In the week since the fires in the Los Angeles County broke out, which have destroyed thousands of homes, at least 24 lives have been lost and 16 people were reported missing.

The 24 deaths were attributed to the two major fires raging across the county: the Eaton fire, which accounted for 16 of them and the Palisades fire (8). About 1,50,000 people in the county remain under evacuation orders, with more than 700 residents taking refuge in nine shelters.

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Since January 7, the major fires that broke out are shown in the map below. Out of the six fires shown, three of them, namely the Lydia, Kenneth and Archer fires were fully contained. Hurst fire, which expanded to 799 acres, is almost fully contained as of January 13, according to Cal Fire which is The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in California.

Only 13% of the Palisades fire, which spans over 23,000 acres, is contained; and around 27% of the Eaton fire, which spans over 14,000 acres, is contained, according to Cal Fire.

Charred neighbourhoods

The Palisades and Eaton fires have burnt and destroyed entire residential neighbourhoods, including buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Over 12,000 buildings are estimated to have been burnt, with around 11,000 structures being damaged or destroyed by January 9, an analysis by remote sensing experts, which is mentioned below, showed.

The Palisades Fire

From January 7 to January 10, the Palisades fire quickly engulfed over 21,500 acres. And from January 10 until January 12, the fire spread over 5,000 acres more, thereby engulfing a total of 27,713 acres.

An analysis conducted through satellite data on January 9 by Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University and Corey Scher of the CUNY Graduate Center, accessed by The Hindu, shows the extent of the damage the Palisades and Eaton fires. In the Pacific Palisades, the map below shows entire neighbourhoods being burnt.

Shown in the maps below are small areas within the perimeter of the fires where most structures (residential and others) are present. The buildings or structures marked in red are damaged or destroyed by the fire, while the ones in grey are not likely to be damaged.

Towards the south-western end of the Palisades fire, which is in and around Malibu and the Pacific Coast Highway, several structures along the coast are destroyed, as shown in the map below.

The Eaton Fire

The Eaton fire remains the second largest fire spanning over 14,000 acres. It has led to the death of 16 individuals, and more than 70% of the fire still remains uncontained. The extent and the damage due to the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of the L.A. County is shown in the map below.

According to reports, in parts of Altadena, only a few buildings seem to be spared. The Altadena Community Church was largely consumed by the fire.

The National Weather Service issued a rare warning of a “particularly dangerous situation,” beginning overnight Monday (January 13, 2025) into Tuesday (January 14, 2025). It predicted severe fire conditions through Wednesday (January 15, 2025), with sustained winds of up to 64 kmph and gusts in the mountains reaching 65 mph (105 kph). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday (January 14, 2025), warned fire behaviour analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting Sunday (January 12, 2025) night, according to reports from AP.

Fierce Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that levelled entire neighbourhoods around the nation’s second-largest city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months. Early estimates suggest these fires could be the nation’s costliest ever, as much as $150 billion according to an AccuWeather estimate.

Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles.
| Photo Credit: AP

Five days after an inferno razed Pacific Palisades, Maya Lieberman is desperate to find somewhere to live. But unscrupulous landlords who are jacking up prices are making it hard.

“The price gouging is going haywire, it’s obscene,” the 50-year-old stylist told AFP.

“I can’t find anywhere for us to go.”

Huge fires that have torn through Los Angeles since Tuesday have levelled whole neighborhoods, turning swathes of the city to ash.

More than 150,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes as authorities try to keep down a death toll that has already reached 16.

One blaze devastated Pacific Palisades, an upmarket enclave that was home to celebrities like Billy Crystal and Kate Beckinsale, which — until this week — was some of the most desirable real estate in the United States.

With the area now under a compulsory evacuation order, even those whose homes survived the inferno need to go elsewhere for the forseeable future.

The higher-than-average incomes of people forced to leave homes there appears to have tempted chancers, who see the opportunity to make money from others’ misery.

“We put in an application at a house… that was listed at $17,000 a month, and they told us if we didn’t pay $30,000, we weren’t going to get it,” Lieberman said.

“They told me they have people ready to offer more and pay cash. It’s absolutely insane.”

State of emergency

Similar stories of apparent price gouging abound.

“I have friends who booked a hotel outside Los Angeles, and when they arrived there, they were asked for a higher price,” said TV producer Alex Smith, who has been forced to leave his home.

The sharp practice has drawn the ire of California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, who warned Saturday there are laws against it.

“Price gouging is illegal. We will not stand for it. We will hold you accountable. We will prosecute,” he told reporters, adding those found guilty could land themselves a year in jail.

Once a state of emergency is declared — as it has been for the out-of-control fires — vendors cannot increase their prices by more than 10%.

