Palisades Fire

The Palisades Fire was a highly destructive wildfire that began burning in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025, and grew to destroy large areas of Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu before it was fully contained after 24 days on January 31. One of a series of wildfires in Southern California driven by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, it burned 23,707 acres (9,594 ha; 95.94 km; 37.042 sq mi), killed 12 people, and destroyed 6,837 structures, making it the tenth-deadliest and third-most destructive California wildfire on record and the most destructive to occur in the history of the city of Los Angeles.
A strong high-pressure system over the Great Basin created a steep northerly pressure gradient across Southern California. The system triggered powerful Santa Ana winds, katabatic winds that can develop when cooler, dense inland air is funneled through mountain passes and canyons toward the warmer coastal regions.
The area had experienced "eight months without any measurable rainfall", and much of the region had fallen into moderate drought conditions. A battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) told the Los Angeles Times that the conditions were "the perfect recipe for a large wildfire". The National Weather Service (NWS) issued red flag warnings on the morning of 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.
NWS predicted a "life-threatening" windstorm and Santa Ana wind gusts were forecast to reach speeds of 60–80 miles per hour (97–129 km/h), with some gusts anticipated to reach 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. The danger led Caltrans to close several roads, including Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Mulholland Drive and Pacific Coast Highway.
As is common in red flag warnings, CAL FIRE pre-positioned firefighting assets across Southern California. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power topped off all three of its 1-million-gallon water tanks in the area affected by the red flag warning, a precaution against the loss of water pressure during the sudden demands of firefighting, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these efforts, 20% of fire hydrants eventually ran out of water in the more elevated parts of Pacific Palisades.
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 north of 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 wind 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 (CAL FIRE) said the blaze had reached more than 700 acres (280 ha) by 2:10 p.m., with over 250 firefighters fighting it as it started to reach homes. Just one hour later, an update from CAL FIRE stated that the fire had rapidly grown to 1,262 acres (511 ha). Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, toured the fire on January 7, and said that many structures had been destroyed. The intensification of the concurrent windstorm at night forced the grounding of firefighting aircraft, further hindering efforts to manage the wildfire's spread. The National Weather Service reported the highest wind gust in Pacific Palisades on January 7, 2025, was 38 mph (61 km/h) at 6:30 p.m. The fire reached the driveway adjacent to the Getty Villa; earlier in the day staff activated the site's fire safety plan which including closing off fire doors, running HVAC and humidity management systems, and turning on irrigation sprinklers. Most of the staff was evacuated but the Getty's crisis operations executives and security staff patrolled throughout the night, taking shifts outside, where they suppressed wind-blown flareups with "at least 40 five-pound fire extinguishers."
At 12:29 a.m. on January 8, a CAL FIRE 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 Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) press conference on the morning of January 8, LACoFD 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 CAL FIRE status report at 11:45 a.m. on January 8 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., LAFD fire chief Kristin 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". A CAL FIRE status report at 11:10 p.m. said the fire had grown to 17,234 acres (6,974 ha). Human remains were found at a property near the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) following a welfare check conducted due to a missing persons report.
An update from fire authorities on January 9 said that over 5,300 structures had been destroyed by the blaze. It had grown to almost 20,000 acres (8,100 ha; 81 km; 31 sq mi). A man was detained on suspicion of igniting a fire in Woodland Hills, immediately north of where the fire was burning. In a press conference at 5:20 p.m., Crowley said there had been two deaths due to the fire. At 8:00 p.m., Newsom reported that the fire was 6% contained, after being at 0% containment for more than 55 hours. A CAL FIRE status report at 6:45 p.m. said the fire had grown to 19,978 acres (8,085 ha). A firefighting aircraft collided with a drone while it was over the fire, suffering a hole in its wing but landing safely with no casualties. At 9:15 p.m., authorities reported that the death toll from all fires had risen to ten, with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner (DMEC) saying that the remains were still being identified.
On January 10, a CAL FIRE status report at 7:39 a.m. said the fire had grown to 20,438 acres (8,271 ha). During an update at 8:00 a.m., Crowley reported that the fire was at 8% containment, with 3,073 personnel fighting it. Another CAL FIRE report at 9:20 a.m. said there had been three civilian injuries and two civilian fatalities, a number which increased to three by 12:08 p.m. Another update at 2:33 p.m. said the fire was at 21,317 acres (8,627 ha) and was still at 8% containment, while an update from the DMEC said five fire-related deaths had taken place in areas affected by the blaze, namely Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Topanga. This number was later revised to three. Late on January 10, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health declared a local health emergency in response to the fires and issued a Public Health Officer Order prohibiting the use of leaf blowers to improve air quality.
