Palisades Fire (2025)

Palisades Fire Part of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires
The fire as seen by the Sentinel-2 satellite at 10:36 a.m. on January 7
Date(s)	January 7, 2025-present
Location	Los Angeles County, California, United States
Coordinates	34.07022°N 118.54453°W / 34.07022; -118.54453
Statistics
Status	Ongoing wildfire
Burned area	>15,832 acres (6,407 ha; 25 sq mi; 64 km2)
Impacts
Non-fatal injuries	>1
Evacuated	>40,000
Structures destroyed	>1,200
Ignition
Cause	Under investigation
Map

The Palisades Fire is a wildfire burning in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County in Southern California. As of January 8, 2025, at 5:07 pm PST, the fire had spread to at least 15,832 acres (6,407 ha; 24.738 sq mi; 64.07 km²), devastating the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and nearby Malibu. It is the first and largest of six major wildfires being driven by an extremely powerful Santa Ana wind event. By 6 pm PST of January 8, Wildfire Alliance statistics indicated that the fire is the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, surpassing the Sayre Fire in Sylmar in 2008 which destroyed 604 structures. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Background

A strong high-pressure system over the Great Basin created a steep pressure gradient across Southern California. The system triggered powerful katabatic winds, which are known to develop when cooler, dense inland air is funneled through mountain passes and canyons toward the warmer coastal regions.

At the same time, the Southern Coast had experienced "eight months without any measurable rainfall" and much of the region had fallen into moderate drought conditions. The Los Angeles Times quoted a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection that the conditions were "the perfect recipe for a large wildfire".

The National Weather Service (NWS) red flag warnings the morning of Monday January 6, effective through Thursday evening, for multiple regions, including the Malibu coast, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, and the San Gabriel, San Fernando, and Santa Clarita valleys. The windstorm was predicted to be "life-threatening" and Santa Ana wind gusts were forecasted to reach speeds of 60–80 miles per hour, with some peak gusts reaching 90 mph (140 km/h) in mountainous areas. Residents were urged to "use extreme caution with anything that can spark a wildfire" and those near forests to be prepared to evacuate. Caltrans announced precautionary road closures, including Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Mulholland Drive and Pacific Coast Highway, due to heightened wildfire danger.

Cal Fire pre-positioned firefighting assets across Southern California as is common in red flag warnings, so that they can quickly respond in case a fire does break out.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ensured that all three of their water tanks in the area affected by the red flag warning, which hold approximately one million gallons each, were full ahead of the wind event. This is vital because water systems lose pressure when they experience sudden high demand -- especially at elevation -- as is the case in firefighting.

Progression

Smoke from the fire seen from Marina Del Rey

The fire was first reported at about 10:30 a.m. PST on January 7, 2025, covering around 10 acres (4.0 ha) of the mountains close to Pacific Palisades. It quickly spread due to a combination of severe drought in Southern California (the driest 9-month period on record), and a worsening Santa Ana wind event which created winds gusts up to 80 mph (130 km/h). Within 20 minutes, the fire grew from 20 acres (8.1 ha) to 200 acres (81 ha). The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) said the blaze had reached more than 700 acres (280 ha) by 2:10 p.m., with over 250 firefighters tackling it as it started to reach homes. Just one hour later, an update from CalFire stated that the fire had rapidly grown to 1,262 acres (511 ha).

The intensification of the concurrent windstorm at night forced the grounding of firefighting aircraft, further hindering efforts to manage the wildfire's spread. Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, toured the fire on January 7, and said that many structures had been destroyed.

At 12:29 a.m. on January 8, a CalFire status report said the fire had grown to 2,921 acres (1,182 ha). Hours later, 1,400 firefighters had been assigned to the fire which continued to grow as several injuries were reported, including a 25-year-old firefighter with a "serious head injury". Several beachfront properties in Malibu were destroyed by the wildfire. In a LAFD press conference on the morning of January 8, fire chief Anthony Marrone said that the fire had reached a size of more than 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) and had destroyed around 1,000 structures. Robert Luna, the sheriff of Los Angeles County, said that 37,000 people were under evacuation order due to the fire, adding that 15,000 structures were at risk of burning.

A CalFire status report at 11:45 a.m. said the fire had grown to 11,802 acres (4,776 ha), a figure which had grown to 15,832 acres (6,407 ha) by 1:20 p.m. In another press conference which began at 3:15 p.m., Crowley said that 1,792 personnel have been deployed to assist in fighting the fire, adding that it was still growing and continued to demand "significant resources".

Evacuation

Palisades Fire from downtown Los Angeles

In a Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) press conference on January 7, at 3:40 p.m., fire chief Kristin Crowley said that over 30,000 people were under evacuation orders, with more than 10,000 houses and 13,000 buildings under threat. During the conference, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the president of Los Angeles City Council and acting mayor, declared a state of emergency in response to the fire.

