• Firefighters are using a range of technologies and equipment in their efforts against the fires in California.
• New AI-powered sensors for detection are paired with kerosene-powered aircraft for suppression.
• Here are some of the tools on the scene helping to protect lives and property from the flames.

With a 27,000-acre inferno bearing down on America's second-largest city, fire crews are using multiple tools at their disposal in their efforts to protect lives and property.

California firefighters have a range of old and new technologies to aid in their task, ranging from AI-powered sensors for fire detection to kerosene-powered aircraft for suppression.

US and Canadian water bomber planes and helicopters have been some of the most prominent pieces of equipment in the field as they scoop up seawater to quench the blazes nearby.

Less visible forms of tech are also contributing to the effort — sometimes without any initial human involvement.

UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia project now has a network of cameras at high-risk sites, with 115 located in Los Angeles County alone, with more than 1,140 cameras across the state.

Last month, Orange County fire officials credited the system for being instrumental in their first AI detection of a vegetation fire, which allowed first responders to contain the incident to less than a quarter acre.

Startups are getting involved too. Sonia Kastner, CEO and cofounder of the Salesforce Ventures-backed startup Pano AI, told Business Insider that new trends in firefighting are shifting as fire seasons worsen, with an increased focus on early detection and rapid containment.

"You can think of it as similar to how we treat cancer," Kastner said. "We screen early, then treat cancer aggressively at stage one, so that it never becomes stage four."

Rather than relying on bystander reports, Kastner says cameras and analysts can provide first responders with quicker confirmations and more precise locations.

" It's a matter of luck of whether a bystander sees the fire," Kastner said. " And then there's a mandatory confirmation step where a single fire engine is dispatched to drive around and try to find the fire. With that, you lose hours."

Satellites and drones are also taking a more significant role in wildfire management and response, offering drastic before-and-after comparisons of the fire's effects.

The cameras and sensors are only good for letting responders know where a fire is — getting it under control still requires the use of more physical kinds of tech.

The US Forest Service's website details the range of aircraft it uses to respond to wildfires, ranging from single-engine air tankers that can deliver up to 800 gallons of fire retardant, to larger air tankers that carry up to 4,000 gallons and water scoopers that collect water from nearby sources.

In addition to government planes, aircraft from private sector partner Coulson Aviation, which has a contract with Los Angeles County — have also been spotted dousing flames.

In particular, the Canada-based company operates a fleet of specialized helicopters that can drop water with a high degree of accuracy, though high winds in recent days have complicated the effort.

"The Coulson Crew is currently on the frontlines of the Palisades Fire in California. We remain dedicated to supporting suppression efforts and safeguarding lives and property," the company said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, crews on the ground continue to rely on tools and techniques developed over a century of modern firefighting, with hoses, chainsaws, and even buckets.

It's hard, dangerous work, but modern technologies are helping responders on the ground and in the air do the job more effectively.

• Multiple fires are devastating the Los Angeles area with over 100,000 people told to evacuate.
• Landmarks such as the Hollywood sign and the Getty Center were undamaged but engulfed in smoke.
• The Griffith Observatory will be closed until further notice.

The Los Angeles wildfires have devastated portions of the city and surrounding areas.

The Palisades fire, which started on January 7, has left more than 17,000 acres burning unchecked. In total, wildfires have burned over 27,000 acres.

Over 100,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate, and many more — including celebrities — have lost their homes.

Here's how the fires have impacted some of the most famous landmarks in Los Angeles.

The Griffith Observatory offers free public telescopes and sweeping views of downtown Los Angeles.

The structure, which spans 67,000 square feet, includes a planetarium, observatory, and exhibits about the cosmos.

The observatory's telescopes were rendered useless due to thick clouds of smoke.

The Griffith Observatory wrote on Instagram on Wednesday that it will be closed until further notice due to the current weather and fire conditions.

The Hollywood sign, visible from the Griffith Observatory, is the most famous landmark in Los Angeles.

The Hollywood sign has been featured in countless TV shows and movies over the years as the most iconic location in the city.

As fires blazed across the city, the normally blue skies turned gray with smoke and ash.

As of Thursday, the sign was not located in an evacuation warning area, but the site is closed due to damage from surrounding fires.

After false images of the sign burning began to circulate on social media, the Hollywood Sign clarified in a Facebook post that it "continues to stand tall!"

Sunset Boulevard boasts luxury shops, restaurants, and nightlife.

The famous 1.7-mile-long Sunset Strip along Sunset Boulevard is located between Hollywood and West Hollywood.

