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Briefing|Out-of-Control Fires Devastate Los Angeles Area
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/08/briefing/los-angeles-fires-doj-trump-documents-report.html
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Several major wildfires, fueled by fierce winds and dry vegetation, scorched Los Angeles all day long. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were reduced to ash. The fires have killed least two people and forced more than 100,000 others to evacuate. Many of my colleagues are on the ground there, reporting live.
Here is a map tracking the fires, and photographs capturing the scenes from around the city.
Officials warned that the worst might still be yet to come. The two largest blazes were not at all contained, and firefighters were facing unfathomable conditions, including ferocious winds and a dwindling water supply. Firefighters from across the West were traveling in to help.
The largest fire decimated the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Businesses were charred, power lines were downed and the air was full of smoke. Several blocks of homes along Sunset Boulevard, the area’s famous thruway, were completely destroyed. Local landmarks burned down.
One resident dropped to his knees in front of a firefighter who was battling a blaze consuming the home next door, begging him to turn the water on the flames threatening his own home. Another firefighter warned: “We’re down to 25 percent. Hold off.”
At a shelter in Pasadena, a man told his wife that their home had been destroyed. The woman fell to her knees, sobbing. In Pacific Palisades, a man trekked through the debris to confirm that his house was gone. “I just needed to see it,” he said.