During the hectic evacuation, some roads became impassable. As flames moved closer, people abandoned their cars and fled for their lives, some taking their keys with them; bulldozers were later called in to move almost 200 such vehicles off the road. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) sent around 140 officers to assist with evacuations and gridlock. Fire department officials issued an Emergency Alert System message, which was relayed by the National Weather Service, to notify residents of the evacuations, and subsequently ordered residents unable to evacuate to shelter in place. At 2:30 p.m. on January 8 an evacuation order covering part of Santa Monica was expanded to cover all areas north of Montana Avenue from the beach to 11th Street, with evacuation warnings for additional areas north of Montana Avenue and areas north of Wilshire Boulevard and west of 10th Street.

Impact

Aerial view of the Palisades in August 2014

According to Wildfire Alliance statistics, the Palisades fire destroyed at least 1,000 structures, making it the most destructive in Los Angeles's history. It surpassed the Sayre Fire, the second-most destructive, which destroyed 604 structures in 2008, and the Bel Air Fire which destroyed nearly 500 houses in 1961. As of January 8, 2025, at 6:00 pm PST, AccuWeather estimated preliminary damage costs to be between $52 billion and $57 billion, which would make it the costliest wildfire in American history.

Will Rogers' house and the stables at the Will Rogers State Historic Park were destroyed; park staff safely evacuated the horses and removed some of the exhibited memorabilia. The historic Topanga Ranch Motel at Topanga State Park also burned down. A total of 30 buildings across the two parks were destroyed including staff housing. The Theatre Palisades was destroyed by the fire, and vegetation at the Getty Villa caught fire but the building itself was unscathed. The Palisades branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, Palisades Elementary and Marquez Elementary Schools were destroyed, with Palisades Charter High School being "badly damaged." Other destroyed structures included the Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Village School, and the landmarked Pacific Palisades Business Block building. Many celebrities lost their homes in the ensuing fire, including Jennifer Grey, Anna Faris, Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Diane Warren, Cary Elwes, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody.

On NBC News Daily, actor Steve Guttenberg (who lives in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles) related his experiences trying to get to his house and he had not yet gotten back to it. He also said the public should be mindful to leave vehicle keys with the vehicles in emergencies so that they may be more easily moved:

At 9am everything was fine. then at quarter till 10 (in the morning) there was a plume of smoke as large as anything you've ever seen... I got on Sunset Blvd and it was packed. I was trying to get back to my house and I couldn't get there. Before I knew it there was a 2 mile line of cars and the fires were raging on both sides of Palisades Drive...

They were like small... dots of fire that because of the winds... the hardest winds that I have ever seen since I was in South Africa... They had these winds called devil winds... They (the winds in California) were screaming...they were hot winds... The flames started growing... because of the winds. Before I knew it all of the hills were on fire... The hills behind the Calvary (Christian) School (on Palisades Drive) were on fire... The police told everybody to abandon their cars and that's when I started moving cars out of the way... Fire is the most frightening thing you've ever seen... I'm trying to get back to my house... It's horrible. yesterday I was able to commandeer a vehicle... All of these vehicles are just left in the street and I drove halfway up Palisades Drive... Then the police didn't let me go any further so I got out and hiked... Then somebody gave me a ride... My (next door neighbors)... their dogs and cats were there and they (are) in Japan...

I held them tight and I fed them... I was able to help them a little bit. It was like zombie land, a ghost town. Nobody was up there... Finally I got back down to the bottom of the hill. I tried to get my car and it was dark... I saw a little dog in the street and tried to (catch) that but it ran away from me... Sunset Boulevard had (palm) trees down and they were on fire... Gelson's Markets and Ralphs (our grocery stores) were on fire... The Palisades theater (Theatre Palisades) was on fire. everything on Temescal Canyon (Temescal Canyon Road) was on fire. Houses were on fire. Trees were on fire, it was unbelievable... I've tried several different ways to get up there (to my house). I am hoping that it's ok... Prepare for a crisis... (hurricanes, tornados, ice storms) Always prepare... and if you never use it, ok. There were 20 or 30 Teslas and I don't know how to start a Tesla... I suggested and so did other people to the fire department (that they) get a bulldozer and they actually did. They (the fire department) got a bulldozer and bulldozed all these cars.

Smoke from the Palisades fire as seen from the beachfront bike path

President Joe Biden arrived in Los Angeles the evening of January 6 ahead of a planned event in Thermal to establish two new national monuments and for the birth of his great-granddaughter. He entered his limousine, but due to the fire and ongoing wind event, the motorcade never departed, and he returned to his hotel. The dedication ceremony was rescheduled for the following week at the White House.

The Los Angeles premieres of Universal Pictures' Wolf Man and Amazon MGM Studios' Unstoppable were canceled in response to the fire.

Citizens in the area including Guttenberg have been volunteering their time in helping first responders. He said that "this is the time for us to remember that we’re part of a community" and that people "have to help each other and be kind to each other. If you see somebody who needs help, help them. Ask them what they need."

See also

• 2025 California wildfires
• January 2025 Southern California wildfires
  • Eaton Fire
  • Hurst Fire
• List of California wildfires