By Paul Rogers | progers@bayareanewsgroup.com
Devastating firestorms that burned across Southern California on Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 homes, killing at least two people, and causing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, are the result of a deadly combination of weather events that came together at the wrong time for the Los Angeles area.
As of late Wednesday, there were three major fires burning in the Los Angeles area: The Palisades Fire, which had burned 15,832 acres on the city’s westside from expensive hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades down to the ocean along the Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu; the Eaton Fire, which burned 10,600 acres in the hills northeast of Pasadena, not far from the Rose Bowl, killing two people; and the Hurst Fire, which had burned 505 acres in the Sylmar neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
Flames rise as the Palisades Fire advances on homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The AltaMed Medical Group burns along Washington Blvd during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle winds and flames as multiple beachfront homes go up in flames along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu in the Palisades Fire on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Anne Tierney leaves her Sunset Boulevard apartment during the Palisades fire on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Residents along Braeburn Road rush to save property as a home burns behind them during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A burned vehicle sits along Braeburn Road as a home burns behind during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A person walks past a home burning during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. Over 1,000 structures have burned, with two people dead, in wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds across L.A. County. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter makes a stand in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Firefighters work to save a portion of house on S. Surfview Drive in the Palisades Fire on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Palisades fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A home and vehicles sit destroyed from the Eaton fire along Altadena Drive in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Firefighters protect homes on Seabreeze Dr from the Palisades in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
