The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Strong winds sent wildfires ripping through the mountains and foothills around Los Angeles. See photos of the Southern California wildfires.
By ETHAN SWOPE, ETIENNE LAURENT, PETER PRENGAMAN and ALYSSA GOODMAN
Major wildfires around Los Angeles on Wednesday left an apocolyptic wake of destruction after strong winds ripped through the mountains and foothills.
Aftermath
Rows of cars at a dealership, blasted by flames, looked like they had been bombed. A man wearing a mask walked by debris of a neighborhood destroyed. A couple, arms around each other, looked at what was left of their smoldering home. A statue of a human, without a head, lay on a street.
A man walks past a fire-ravaged business after the Eaton Fire swept through Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Fire-damaged vehicles are lined up at a dealership after the Eaton Fire swept through Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, return to Mantia’s fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)A statue and other structures are burned as the Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Started with winds
It all began on Tuesday, when powerful winds took small fires and made them huge, with vivid orange flames liting the sky in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Firefighters and residents raced to stop the flames any way they could. One firefighter dragged a hose, dousing a smoking car. But in so many cases, the flames couldn’t be stopped. One vehicle, a truck, was completely engulfed.
The Palisades Fire burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
People watch as the Eaton Fire engulfs a structure Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)The Eaton Fire burns vehicles and structures Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)The Eaton Fire burns the AltaMed Medical building Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Eaton Fire burns a residence Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)The Eaton Fire burns a structure Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)A firefighter is silhouetted in front of a burning structure as the Palisades Fire sweeps through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Fire crews battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)The Palisades Fire burns trees and homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A person tries to hose down embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE – The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)Firefighters battle the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)A firefighter protects a structure from the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Two people ride by on motorcycles as the Palisades Fire destroys an area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)A vehicle burns as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Palisades Fire burns trees and homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Protecting Structures
Amid the destruction, firefighters tried to save homes—or keep others from being chewed up. One firefighter jumped a fence while others, holding large hoses, pumped water. In many cases, nothing could be saved. At best, flames could be put out in hopes that it stopped embers from flying in the winds and igniting nearby homes.
A firefighters make a stand in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Will Adams uses a garden hose to keep flames from damaging his home as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter hoses down flames from the Palisades Fire in front of a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A resident stands in front of a garage as fire crews fight the Palisades Fire nearby in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Will Adams watches as flames from the Palisades Fire close in on his property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A person tries to hose down embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)A firefighter tries to contain the Palisades Fire from a rooftop in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Water is dropped on the advancing Palisades Fire by helicopter in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Evacuations
The fast-moving fires forced thousand of residents to evacuate. Authorities moved to get the most vulnerable out first, such as people in a senior center. Some people were brought out on hospital stretchers, others in wheelchairs. Nearly all were wearing masks, trying to protect themselves from oppressive smoke that was everywhere.
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)People wait with some belongings while fleeing the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)Jerome Krausse pushes his mother-in-law in a shopping cart as they evacuate from their home in the Pacific Palisades after a wildfire swept through their neighborhood in Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A person flees from an advancing wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)A resident is evacuated from a senior living facility as the Eaton Fire approaches Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)Residents are evacuated from a senior living facility as the Eaton Fire approaches Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A resident is evacuated from a senior living facility as the Eaton Fire approaches Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Beach and smoke
As the Pacific Palisades fire scorched more than 200 acres, billowing smoke was visible for miles. One surfer road a wave, with smoke in the background. Two other people laid on the sand, a white plume nearly filling the sky behind them. And a pair of bicyclists pedaled along the beach against an afternoon sky made twilight by the looming smoke.
Surfers Shaun Rosenberg, right, and Teal Greene take to the waves under a blackened sky from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades, during the sunset in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)A surfer takes off on a wave in Santa Monica, Calif., during sunset under a blackened sky from the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Tim Murphy and his son Sean arm wrestle on the beach during sunset under a blackened sky from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades, during the sunset in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)A lone beachgoer walks along the coast as a large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, from Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)Bike riders make their way along the coast as large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, from Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
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