we grabbed a few things, but the winds were going so fast and the embers were flying.
"We looked at one another and said, there is no time."
Getty Villa remains safe
When the fires first started last week, there was talk around the world-famous Getty Villa being threatened by the Palisades blaze.
Concerns were growing as the fire reached the property, with the museum known for its collection of priceless antiquities.
Today, Getty posted on X that the building remains safe from the fire and workers are monitoring the situation closely.
In pictures: First responders set up tents as fire efforts continue
Thousands of first responders have been tirelessly working to battle the fires in Los Angeles.
Tents and trailers have been set up in a make-shift housing area outside the Rose Bowl Stadium near the Eaton fire.
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
(Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)
Suspect faces possibility of life in prison for looting due to previous charges
A County District Attorney has unveiled a video of a group of looters entering a house and being arrested in LA.
They are part of the nine people who have been arrested so far on looting and burglary charges.
One of those charged faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, adding the legal action should serve as a warning to potential wrongdoers.
"The question is not if, but when, you will be caught if you engage in these crimes," Hochman said.
"Do not commit any of these crimes in which people are trying to profit from the tragedy of the people who have suffered from these various fires."
Two suspects were caught on a Ring doorbell camera invading a home in the affluent Mandeville Canyon area, which was threatened by the Palisades fire over the weekend.
Hochman said Martrell Peoples has previous serious convictions and, under the so-called "three-strike" rule, could be imprisoned for life.
Map of the evacuation orders and warnings
It is just past 8pm in Los Angeles.
Here is a look at the current evacuation orders and warnings for the three remaining fires across the LA region.