In a press conference at 8:00 a.m. on January 11, Todd Hopkins from the Unified IC CAL FIRE Incident Management Team said that the fire was at 11% containment and had grown by 1,000 acres (400 ha) overnight. He also said 105,000 people had evacuated as 426 homes were destroyed. That same day, the fire began to march towards Mandeville Canyon, new evacuation orders were made for the Tarzana and Encino neighborhoods, with evacuation warnings extending to south of Ventura Boulevard in Encino and western parts of Bel Air. At least one home in Mandeville Canyon has burned. A CAL FIRE status report at 9:39 a.m. said the fire had grown to 22,660 acres (9,170 ha); by 4:37 p.m. it had grown to 23,654 acres (9,572 ha). The DMEC said that the death toll of all fires had risen to 16: five in the Palisades Fire and 11 in the Eaton Fire. Doug Stewart, the mayor of Malibu, said one third of the city had been lost, adding that homes along the Pacific Coast Highway and the Big Rock neighborhood were 'gone'.
On January 12, a CAL FIRE status report at 6:33 a.m. said the fire had grown to 23,707 acres (9,594 ha). At 8:00 a.m., city officials held a press conference, where Crowley said 4,720 personnel were assigned to the blaze; Luna said that during a search of 364 properties three dead people were found and four people had been arrested for looting. A status report at 11:13 a.m. said the fire was at 23,713 acres (9,596 ha); after that the fire's growth ceased. At 5 p.m., the DMEC released an update stating that the death toll of all fires had risen to 24, eight of which were in the Palisades area. One of them died in hospital after succumbing to their injuries.
By January 14, the death toll for the Palisades Fire had risen to nine, with a total of 25 deaths across the Palisades and Eaton fires. On January 16, the death toll rose to 10.
At the peak of firefighting efforts on January 19, assets from across the western US and international crews from both Canada and Mexico were deployed: firefighting personnel totalled over 5,677 across 551 fire engines, 42 water tenders, 43 helicopters, 48 bulldozers, 101 hand crews and 17 other assigned resources. Canada sent Canadair CL-415 aircraft to assist with containing the blaze. On January 21, a CAL FIRE status report at 6:32 p.m. revised the fire's size to 23,448 acres (9,489 ha), adding that it was at 65% containment. On January 30, the final CAL FIRE status report at 5:35 p.m. reported the fire at 95% containment, having caused 12 deaths and four injuries, as well as destroying 6,837 structures. By January 31, the fire had been fully contained after 24 days.
In a 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 gridlocked. 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 to make way for emergency vehicles. 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.
On January 10 at 6:00 p.m., evacuation warnings extended northeast, with the warnings changing to orders within the hour for the area enclosed by Sunset Boulevard to the south, Encino Reservoir to the north, Interstate 405 to the east, and Mandeville Canyon to the west. Communities in this area include parts of Tarzana and Encino in the San Fernando Valley.
Evacuation orders were lifted on January 27, when the City of Los Angeles allowed resident-only access to the previously mandatory-evacuation areas.
According to Wildfire Alliance statistics, the Palisades fire destroyed at least 1,900 structures by January 8, 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. Smoke from the fire and other nearby fires caused severe air pollution in the Los Angeles area, with residents advised to wear masks in areas rated as red on the Air quality index.
The fire completely destroyed much of Pacific Palisades; almost every structure in the area north of Sunset Boulevard burned to the ground. With the exception of the Palisades Village outdoor mall, most of the neighborhood's downtown was leveled. Destroyed or heavily damaged structures included the Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades, Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, St. Matthew's Episcopal Parish School, Village School, and the landmarked Pacific Palisades Business Block building. An archive containing at least 100,000 scores by Arnold Schoenberg was destroyed; no original manuscripts were lost, however it was the main collection which owner Belmont Music rented out to musicians and orchestras.
The Palisades branch of the Los Angeles Public Library was destroyed. The Los Angeles Unified School District schools Palisades Elementary and Marquez Elementary Schools were destroyed. Palisades Charter High School was "badly damaged", with the main classroom and administration buildings being successfully protected by fire crews, but buildings on the edge of campus, closer to Sunset, burning down. The Theatre Palisades was destroyed by the fire, and vegetation at the Getty Villa caught fire although the building itself was unscathed. The house of Will Rogers 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. Restaurants along Pacific Coast Highway that burned included Cholada Thai, Moonshadows, the Reel Inn and Rosenthal Wine Bar & Patio. The house on Alma Real Drive where Robby Krieger wrote The Doors song "Light My Fire" and the Robert Bridges House perched atop Sunset Boulevard were also destroyed. The modernist Keeler House was also destroyed. The entire neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates was destroyed. Other architecturally significant homes destroyed included the 708 House, a 1949 Richard Neutra house designed for Nancy and Benedict Freedman, the 1952 Southdown Estates development designed by A. Quincy Jones and Fred Emmons, and a 1969 Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman-designed house on Pacific Coast Highway. One house that survived the fire was destroyed by a mudslide.
Numerous celebrities lost homes in the fire, including Eric Braeden, Jeff Bridges, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Patrick Bruel, Michael Connelly, Barbara Corcoran, Denise Crosby, Billy Crystal, Cary Elwes, Max Emerson, Anna Faris, Mel Gibson, John Goodman, Jennifer Grey, Ed Harris, Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins, Tina Knowles, Ricki Lake, Larry LaLonde, Eugene Levy, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, Rosie O'Donnell, JJ Redick, Melissa Rivers, Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam, Candy Spelling, Miles Teller, Milo Ventimiglia and Diane Warren. However, the home that Bill Hader purchased in 2019 was one of the few properties to survive the fire, as did the homes of celebrities Conan O'Brien, Jennie Garth, James Woods, Molly Sims and Jennifer Garner. On NBC News Daily, actor Steve Guttenberg related his experiences trying to get to his house. He advised the public to leave car keys with the cars so they can be moved to make way for fire trucks. He and others volunteered in helping first responders. Gary Hall Jr. lost his home and all of his Olympic medals in the fire; a few days after, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, announced that he would be provided with replica medals to replace them.