Part of Sunset Boulevard has been hit hard by the wildfires.

Part of Sunset Boulevard, which spans 25 miles, is located in Pacific Palisades. The Palisades fire caused heavy damage, and many buildings along the famous street have burned down.

The Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena is home to the UCLA Bruins college football team.

The stadium also hosts its namesake Rose Bowl Game annually on New Year's Day.

Aerial views of The Rose Bowl were obscured by smoke.

Some sports games have been postponed due to the wildfires. On Wednesday, the National Hockey League delayed a match between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames that was supposed to take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The Getty Center, a giant museum complex in the Santa Monica Mountains, spans 110 acres.

Designed by architect Richard Meier, the Getty Center houses collections of paintings, manuscripts, photography, and sculptures from Europe and the US.

The effects of the wildfires could be seen in the distance behind the museum on Wednesday at sunset.

Clouds of smoke billowed around the complex, but the museum was undamaged.

The Getty Villa, situated on a 64-acre estate, houses Greek and Roman antiquities.

The Getty Villa, built by J. Paul Getty, is located about 11 miles from the Getty Museum.

Wildfires scorched the grounds of the Getty Villa, but the building itself remains safe.

Katherine E. Fleming, president and chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times that the organization "had made extensive efforts to clear brush from the surrounding area as part of its fire mitigation efforts throughout the year."

"Some trees and vegetation on-site have burned, but staff and the collection remain safe," she said.

Located near the Getty Villa, the Kauffman Estate has appeared in music videos such as "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga and "Haunted" by Beyoncé.

Also known as the Villa de Leon, the French Revival estate was built in Malibu in 1927 for wool merchant Leon Kauffman.

The 12,000-square-foot mansion was barely visible in the orange sky.

Winds of up to 90 miles per hour made the California wildfires difficult to control.

The Kauffman Estate, now a private residence, appeared to still be standing as of Tuesday evening, but the extent of the damage is unclear.

Will Rogers State Historic Park in the Santa Monica Mountains was once the luxury residence of one of the highest-paid actors of the 1930s.

In the 1920s, Rogers built a ranch on the 359 acres of land he owned featuring a 31-room house, stables, and a golf course. His widow donated it to the California State Parks system in 1944.

The Palisades Fire destroyed "multiple structures" including Will Rogers' historic home, according to California State Parks.

"California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area," California State Parks director Armando Quintero said in a statement.

Raging brush fires in California are causing mass destruction, exacerbating the state's home insurance crisis.

• Wildfires are burning across Los Angeles, coating the county in smoke.
• Health agencies issued warnings and schools closed as air quality reached unsafe levels.
• Experts break down why the fine-particle pollution can cause serious, long-term damage.

Wildfires erupted across Los Angeles, coating the county in smoke, haze, and an acrid smell.

The LA Public Health department issued an air quality alert, and many schools closed due to dangerous air quality. 

The mist that hovers over wildfire sites is a collection of fine-particle pollution (PM 2.5), Dr. David Hill, a pulmonologist with the American Lung Association, told the AP. 

"We have defenses in our upper airway to trap larger particles and prevent them from getting down into the lungs. These are sort of the right size to get past those defenses," Hill said. "When those particles get down into the respiratory space, they cause the body to have an inflammatory reaction to them."

What is the risk of wildfire smoke?

Fine-particle air pollution can cause inflammation in the lungs and reduce heart function — lasting effects similar to smoking cigarettes or exposure to diesel exhaust, the New York Times reported. 

Dr. Kari Nadeau, a physician and scientist at Stanford University, told the Times she believes the risk to our health is higher than that of smoking cigarettes. "Cigarettes at least have filters," Nadeau said.

This kind of air pollution is particularly risky for children, whose lungs are still developing. 

"They breathe in more air per unit of body weight," Laura Kate Bender, the lung association's National Assistant Vice President of healthy air, told the AP.

The risk of lung and heart irritation is also higher for older adults and people with lung or cardiovascular conditions, including asthma.

