LOS ANGELES, California –
Firefighters are hoping for a break Friday from the ferocious winds that have sparked massive fires in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, destroying entire neighborhoods and pushing the nation’s second-largest city to the brink.
On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire started in the San Fernando Valley. It moved to neighboring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response from firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.
The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday, when they began to appear around a densely populated 25-mile (40-kilometer) stretch north of downtown Los Angeles. The cause of the larger fires has not yet been identified.
Here’s the latest:
US National Guard troops on the ground in Altadena
U.S. National Guard troops patrolled the streets of Altadena before dawn Friday after being called to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone.
Camouflaged troops were stationed at intersections in the city hardest hit by the Eaton fire, near Jeeps, Humvees and other military vehicles.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting and other thefts in the areas where the fire occurred.
Los Angeles County officials say they plan to impose a nighttime curfew that would make arrests easier.
A bicyclist stands among Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Australia ‘stands ready to provide support’ to help fight Los Angeles fires
“We have not received any requests for more support. But Australia is always ready to provide support to our friends in times of need,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. in the west coast city of Perth on Friday.
“One of the problems we have, of course, is that we have to be aware of the fact that this is also our fire season,” he added.
The California fires come at the peak of Australia’s fire season.
Earth records its hottest year in 2024
Earth recorded its hottest year in 2024, with a jump so big that the planet temporarily surpassed a major climate threshold, several climate monitoring agencies announced Friday.
Last year’s global average temperature easily surpassed the record heat of 2023 and continued to rise even higher. It exceeded the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 19th century required by the 2015 Paris climate pact, according to the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Service, Bureau of Meteorology of the United Kingdom and the Japanese meteorological agency. .
The European team estimated 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.89 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming. Japan found 1.57 degrees Celsius (2.83 degrees Fahrenheit) and the British 1.53 degrees Celsius (2.75 degrees Fahrenheit) in data releases coordinated through early Friday European time.
What caused the deadly California wildfires? Researchers consider a variety of possibilities.
Investigators are considering a variety of possible ignition sources for the massive fires that have killed at least 10 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area.
While lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, researchers were able to quickly rule it out. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in eastern Los Angeles County and also destroyed hundreds of homes.
The next two most common causes: fires set intentionally and fires set by utility lines.
A bicyclist stands among Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
