Raging wildfires that broke out in various regions of Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday and Wednesday are spreading due to extreme winds, causing historic destruction of homes and displacing tens of thousands of people.
Follow Breitbart News for live coverage of this breaking news story. A live 3D incident map can be found here. All times eastern.
4:09 PM — Schools closed again tomorrow.
3:35 PM — Communications equipment on Mt. Wilson could also affect law enforcement agencies if the fire damages the towers.
3:06 PM — Actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson appears on the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Gibson and host Joe Rogan eviscerate Gavin Newsom for making the wildfires worse and first responders’ jobs much harder:
2:26 PM — A welcome diversion for children who have been evacuated from their homes.
2:12 PM — Law enforcement officers may have found dead bodies in rubble near Malibu:
2:06 PM — The Eaton Fire is now reaching Mt. Wilson, which could take out antenna towers for several local television stations.
fire.ca.gov
1:39 PM — “We’ve never seen anything like this… looks like a warzone.”
1:14 PM — Conservative author Kira Davis explains how government price controls set up the insurance crisis now playing out:
12:46 PM — Mayor Bass continues to dodge tough questions.
12:19 PM — Officials announce 20 suspects have been arrested for looting. (ABC 7)
Twenty people have been arrested so far for allegedly looting homes evacuated by residents fleeing wildfires, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger confirmed.
Barger announced the arrests during a Thursday morning press conference held by city officials to provide updates on the continuing firefight.
“In the midst of the emergency we’ve all seen individuals who are targeting vulnerable individuals by burglarizing and looting homes. This is simply unacceptable…I promise you, you will be held accountable,” Barger said. “Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis.”
12:15 PM — Striking photos from the Associated Press:
A Chase bank branch is damaged by the Palisades Fire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, return to Mantia’s fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A man walks past a fire-ravaged business after the Eaton Fire swept through. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
11:57 AM — Californians fear a worsening “insurance crisis” after this wave of destruction. (NBC 4)
The wind-driven wildfires burning out of control in the Los Angeles area couldn’t have emerged at a more perilous moment for California’s homeowners, as officials try to rehab what they concede is a deepening “insurance crisis.”
“We were all thinking 2025 is going to be the year insurers regain their appetite for the market in California, but having this catastrophe hit us right out of the gate is really unfortunate,” said Amy Bach, the executive director of United Policyholders, a California-based nonprofit consumer group.
“Up until this latest disaster,” she said, “we thought we might be turning a corner.”
11:52 AM — LAFD Fire Chief Kristin Crowley says high winds up to 60 miles per hour are expected all day Thursday.
11:49 AM — L.A. resident shares video of alleged arson.
11:45 AM — Nathan Hochman, who defeated George Gascón to become Los Angeles’ District Attorney last November, warns looters they will face consequences for taking advantage of this crisis. (ABC7)
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman had a message for those considering taking “criminal advantage” of the devastating wildfire event through looting or scams.
“If you think for a moment that you can take advantage of this right now or over the next weeks, months or years, you are wrong,” Hochman said Wednesday. “If you go ahead and you want to loot, if you want to steal, if you want to engage in scams on vulnerable people who have just lost their house and their businesses, we’re going to arrest you, we’re going to prosecute you and you will absolutely be punished.”
11:41 AM — L.A. officials say all evacuation orders for the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills have been lifted.
11:40 AM — At a press conference Thursday morning, officials look for the bright side:
11:23 AM — Statement from Breitbart’s Jon Kahn, after losing his home in the Palisade Fire. The singer-songwriter behind “Fighter” says the timing of this tragedy lines up with the theme of his next song:
11:21 AM — Mayor Bass gets roasted for a viral flub during a press conference. (New York Post)
Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been ripped as the most “incompetent politician in America” after she managed to botch a fire emergency information website address by pointlessly telling locals to just visit “URL” — even while admitting the deadly firestorm is “the big one.”
Bass made the blunder as she stumbled her way through a press conference Wednesday soon after returning to the US, having already faced scorching criticism for traveling to Ghana as the wildfires ravaged her city and for slashing the fire department’s budget.
“If you need help, emergency information, resources, and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL,” the flailing mayor said as she read from a script.
10:54 AM — Mayor Bass’s office was warned about fire risks on the exact day that the Palisades Fire would break out. (Lee Fang)
Evidence has emerged that the mayor’s office had ample warnings about the potential extreme weather, with agencies forecasting strong Santa Ana winds and warning about a potential fire risk in the LA region days before Bass left town. Many pointed to a wind-fueled fire event on Tuesday, the exact day the fires began.
Last Thursday, January 2nd, the National Weather Service explicitly warned Los Angeles about “extreme fire conditions” over the next week. That day, Jonathan O’Brien, a meteorologist with the U.S. Forest Service, spoke to officials and posted openly about the incoming threat.
10:52 AM — Stark aerial footage shows the scale of destruction:
10:41 AM — Santa Monica imposes curfew. (FOX 11)
Santa Monica on Wednesday instituted a curfew in the wake of the Palisades Fire.
City Manager David White signed the order late Wednesday and the Santa Monica City Council will be required to call a special meeting to officially certify the order within seven days, according to a statement from the city.
The emergency order includes a curfew — from sunset to sunrise — in the areas where a mandatory evacuation order is in effect to support law enforcement efforts in these zones, and other measures to facilitate an effective response.
10:22 AM — Israeli government spokesman shares statement on California fires with Breitbart’s Joel Pollak:
The government of Israel sent a message of hope and support to the people of Los Angeles on Thursday who are fighting horrific wildfires that have destroyed entire areas of the city.
…
“Everyone in Israel … has been remarkably moved and shaken by the shocking scenes of these wildfires which have taken control in Los Angeles,” said Israeli government spokesman David Mencer.
Asked by Breitbart News what Israel, and the Israeli people, could share with the people of Los Angeles, given Israel’s recent and ongoing recovery from tragic and destructive events, Mencer offered thoughts “about resilience and rebuilding.”
9:56 AM — More left-wing figureheads ring the Climate Doom bell.
9:20 AM —
9:15 AM — Local resident suffering with quiet dignity:
9:05 AM — Aerial video shows flickering street lights in Los Angeles. Hundreds of thousands of residents are likely without electricity:
9:02 AM — Statement from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky:
8:56 AM — Viral video purports to show LAFD firefighters carrying water with women’s handbags.
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8:40 AM — One fatality identified. (KTLA)
One of the five confirmed fatalities from the destructive Eaton Fire was identified on Wednesday morning when his family found his body on the side of the road by their home – with a garden hose still in his hand.
According to his loved ones, 66-year-old Victor Shaw died trying to defend the home that had been in his family for nearly 55 years.
As of Wednesday night, Victor’s body was still on his family’s property in the 3000 block of Monterose Avenue as conditions were not yet safe enough for the coroner’s office to retrieve him.
8:35 AM — Stunning wreckage in Malibu:
8:22 AM — According to CalFire, there are five active wildfires Thursday morning. The Palisades and Eaton fires are still both over 10,000 acres and 0% contained.
fire.ca.gov
8:15 AM — Exclusive photos from Breitbart Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak.
8:00 AM — Academy Award nominations have been postponed. (Breitbart)
This year’s Oscar nominations announcement has been delayed by 48 hours due to the deadly wildfires raging across vast swathes of the Los Angeles area.
It had been scheduled for Friday 17 January, but the stars and films up for Academy Awards will now be revealed on 19 January.
The voting for the nearly 10,000 Academy members, which opened on 8 January, has also been extended by two days, until Tuesday 14 January.
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