6 ways to stay safe when it's smoky outside

• Keep an eye on the air quality in your area to determine how long you should exercise caution. Until the risk passes, there are easy things you can do to protect yourself from experiencing long-term lung inflammation.
• If possible, stay inside and close your windows, Hill said. (You can put your zip code into AirNow.gov to find out the air quality in your area.)
• Do not burn candles, light a fire, or smoke indoors. That increases indoor pollution, according to a blog post from epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina, of the University of Texas Health Science Center.
• Do not vacuum. That also affects your indoor air by kicking up any fine particles that may have come in through your window or door, Jetelina said.
• If you do go outside, wear an N95 mask, which — if fitted correctly — blocks out 95% of particles larger than 0.3 microns. As such, they effectively keep out 2.5-micron particles, which we're seeing from the wildfire smoke. "N95 masks are the type of face covering protection that I would recommend for somebody who is outside during the air pollution caused by wildfires," Marina Vance, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told Healthline.
• While inside, you can run your air-conditioning unit if it has a good HVAC filter, and an air purifier can help too, the American Lung Association recommends.

• Wildfires are rampaging across Los Angeles County this week.
• Hundreds of thousands of people are under evacuation orders or warnings.
• A JP Morgan analyst estimated that the fire could become the costliest in US history.

Wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles — and could become the costliest blazes in US history, according to a JPMorgan research note.

JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar estimated insured losses from the devastating fires in the Palisades area and beyond could total more than $20 billion, "significantly more severe" than the Camp Fires that struck the state in 2018 and racked up $10 billion in insured losses.

"The fires have not been contained thus far and continue to spread, implying that estimates of potential economic and insured losses are likely to increase," Bhullar wrote in the research note.

The LA area battled several fires that continued to rip through its picturesque mountains and hillsides on Thursday — creating a hellscape of burned-out neighborhoods and livelihoods, with nearly 180,000 people under evacuation orders.

Thick bands of smoke could be seen in several directions from the city's downtown core — with at least five fires burning throughout the 4,000 square-mile county that's home to nearly 10 million people.

As of Thursday morning local time, an additional 200,000 people had been placed under evacuation warnings — with officials advising them to get ready to leave their homes if the fires raging near their residences got closer.

More than 27,000 acres have burned so far — and at least five deaths have been reported, officials said. Authorities wouldn't confirm an exact death toll at a Thursday briefing.

They said "thousands" of homes and other structures had been destroyed so far.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman described the scene in LA as apocalyptic.

"Not since the 1990s, when Los Angeles was hit with the fires, the flood, the earthquake, and the riots, have I seen such disaster occur here in our city," Hochman said at the briefing, referring to the Northridge Earthquake and the disturbances in the wake of the Rodney King verdict.

Two of the largest fires, the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, are still at zero percent containment, officials said. The National Weather Service predicted the "red flag warning" that signals high fire danger will persist for LA County and nearby Ventura County through Friday.

But there was some brightening on the horizon: Officials said weather conditions are beginning to turn favorably for firefighters.

Meanwhile, 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting in areas affected by the fires, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at Thursday's briefing.

And he issued a stern warning to the public: Anyone who remains in areas under mandatory evacuation orders is guilty of a misdemeanor, and his officers will begin enforcing that. Beyond that, crimes like looting could reach the felony level, he said.

As for people still in their homes, around 95,000 power customers remain in the dark, Janisse Quiñones, the CEO and chief engineer of the city's Department of Water and Power, said. Satellite images showed the destruction in the wake of the fires.

Here's a look at the latest happenings in the main fires spreading throughout the area:

Palisades Fire

The Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area north of Santa Monica was the first fire to strike the region on Tuesday morning. It has spread to over 17,000 acres, with zero percent containment, making it one of the worst natural disasters in LA history, officials said Thursday morning.

The blaze has reduced thousands of structures to rubble, but exact numbers are not yet known, the officials said.

Wind gusts in the area have tamed down some since their Tuesday highs of nearly 100 mph but remain up to 60 mph. They're expected to continue through Thursday.

Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley would not confirm reports that the fire started in a resident's garden, saying the origin is still under investigation.

The affluent area is home to many celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal, who have lost their homes in the blaze.

Eaton Fire

The second-largest fire in Los Angeles County is the Eaton Fire, which started on Tuesday evening in the Pasadena-Altadena area at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest.

The blaze has spread to over 10,000 acres and reduced at least 1,000 homes to ash as of Thursday, officials said. Like the Palisades Fire, it is zero percent contained.

Still, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the fire's growth has been "significantly stopped," and the cause remains unknown.

Hurst Fire

The Hurst Fire, which began late on Tuesday night in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley, has spread to around 855 acres, according to data from CalFire, a state agency.

LAFD's Crowley said the Hurst Fire was zero percent contained, while CalFire data estimates it is 10% contained.

Crowley said firefighters have been able to hold the fire within a containment area and have established a perimeter.

Sunset Fire and others

The Sunset Fire broke out in the Runyan Canyon area of the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening, quickly spreading to scorch over 40 acres and threaten major LA landmarks.