That applies to small businesses as well as to mega companies whose automated tools use supply and demand to set the cost of everything from hotel stays to concert tickets.

“If those algorithms lead to prices higher after the declaration of emergency than before, by more than 10%, you’re violating the law,” he said.

“You need to figure out how to adjust your prices consistent with the law. And if that means departing from your algorithm, depart from your algorithm.”

For Brian, a retiree who has been sleeping in his car since the evacuation order was raised, the short term rules protecting against price gouging are almost beside the point.

The 69-year-old, who did not want to give his full name, has been living in a rent-controlled studio apartment in Pacific Palisades for two decades.

That has now gone, along with it the guarantee that his rent cannot rise.

His pension, he fears, will not stretch far in a city where rents have doubled in the last 10 years — a problem likely to be exacerbated by the sudden rush of people needing somewhere new to live.

“I’m back on the market with tens of thousands of people,” he said.

“That doesn’t bode well.”

Los Angeles:

A-list actors, musicians and other celebrities were among the tens of thousands of people affected by terrifying wildfires in Los Angeles this week that killed at least five people. Over 70,000 people were evacuated from Los Angeles and the Greater Los Angeles areas of California in the last 24 hours due to four to five major fires that remain uncontained as the wind speed is very high in Palisades, Eaton and Hurst areas. 

Los Angeles is fighting the largest blaze in its history amid water and firefighting shortages. A state of emergency has been declared in the area, with Washington sending help to bring the situation under control. Retired firefighters with experience in firefighting, have been called for help. More than 1,000 buildings have burned in fires that have broken out around America’s second-biggest city, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes. The situation remains tense in the areas, with a blanket of smoke covering the skies. 

Firefighters Struggle To Contain Situation

Hurricane-force winds whipped up fireballs that leapt from house to house in the upmarket Pacific Palisades area, incinerating a swathe of California’s most desirable real estate favoured by Hollywood celebrities. Gusty winds pushed the flames, pushing embers hundreds of meters and sparking new spot fires faster than firefighters could quell them.

According to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, his crews were overwhelmed by the scale and speed of the unfolding disasters.

“We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this,” he told AFP.

The blaze raging in Pacific Palisades had consumed around 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, taking 1,000 homes and businesses with it. A separate 10,600-acre fire was burning around Altadena, north of the city, where flames tore through suburban streets.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said an earlier death toll of two had now increased, with more deaths feared. “Unfortunately, it’s grown to five as we continue through this area,” Luna told radio station KNX.

“And remember, this is still a very fluid situation, there’s zero containment on this fire. I’m really praying we don’t find more, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case,” he added.

Evacuation orders were in place for about 70,000 people across the area. A large number of people who did not heed warnings to leave had suffered “significant injuries,” Marrone said.

Water Shortage

As a pall of dark smoke hung over Los Angeles, hydrants were drying as the water supply dropped in the area. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power chief executive Janisse Quinones pleaded with people to save water after hydrants in Pacific Palisades ran dry.

“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” she said.

Joe Biden, who was in Los Angeles with California Governor Gavin Newsom, was briefed on what the president called an “astounding” situation.

“We’re doing anything and everything, and as long as it takes to contain these fires,” Biden told reporters.

Hollywood Screeched To A Halt

The showbiz capital has been besieged by multiple out-of-control blazes, with Hollywood events including a glitzy awards show and a Pamela Anderson film premiere among those cancelled as firefighters battle flames in hurricane-force winds.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the swanky Pacific Palisades area, a favourite spot for celebrities where multimillion-dollar houses nestle on beautiful hillsides, while other infernos sprang up across the north of the city.

Tesla boss Elon Musk showed the aftermath of the fire in one of the suburban areas in LA with cars, homes and trees completely charred.

A friend in LA just took this video pic.twitter.com/WJBWCHmCUs

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2025

Mandy Moore, the singer and “This Is Us” actress, told followers on Instagram she had fled with her children and pets from the path of a blaze that had left her Altadena neighbourhood “levelled.” 

“My sweet home. I am devastated and gutted for those of us who’ve lost so much. I’m absolutely numb,” she wrote, in a caption to footage of the destruction.

Emmy-winning actor James Woods posted a video on X showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his Pacific Palisades home as he got ready to evacuate, and shortly afterwards said all the fire alarms were going off.

“I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one,” Woods said.

“Star Wars” star Mark Hamill told followers on Instagram that he had fled his Malibu home with his wife and pet dog, escaping down a road flanked by active fires.

Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis was also forced to evacuate, later writing on Instagram: “Our beloved neighbourhood is gone. Our home is safe. So many others have lost everything.”

Meanwhile, next week’s unveiling of the Oscar nominations was pushed back until January 19, to give Academy members affected by fires more time to cast their ballots this week.