One of the more frightening realities we are facing this week in LA is that with so many fires there’s really no place to go at times.
Yesterday when I received an Evacuation Warning I had only one route/direction to go and it would surely be so crowded that I would likely face the fate of many who attempted to escape in their cars in the Palisades fire, were overtaken by the fire, ordered to get out of their cars “if you want to live,” and left to walk.
‘Get out of your car if you want to live.' Drivers in Palisades Fire gridlock told to abandon cars
Adam Handler and his wife were among those trying to evacuate when they received a chilling warning from law enforcement authorities.
"A police officer started telling us, 'Get out of your car if you want to live,'" Handler said.
NBC News Los Angeles
I’m a wheelchair/cane user and the idea of tooling down the 110 Freeway toward Long Beach doesn’t seem promising.
Bring your empathy and please share your situation and stories if you’re here in SoCal in the comments.
If you haven’t already, please visit my post from yesterday Please don't share AI/fake photos of LA icon sites burning (we're trying to survive here), which recounts some of my experiences yesterday when someone here on this site shared a fake/AI photo of the Hollywood sign burning.
While this was corrected in the afternoon, since this is a reality based site, and since the events purported to be reported in the fake photo would mean many of my friends will have evacuated, the Large Animals at the LA Large Animal Shelter must be dead or in jeopardy, and my own workplace would probably be gone, this photo required me to disprove it.
In terms of evacuation, this misinformation also meant that any escape routes I may have would be narrowed to one route only. So please visit the post and comments.
When Will Winds Die Down?
The National Weather Service extended a red flag warning for much of the region until 6 p.m. Friday as opportunities for the winds to pick up again will linger. Also, a high wind warning is in effect for Inland Empire and Orange County areas through 6 a.m. Friday.
A new high pressure system is building from the north, which is expected to produce more gusty winds for SoCal - wind gusts are expected to reach 40 to 60 mph and 70 mph possible in the mountains.
ABC News Los Angeles
However, we may be in store for more come Monday. Red flag warnings can’t be made more than 48 hours out, so we can expect new warnings to be made over the weekend. (That was per an ABC Weather Report from Dallas Raines.)
A Surreal Moment Last Evening
I wrote this in a comment at KTK yesterday:
Holy…. I don’t have words.
This day just keeps getting more and more surreal and terrifying.
Sirens. The approach of sirens. Always reassuring in the years behind me, but in the past few days, the last fucking thing you want to hear is sirens approaching your home or neighborhood.
So many sirens. I got up and went outside.
The coyotes and the dogs of our valley were howling along with the sirens. It was oddly beautiful, the sound. So unrelenting. So… Helpless.
I believe around 30 police cars just drove past us on the 110 North heading into South Pasadena or Pasadena, depending on where they exited after they went around our little fire-prone hill here in my valley.
So many new experiences every day.
I believe these were police cars coming from other districts to the south and southeast in order to go help parol the Altadena area and perhaps assist in the search for bodies.
Altadena
Of all these fires, I live closest to the Eaton Fire, which destroyed a beloved community, Altadena. Many of our KTK folk live in or near this area, or have relatives who live there.
Many of my friends lost their children’s schools and preschools from both the Palisades and Eaton Fires. The young mother’s words below haunted me in last night’s dreams.
Altadena left devastated by deadly Eaton Fire: "Everything is gone"
The wildfire erupted Tuesday evening and quickly spread as powerful winds fanned the flames. With the power out at their house, she told her two young children they were having a "fancy candlelight dinner" when they sat down to eat that night.
"And then we looked outside. We saw a huge fire and we just packed whatever we can and we ran out," she said. "It was chaos. On the streets, people were trying to get out."
****
"I'm trying to figure out how to tell my 3-year-old we don't have a home," she said. "We don't have his school. We don't even know where to go or what to do next."
With entire neighborhoods of homes destroyed, there have also been stores, restaurants, churches and other buildings burned to the ground in what has now become one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Old Town Altadena, where historic buildings were situated against a scenic backdrop of mountainsides, has been left devastated.
CBS News Los Angeles
There is an under 5 minute video at this link below which shows the devastation in Altadena from the air. It also pans to show the situation with Mt. Wilson this morning and how the fire has been approaching the transmitters and towers up in the San Gabriel Mountains there.
The video there may be traumatizing for many.
Scene of utter devastation in Altadena and Pasadena as AIR7 surveys damage wrought by Eaton Fire
Row upon row of razed houses were visible from the helicopter as firefighters continued to contend with the blaze, which had burned 13,690 acres and was 3% contained as of Friday morning.
Nearly 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the fire, one of several wildfires burning in Southern California.
ABC News Los Angeles
While currently 5 people are dead from the Eaton Fire, that count may rise as police and recovery personnel begin to go through the rubble from these homes.
(Update/Note: ABC counts 3 people dead from the Eaton Fire, but all week it has been 5. I am unsure about this as other locations are still reporting 5 deaths from that fire.)