As of Thursday morning, firefighters were able to stop the fire's forward progress, Crowley said. Crews are still working to "put out spot fires within the perimeters to keep the wind from spreading any additional embers," she said.

All evacuation orders related to the Sunset Fire were lifted as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Crowley said.

Meanwhile, a large structure fire broke out nearby, consuming two large homes in the Studio City area. Still, firefighters were able to stop its forward growth at just one acre and prevent another brushfire, Crowley said.

Yet another fire, the Lidia Fire, started Wednesday afternoon in Acton near the Antelope Valley, about 20 miles northeast of the San Fernando Valley. It spread to consume 348 acres but has been 40% contained, with forward progress stopped, county fire chief Marrone said.

One of this week's fires has been 100% contained. The Woodley Fire, which began Wednesday morning in the southern part of the San Fernando Valley, has been suppressed and there are no current threats, Crowley said. Patrols are monitoring the area for any flare-ups, she added.

This a developing story. Please refresh for updates.

• The Palisades and Eaton fires have razed thousands of homes and burned tens of thousands of acres.
• Some buildings have survived, though, like the Getty Villa art museum in Pacific Palisades.
• The Villa is not your average home, but homeowners can learn from what Getty staff have been doing all year.

As the Palisades and Eaton fires burned through thousands of acres on Tuesday, razing nearly 2,000 homes, the iconic Getty Villa remained standing with minor damage. Meanwhile, homes and trees around it went up in flames.

"We deeply appreciate the tireless work and dedication of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and other agencies," the museum said in a statement Wednesday morning.

The Getty Villa is part of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which includes the largest endowment of any museum in the world, estimated at more than $8 billion in 2023. It houses the trust's collection of Ancient Greek and Roman art.

Fire departments used "state-of-the-art air handling systems" to help protect the building, Katherine E. Fleming, the president and CEO of the Getty Trust, told USA Today.

Moreover, builders designed the galleries with double-walled construction, which also helped protect the precious art inside.

However, it wasn't just expensive architecture and state-of-the-art firefighting that helped. Getty staff have been consistently clearing brush from the surrounding area all year as part of its fire-mitigation efforts, the museum said.

That's a crucial lesson for homeowners in fire-risk areas.

Yard work to save your home

The Palisades fire has become the most destructive ever to hit Los Angeles, CNN reported, citing CalFire data.

The fire has been fueled by an explosion of grasses and brush that grew abundant over the past two winters, which were rainier than usual. But with drought conditions over the past few months, that brush dried out, becoming kindling for the fast-moving blazes.

To mitigate the risk of fire, cities, fire departments, and community members can clear dried grasslands around residential areas.

Individual homeowners can also protect their properties by clearing a 5-foot perimeter around their houses and removing flammable materials like ornamental plants, bark mulch, or deck furniture.

"This is an urban fire. We're burning urban fuels," said Pat Durland, a wildfire-mitigation specialist and instructor for the National Fire Protection Association with 30 years of federal wildfire management experience.

Keeping gutters and roofs clear can also prevent spot ignitions that can send entire structures up in flames.

"People believe that they're helpless," Durland told Business Insider in 2023. But that's not the case, he said. "Nine out of 10 times, this boils down to two words: yard work."

Homeowners can also install noncombustible, 1/8-inch mesh screening on any vents to a crawl space or attic to prevent embers from entering the home that way.

"You are where the rubber meets the road. The things you do on your house and around your house are going to make the difference," Durland said.

• Los Angeles' Palisades Charter High School was damaged by a wildfire on Tuesday.
• The school has a rich pop-culture legacy; alums include J.J. Abrams, Will.i.am, and Forest Whitaker.
• "Carrie," "Teen Wolf," "Freaky Friday," and an Olivia Rodrigo music video were filmed on its campus.

A wildfire damaged an iconic Los Angeles high school with A-list alums that was used as a set for films including "Freaky Friday" and "Carrie."

On Wednesday, as numerous fires raged across the greater Los Angeles area, the California Department of Education said that 335 schools had closed, affecting more than 211,000 students.

Palisades Charter High School, which was set to start a new term next week, caught on fire on Tuesday evening. The Los Angeles Times reported that some of the school's athletic facilities and bungalow structures at the back of its campus burned.

A representative for the school did not immediately respond to a comment request from Business Insider about the extent of the damage.

The Times said staff members and student-athletes who were at the school when the fire broke out were quickly evacuated.

