More fires erupt in Southern California and spread to the Hollywood Hills

Nearly 30,000 acres remained burning early Thursday across Los Angeles County as firefighters struggled to control a patchwork of deadly blazes that has forced mass evacuations and leveled entire communities.

At least five people have died as new fires broke out late Wednesday in Los Angeles County, totaling about more than 29,000 acres burned.

LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said about 130,000 people in the area have been ordered to evacuate or told to prepare to evacuate.

The National Weather Service said a critical risk of fire remained in the area, as high winds, dry vegetation and low humidity are contributing to the infernos.

Here’s what else to know.

The scope of the fires

The Eaton and Palisades fires are the most widespread, burning 10,600 and more than 17,000 acres, respectively.

The Sunset fire broke out Wednesday night, encroaching on the Hollywood Hills and prompting mandatory evacuations in notable parts of the area, such as Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Boulevard and Runyon Canyon Park. By early Thursday morning, most of the evacuation zone had been lifted, said the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Aerial footage from news helicopters showed many homes on fire, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Only two fires have been somewhat contained — Lidia (40%) and Woodley (100%) — according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — Cal Fire.

Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued in association with the fires.

An evacuation order signals the fire poses an “immediate threat to life” and mandates evacuations, while an evacuation warning carries a “potential threat to life and/or property” and suggests that those with pets and livestock, and those who would need more time to evacuate, do so, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, better known as Cal Fire.

Cheryl Heuton and her husband left their home in Pasadena with just toothbrushes, laptops and old stuffed animals that belonged to their children when they were younger.

“We just finished cleaning up from the Rose Parade of all things, and now this,” she said. “We had the big thing that showed off how wonderful life is here followed immediately by something showing off how awful life can be.”

They returned home to a damaged backyard, but the house was still intact, Heuton said.

For Emily Kovner Moss, her home and entire block was destroyed.

Local, state and federal responses

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than 7,500 personnel are responding to the fires across local, state and federal agencies. They are using helicopters, water tenders, air tankers and dozers to fight the fires.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is urging residents to conserve water as much as possible, and said police are assisting in handling evacuation traffic.

“We are working urgently to close roads, redirect traffic and expand access for LAFD vehicles to respond to the growing fire,” she said on X.

Bass returned from a delegation trip from Ghana Wednesday, and rebuffed criticisms that she should have returned sooner.

She said she took the fastest way home and was in contact with authorities during her return trip.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District will be closed Thursday.

“The confluence of factors — wind, fire and smoke — have created dangerous, complex situations that present unsafe conditions for our school communities,” the district said.

Two LA elementary schools were destroyed in the fire.

Five schools were damaged in Pasadena, and the Pasadena Unified School District has closed all its schools for the rest of the week.

On Wednesday, President Biden made a major disaster declaration, which provides federal funding to affected residents, by way of “grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.”

“Southern California, we are with you. And we’re not letting up,” he said.

Elise Hu contributed reporting.