Altadena grandfather found dead in his home, as Eaton Fire ravaged the neighborhood
Kimiko said her father Rodney insisted on staying in their family home that he purchased in 1968 for $5. The Nickerson family is deeply rooted in the Los Angeles community. Kimiko said her great-grandfather, William Nickerson was the founder and owner of Nickerson Gardens in Watts, the largest public housing development in Los Angeles.
Rodney worked at Lockheed Martin for 45 years where he was a project engineer. Kimiko said her mother also worked at Lockheed. She said he was probably going to bed just after her last conversation with him around 9:30 p.m., as he was still used to waking up at 4 a.m.
CBS News Los Angeles
Altadena was/is home to a large African American community, and one of the places in SoCal where intergenerational wealth has been being built and created over these past decades. From Wikipedia, the 2020 Census:
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) |
Pop 2000[39] |
Pop 2010[40] |
Pop 2020[38] |
% 2000 |
% 2010 |
% 2020 |
| White alone (NH) |
16,848 |
17,231 |
17,900 |
39.54% |
40.28% |
41.78% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) |
13,112 |
9,816 |
7,136 |
30.77% |
22.95% |
16.65% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) |
117 |
85 |
46 |
0.27% |
0.20% |
0.11% |
| Asian alone (NH) |
1,761 |
2,231 |
2,919 |
4.13% |
5.22% |
6.81% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) |
49 |
65 |
47 |
0.11% |
0.15% |
0.11% |
| Other race alone (NH) |
151 |
187 |
293 |
0.35% |
0.44% |
0.68% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) |
1,882 |
1,660 |
2,334 |
4.42% |
3.88% |
5.45% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) |
8,690 |
11,502 |
12,171 |
20.39% |
26.89% |
28.41% |
| Total |
42,610 |
42,777 |
42,846 |
100.00% |
100.00% |
100.00% |
UPDATE: Adding this article from The Grio.
Historic Black neighborhood of Altadena reduced to ashes in Los Angeles Wildfires
Altadena was more than a neighborhood; it was a beacon of opportunity. As California’s first middle-class Black community, Altadena thrived as a rare refuge exempt from redlining, offering Black families the chance to acquire land, build homes, and create generational wealth amid systemic oppression. During the Great Migration, the area became a sanctuary for Black Americans fleeing the Jim Crow South.
The Grio
Altadena was (and I hope will be again) a special place on this Earth and even those of us who didn’t live there are mourning the loss of this unique community, a middle-class stronghold, and a magical place set against the backdrop of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains and canyons.
Current Fire Situation
Below is a recount from ABC as of 10am this morning of the current fires burning.
As of Jan 10, 2025, 9:56 AM
Wildfires burning in SoCal: Numbers at a glance
Here are all the wildfires burning in Southern California at a glance.
Kenneth Fire in West Hills
- 1,000 acres
- 35% contained
Eaton Fire in San Gabriel Valley
- 13,690 acres
- Approximately 7,081 structures believed to be damaged or destroyed (structures includes vehicles)
- 3 deaths
- 4 firefighter injuries
- 1,603 fire personnel assigned
- Cause of fire unknown
Palisades Fire
- 20,483 acres
- 2 deaths
- 5,316 structures burned
- 8% containment
Hurst Fire in Sylmar
- 771 acres
- 37% contained
Lidia Fire in Acton area
- 348 acres
- 60% contained
Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills area
- 42.8 acres
- 100% containment
- All evacuation orders lifted
Sunswept Fire in Studio City
- Structure fire encompassed two homes and brush, extended into adjacent brush
- Stopped forward progress at just under 1 acre
Tyler Fire
- 11 acres, contained
Woodley Fire in Sepulveda Basin
- 30 acres, contained
- 100% containment
- Declared knockdown and no current threats
ABC News Los Angeles
Here is the Watch Duty site. This is the link to the Eaton Fire Event Page at Watch Duty. Everyone I know in LA is finding the Watch Duty site to be the most helpful. On Tuesday night I was able to watch a fire erupt a quarter mile from me and was able to see as it was extinguished.
I find it very important to be able to know which threats are no longer around so I can focus on the ones that are.
UPDATE/ADDING A RESOURCE:
This is a google doc from, I think, the LA Mutual Aid Network that list a lot of places to shelter, receive food, shelter animals, charge devices, and so on.
Please Be Thoughtful
Please share your stories and information about your experiences, as well as resources.
Let’s please not use this Disaster Check In post for longer term political debate.
Please be aware of the Rick Caruso lead Republican talking points attacks on Karen Bass and other Democrats. Caruso, the Real Estate Developer whom Bass defeated (thankfully), has initiated an attempt to use these fires to regain power.
Last Request
Let’s please be empathetic to those of us currently trying to survive and focus on helping each other and sharing our experiences. Be kind to each other.