It said that the main building was still standing and that the school's principal, Pam Magee, told the parents of the approximately 3,000 students that 70% of the campus structures may have survived.

The school's website said it would provide updates on when the new term would start.

Palisades Charter High School has a rich pop-culture legacy

PCHS, which opened in 1961 and became an independent charter school in 2003, has appeared in several TV shows and movies.

It was one of the many schools used to represent Bates High School in the 1976 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel "Carrie." The film received two Oscar nominations and has been referenced many times in movies, TV series, and music.

All the school scenes for 2003's "Freaky Friday," starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, were filmed at PCHS. A sequel is in the works and set to premiere in August.

Seasons three to seven of "Teen Wolf," a supernatural teen drama released in the 2010s, used PCHS for the outside shots of Beacon Hills High School. The first two seasons were filmed in Atlanta. The Times reported in 2012 that the production moved to LA to take advantage of tax laws there.

In 2021, the Grammy-winning pop star Olivia Rodrigo recorded part of her "Good 4 U" music video in the school's locker room and sports facilities.

The PCHS website also says that 2012's "Project X," a found-footage teen comedy, was filmed there.

Palisades Charter High School's list of alums is full of stars

J.J. Abrams, a co-creator of the Emmy-winning show "Lost" and the father of the pop star Gracie Abrams, is one of several stars who attended PCHS.

In 2015, Abrams told the community news outlet the Palisadian Post that he based the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" character Maz Kanata on an English teacher of his at PCHS, Rose Gilbert.

"We really wanted the story to feel authentic, despite being a wild fantasy," Abrams said. "I mentioned Rose in an early story meeting as a sort of timeless, wise figure that I'd actually known in my life." Gilbert, who worked at PCHS for more than 50 years, died in 2013 at 95.

Another PCHS alum is Forest Whitaker, the Oscar-winning actor who has starred in "Black Panther," "Star Wars: Rogue One," and "The Butler."

He told Collider in 2020 that he starred in two high-school musical productions, "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Cabaret."

The Oscar-nominated actor Jennifer Jason Leigh, Whitaker's costar in the 1982 movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," also attended PCHS.

Other successful PCHS alums are Will.i.am, the seven-time Grammy-winning member of the Black Eyed Peas; A. Scott Berg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer; and Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

Correction: January 9, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the year of Rose Gilbert's death. She died in 2013, not 2017.

• Firefighters in LA have limited options against blazes so huge.
• Common tactics like firebreaks, controlled burns, and dousing vital buildings face big hurdles.
• A wildfire expert told BI that the fire is unlikely to be put out until LA's winds change.

Firefighters confronting the Los Angeles wildfires face hurdles to many tactics in their arsenal as they try to tame some 27,000 burning acres.

As of Thursday, more than 1,400 firefighters were battling several blazes with both ground crews and airdrops.

The firefighters of California "are amongst the best-trained and best-equipped wildfire fighters anywhere in the world," said Stefan Doerr, a professor of wildland fire science at the UK's Swansea University.

But, he told Business Insider, "they are really challenged by the fact that the winds are so extreme, as well as having several large fires burning at the same time."

His conclusion: Until the winds fanning the blazes die down, "putting out a fire like this is essentially impossible."

Numerous California officials gave a similar assessment, saying there was no immediate prospect of containing the fires.

'Not prepared'

Anthony Marrone, the fire chief of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department, told local outlet 6ABC: "LA County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster."

They could handle one or two major fires, he said, "but not four."

Doerr, who did not have direct information about the LA fire services' plans, walked BI through some tactics generally used for major wildfires, and their limitations in combatting these fires.

1) Attack from the side

"This fire is very complex," said Doerr, pointing to the number of distinct blazes, some expanding in several directions at once.

Most of the fires were being pushed toward the sea by powerful inland air currents known as Santa Ana winds.

Doerr said there it is too dangerous to approach so huge a fire from the front, where it burns most intensely.

"It's usually attacked on the side to basically shrink the overall fire front," he said.

2) Use — or make — firebreaks

Common tactics include removing flammable material with bulldozers, he said. "Removing the vegetation is much more effective than trying to fight a fire like this with water."

The problem is that LA's topography is complex, making it hard to remove vegetation, he said.

"That leaves the firefighting forces with limited opportunities," he said. One option is to take advantage of natural firebreaks, such as roads and rivers, or other spots with no flammable vegetation, he said.

There, firefighters could wet the area or use a fire retardant to slow the fire, he said.

Even that, Doerr said, is "very, very challenging" in this instance.