The Los Angeles premieres of Wolf Man, One of Them Days and Unstoppable were canceled due to the fire. The property damage caused by the fire has resulted in vast liabilities for home insurance companies. In particular, due to other insurers pulling out of the region, the California FAIR Plan had approximately $6 billion of exposure in the area covered by the Palisades Fire as of January 8, 2025. Air tankers dropped thousands of gallons of red flame retardant in the hills around Los Angeles as firefighters attempted to limit the devastation from multiple wildfires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to Los Angeles to observe the initial fire response as well as meet with State, Local and Federal officials including former President Joe Biden, who was in Los Angeles for a White House event commemorating the creation of two new national monuments on January 7. Biden then attended a press conference with Governor Newsom which drew controversy due to Biden's comments noting the birth of his great granddaughter which was seen by many affected by the fires as an inappropriate use of the conference. Further controversy was sparked when it was revealed the Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades was empty months prior to the fire. Additionally, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana when the fire initially broke out, despite her prior pledge not to conduct foreign trips as LA Mayor. Her trip was cut short and she returned to Los Angeles on January 7 via US Military transport.
Many notable celebrities and politicians swiftly voiced outrage against Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass. Most notably X Corp CEO Elon Musk called the Mayor "utterly incompetent". Then President-Elect Donald Trump voiced his concern on Truth Social with Governor Newsom saying "Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way." Four days after taking office, President Trump visited the burned areas of the fire and held a press conference with Mayor Bass in Fire Station 69. Trump publicly argued with Bass, criticizing the amount of city regulation that he believed to be in the way of rebuilding burnt areas, citing the Mayor's unclear definition of "hazardous waste". Trump went on to say: "You mentioned hazardous waste," said Trump. "Well hazardous waste... what's hazardous waste? You're going to have to define that. We're going to go through a whole series of questions on determining what's hazardous waste? I just think that you have to allow people to go on their site and start the process tonight." Trump published the executive order Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas and orchestrated the 2025 water release from Lake Kaweah and Lake Success, the latter of which had no effect and was a publicity stunt.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has deployed a National Response Team to investigate the origins of the fire. According to the Los Angeles Times, the two leading theories suggest a rekindling of a prior January 1st fire, or the ignition of a new fire entirely at the same location.
At 12:17 a.m. on January 1, 2025, it was reported that a small brush fire had started on the ridgeline along the popular Skull Rock trail. Known as the Lachman Fire, it reached 8 acres before forward progress was stopped shortly after 3:30 a.m., with mop-up and patrol operations continuing for 36 hours after.
Multiple residents in the area reported that fireworks had allegedly caused the ignition of the Lachman Fire on January 1. Sources with knowledge of the investigation into the Lachman Fire also believe it was sparked by fireworks. The San Francisco Chronicle interviewed multiple residents who described the Skull Rock trail as a popular hangout for youths, and that youths setting off fireworks was a persistent problem in the Palisades area. In the years prior, some residents sought to prosecute those behind the fireworks but were told that local police had limited resources. Residents also brought the issue to the Palisades Town Council.
The link between the Lachman Fire and the Palisades Fire is reportedly under investigation, as the two fires started in the same location along the Temescal Ridge. Analyses of satellite imagery suggest that the Palisades Fire started close to the burn scar of the Lachman Fire, a claim corroborated by some residents. Assistant Chief Joe Everett of the LAFD expressed skepticism about the possibility of reignition after the cold-trailing operation and 36-hour patrol that followed the Lachman Fire. Ed Nordskog, a former arson investigator for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, noted that embers can stay buried until a wind event sets them free. Michael Gollner, a fire scientist and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, stated that "It's certainly possible that something from that previous fire, within a week, had rekindled and caused the ignition."
Palisades residents interviewed by the Los Angeles Times reported smelling smoke on the morning of January 7, prior to the appearance of the first flames at 10:15 a.m. A hiker on the trails near Skull Rock reported smelling smoke at 9 a.m. In an interview with The New York Times, another resident, hiking an hour before the eruption of the Palisades Fire, reported seeing smoke wafting in the area near the burn scar of the New Year's fire.
According to The New York Times, a lawyer was looking into the possibility of a downed powerline causing the fire. A 2019 project by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to replace old power lines for wildfire mitigation was temporarily stalled after it had damaged 183 Astragalus brauntonii plants, an endangered species. The department agreed to pay a fine in 2020 for the damage and won approval to resume the work, but it did not proceed. The Times discovered power line debris near the point of ignition, but noted that witness photographs show that the nearest powerline was still intact after the fire began, and that many further damaged utility lines to the north were only consumed by the fire a day later.