"Even if they are able to basically stop the flames from moving over, say, a road or something directly, the strong winds often mean that you have embers flying over large distances," he said, adding that in some fires, these can travel miles.

That could, in turn, spark more fires, leapfrogging the barriers.

3) Soak important buildings

"When we see firefighters using water, it's often to protect properties — to stop them burning, rather than stopping the entire fire," Doerr said.

As well as ground crews, Chinook helicopters have been dropping thousands of gallons of water on the fire. "It's like having six fire trucks show up to your house every 10 minutes," Wayne Coulson, CEO of the Coulson Group, told Global News.

The fires have put immense strain on LA's water supply.

Three huge tanks of a million gallons each serving the Pacific Palisades ran dry within hours under "tremendous demand," said Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer and CEO of the LA department of water and power, according to The Guardian.

"We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging," Quiñones said, per the paper.

4) Accept losses and prioritize

So many structures are under threat that it is impossible to protect all of them with water. Here, tough decisions have to be made, with important buildings like hospitals likely to receive priority, Doerr said.

More than 1,000 buildings have been destroyed, including the homes of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal.

Another extreme option would be to bulldoze whole streets to create a firebreak, Doerr said.

It would be a desperate measure against some of the most costly properties in the world — but "it's still cheaper than having it burn down, and burning the next building along the road," he said.

"Whether they take these extreme measures at the moment, I don't know, but they have done this in the past in extreme fires," he added.

Some tactics are likely out of bounds

One option that is likely out of reach is what Doerr called a "tactical burn."

When tackling some seasonal wildfires, firefighters light a smaller, controlled fire in the path of the main flames to burn away the available fuel, he said.

This can be really effective — but with the strong winds in LA, it risks making things even worse, Doerr said.

"Otherwise you're just going to generate a new fire that's going to burn further on," he said.

Waiting for the wind to change

Observers are anxiously keeping tabs on a key metric — the percentage of containment of the fire.

But it's often misunderstood. "'Contained' means that you basically stopped the edges of the fire from moving further," said Doerr. 100% containment means authorities are reasonably sure the fire can no longer spread, he said. From there, it can burn itself out.

According to the fire service, two smaller fires were partially contained as of early Thursday, at 10% and 40% each. The larger ones were at 0%.

For all their efforts, LA's firefighters are largely "at the mercy of the weather," Doerr said.

"In reality, most fires of such extremity tend to be stopped by a change in weather," he added.

Winds, which on Thursday were gusting up to 25 mph, are forecast by the National Weather Service to slow down to a maximum of 15 mph by Friday evening, offering the best opportunity yet to stop the blaze.

Until then, Doerr said, "putting out a fire like this is essentially impossible."

• Wildfires have torn through Los Angeles, destroying homes and displacing residents.
• Major Hollywood productions have paused shooting.
• They include "Fallout," one Amazon's biggest hits last year, and "Grey's Anatomy."

As the Los Angeles wildfires continue to tear through swathes of the city, Hollywood has responded by pausing multiple TV and film productions.

As of 8 A.M ET, at least five people had died in the wildfires, and 150,000 people had been evacuated from the greater Los Angeles area, including the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Pasadena. The Los Angeles Times reported that around 2,000 buildings had been destroyed, citing the LA Fire Department.

Numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton have lost their homes. The Palisades fire burned over 17,000 acres of land, and a fifth fire, dubbed the Sunset Fire, started in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening.

Here are the projects that have paused production.

'Fallout' and 'Grey's Anatomy' are among the TV shows affected

Variety reported on Wednesday that Amazon had postponed restarting filming for "Fallout" season two until Friday.

The show, based on the popular "Fallout" games by Bethesda Softworks, was one of the streamer's biggest hits of 2024.

The outlet also reported that the Warner Bros. studio backlot in Burbank was closed, stopping work on "Abbott Elementary," "The Pitt," "All-American," and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage."

However, the city of Burbank said on Wednesday that there were no evacuation orders for the area.

NBC Universal stopped production on "Suits: LA," the spinoff to Aaron Korsh's popular legal drama starring Stephen Amell, as well as "Ted," "Hacks," "Loot," and "Happy's Place."

CBS Studios meanwhile paused work on "NCIS," "NCIS: Origins," "After Midnight," "The Neighborhood," and "Poppa's House." And Disney delayed work on "Grey's Anatomy," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and "Doctor Odyssey."

On Wednesday, FilmLA, which helps coordinate permits for movies and TV shows shooting in the city, said the LA County Fire Department told them to withdraw all permits for Altadena, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge, and Unincorporated Pasadena, and others were possible.

In an update on the same day, the company said that the LA Parks and Recreation Department had canceled all filming permits until January 14.

The disruption from the wildfires comes as Hollywood tries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and actor and writer strikes last year, which both led to numerous production delays for major and smaller studios alike.

Mike Miller, the vice president of the film and TV crew union IATSE, told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday that the organization would support those affected.

He said: "We're going to be there to support them and I'm confident that we'll be able to come through this. But it is absolutely going to add additional burden to many people in our industry that are already struggling."

Representatives for Amazon, NBC Universal, CBS, and Disney did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Air travel is being disrupted by strong winds and wildfires in Los Angeles.
• Several airlines have waived change fees for flights to Los Angeles and Orange County.
• Some flights to Burbank were diverted, while passengers photographed the fires from the skies.

The wildfires devastating Los Angeles and the strong winds intensifying them are also disrupting air travel in and around the city.

After a lengthy dry spell in the region, the Santa Ana winds produced gusts up to nearly 90 mph.

These strong winds and the fires — which have led to five deaths and over 130,000 people being evacuated — have caused knock-on effects, with significant numbers of flights delayed and airlines issuing waivers to allow passengers to amend their flights.

American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines are among the carriers that have issued waivers for change fees. The affected airports are Los Angeles International, Hollywood Burbank, Ontario International, and Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport.

At LAX, the city's main airport, 153 flights, or 18%, were delayed on Wednesday, per data from FlightAware.

The airport says it is open and operating normally, but passengers should check their flight status with their airline.

Hollywood Burbank Airport is also facing some disruption, with 18% of Wednesday's flights canceled, per FlightAware.

On social media, the airport also told travelers to check their flight status before flying.

BBC reporter Ben Derico said his Wednesday flight to Burbank had to turn around and return to Las Vegas.

"After a bumpy attempt at touching down the landing was abandoned," he wrote. "The captain told us the winds were just too strong."

Tai Wright, from North Hollywood, told Newsweek her flight from Dallas to Burbank diverted to LAX.

"The heat inside the aircraft started to rise, and the smoke smell filled the cabin," she said.

"The entire landing was rocky, with the aircraft swaying and turning in all directions right up until touchdown, and everyone on board applauded with good reason after we touched ground."

Santa Monica Airport is the closest to the wildfires, about 3 miles south of an evacuation order resulting from the Palisades fire. It is a general aviation airport, which means commercial flights don't typically operate there.

Aviation is also playing a key role in fighting the wildfires. The Los Angeles Fire Department said 12 helicopters and six fixed-wing aircraft are in operation.

• The Palisades and Eaton fires are devastating parts of Los Angeles, destroying entire communities.
• Photos offer a glimpse at the scale of destruction that occurred in just a day and a half.
• The situation is still ongoing and dangerous, with evacuation orders in many areas.

The Palisades and Eaton fires are ripping through parts of Los Angeles and causing mass destruction.

Firefighters are still struggling to contain the blazes, which grew rapidly and have continued for more than 24 hours.

The fires have destroyed at least 1,000 homes. Five people are reported dead. These counts are preliminary, as the situation is still dynamic.

It's difficult to grasp the scale of these fires, but emerging photos paint a grim picture.

The massive Palisades and Eaton fires ripping through Los Angeles show how quickly brush fires can escalate under dry, windy conditions.

More than 70,000 people were under evacuation orders on Wednesday afternoon. Officials have warned that people in many other surrounding regions should prepare to leave their homes at a moment's notice.

Pat Durland, a wildfire-mitigation specialist and instructor for the National Fire Protection Association with 30 years of federal wildfire management experience, told Business Insider that if he lived in the area, he would leave before evacuation orders even hit his home.

"I would have left and gone to the beach or gotten a hotel," he said.

A giant smoke plume was rising over Santa Monica within an hour of the Palisades Fire igniting Tuesday morning.

UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia camera network captured it from the other side of Santa Monica. At that time the fire covered about 200 acres.

So many people had to evacuate that Palisades Drive was gridlocked.

Many people abandoned their cars and fled on foot.

Since then, the Palisades Fire has burned through more than 15,800 acres. This was the area with evacuation zones early Wednesday afternoon.

That's where the acreage stood at 2:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday. Throughout the morning it was increasing hour by hour.

The most up-to-date evacuation orders and warnings are available through CalFire.

Photos are emerging from areas where the Palisades Fire has burned its way through.

The Eaton Fire in nearby Pasadena also rapidly ballooned overnight and Wednesday morning.

The Eaton Fire covered 10,600 acres as of 1 p.m. PT on Wednesday.

Images from that area show a similar situation to Pacific Palisades: frantic evacuations and destroyed homes.

The smoke from the fires filled the Los Angeles area, darkening the skies and causing unhealthy air quality.

A powerful windstorm spread the flames quickly, sending embers flying and igniting new spots, even jumping across roads.

Hurricane-force winds peaked overnight and Wednesday morning, and firefighters were unable to contain the blazes.

"Despite the efforts we put in with well-trained firefighters and equipment and aircraft, the wind and the weather still are ruling these situations," Durland said of major, fast-moving fires like these.

Another ALERTCalifornia camera captured the rising smoke from a ridge on the other side of the fire about an hour after it started.

This was the view from the same trailhead Tuesday night. This camera has since gone offline.

Bone-dry vegetation provided abundant fire fuel due to a phenomenon called weather whiplash.

The last two winters in Southern California have been quite wet, even causing flooding. That led to an explosion of grasses and shrubs, nearly twice as much as a normal season, according to the UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain.

However, this winter has been different. Months without precipitation have dried out all that vegetation, blanketing the LA hillsides with fire fuel.

Grasses and shrubs help spread the fire, but it's "human fuels" that ignite homes, Durland said.

"It's bark mulch, it's ornamental grasses, it's structures that are readily flammable," Durland said.

"This is an urban fire. We're burning urban fuels," he added.

That means that cities and homeowners can do something about it. More fire-resistant landscaping and construction can help protect homes from future firestorms like this.

There are always houses that survive wildfires, Durland said, and everyone can learn from that.

It helps to build homes with ample space between them and maintain a perimeter of at least five feet that's totally free of dry or flammable vegetation or mulch.

Homeowners can also keep their roofs and gutters clear and remove anything flammable from underneath porches and decks.

The Palisades were full of multi-million-dollar homes, which means this could be the costliest fire in US history, Swain said.

According to a preliminary estimate from JP Morgan, insured losses alone could amount to $10 billion.

The Eaton fire, burning in Pasadena and Altadena, was at 0% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

• Polymarket lets people bet on a variety of things, like election outcomes and pop culture events.
• It's also taking bets on the Palisades fire in California — with at least nine different wagers.
• Polymarket says the wisdom of the crowd can lend "unbiased forecasts for the most important events impacting society."

As the Palisades fire is still tearing through parts of the Los Angeles area on Wednesday, Polymarket — the prediction market platform — is allowing people to place wagers on certain elements of the disaster.

There were at least nine different predictions you could place money on as of Wednesday afternoon that were related to the fire. The topic had its own trending module on the site.

One question asked: "Will the Palisades fire be contained by Friday?" Only 2% of bets said yes. (California officials said Wednesday morning that the fires raging through California are "zero percent" contained. Two people have been reported dead in the wake of the disaster.)

Each wager has its own page on the site — and on those pages with bets related to the fire was a disclaimer from Polymarket.

The disclaimer reads:

Note on Palisades Wildfire Markets: The promise of prediction markets is to harness the wisdom of the crowd to create accurate, unbiased forecasts for the most important events impacting society. The devastating Pacific Palisades fire is one such event, for which Polymarket can yield invaluable real-time answers to those directly impacted in ways traditional media cannot.

Note: There are no fees on this market.

On its site, Polymarket says that users can submit suggestions for markets, but a new prediction market, like the ones about the fire, can only be created by Polymarket.

A spokesperson for Polymarket told Business Insider: "Polymarket charges no fees — and generates no revenue — from these markets and provides them as a service to those looking for unbiased and up-to-date information during fast-moving events."

Other wagers available as of Wednesday:

• "Palisades fire burns 10,000 acres by Friday?" (Bettors said this was 99% "yes.")
• "Will Palisades fire spread to Santa Monica by Sunday?" (Bettors gave this a 14% chance.)

So far, it appears the markets have drawn only small bets, with one question drawing a little more than $8,000 and another drawing more than $30,000, according to tallies on the site.

Polymarket, where bets are placed in crypto, became popular during the 2024 election. It showed the odds of Donald Trump winning far above what traditional polls were showing.

In addition to politics and sports, Polymarket offers bets on news and pop culture topics like Oscar nominations or the odds of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting engaged this year.

Destructive brush fires are erupting across California as firefighters say there's "no possibility" of containment. The Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Woodley fires come as powerful winds slam northwest Los Angeles.