Palisades Fire
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The Palisades Fire was a highly destructive
wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
that began burning in the
Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...
of
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
on January 7, 2025, and grew to destroy large areas of Pacific Palisades,
Topanga Topanga (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern ...
, and Malibu before it was fully contained on January 31, after 24 days. One of a series of wildfires in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
driven by hurricane-force
Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds, occasionally referred to as the devil winds, are strong, extremely dry katabatic winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. They originate from cool, dry high-pressure ...
, it burned , 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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.


Background

A strong high-pressure system over the
Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...
created a steep northerly pressure gradient across Southern California. The system triggered powerful
Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds, occasionally referred to as the devil winds, are strong, extremely dry katabatic winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. They originate from cool, dry high-pressure ...
,
katabatic wind A katabatic wind (named ) is a downslope wind caused by the flow of an elevated, high-density air mass into a lower-density air mass below under the force of gravity. The spelling catabatic is also used. Since air density is strongly dependent o ...
s 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 The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various area ...
(CAL FIRE) told the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' that the conditions were "the perfect recipe for a large wildfire". The
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
(NWS) issued
red flag warning A red flag warning is a forecast warning issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States to inform the public, firefighters, and land management agencies that conditions are ideal for wildfire combustion, and rapid spread. These ...
s 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 , with some gusts anticipated to reach 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 posed by the windstorm and weather patterns led
Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
to close several roads, including
Topanga Canyon Boulevard State Route 27, commonly known by its street name Topanga Canyon Boulevard (), is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from the Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1) at Topanga State Beach near Pacific Palisade ...
between
Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura counties is n ...
and
Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to: Roads * Pacific Coast Highway or PCH, segments of California State Route 1 * Pacific Coast Highway, parts of New Zealand State Highway 2 and all of New Zealand State Highway 25 and New Zealand State Highway 35. ...
. As is common in red flag warnings, CAL FIRE pre-positioned firefighting assets across Southern California. The
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal Public utility, utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of wat ...
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.


Progression

The fire was first reported at about 10:30 a.m. PST on January 7, 2025, covering around of the mountains near by Pacific Palisades. It quickly spread due to a combination of severe drought in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
(the driest 9-month period on record), and a worsening Santa Ana wind event which created wind gusts up to . Within 20 minutes, the fire grew from to . The
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various area ...
(CAL FIRE) said the blaze had reached more than 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 .
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
, the
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
, toured the fire on January 7, and said that many structures had been destroyed. The intensification of the concurrent
windstorm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm) ...
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 at 6:30 p.m. Firefighters faced significant challenges combating the blaze due to the steep terrain of the Santa Monica Mountains and the strong Santa Ana winds. These conditions hindered both ground and aerial firefighting operations, making containment efforts much more difficult. Firefighters called in from close by states like Oregon and Nevada to continue fighting the blaze. The fire reached the driveway adjacent to the Getty Villa; earlier in the day staff activated the site's fire safety plan which included 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 . 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 A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...
". Several beachfront properties in Malibu were destroyed by the wildfire. In a
Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides firefighting services and technical rescue services, hazardous materials services, and emergency medical services to the residents of the city of Los Angeles, California, United ...
(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 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 , a figure which had grown to 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 . Human remains were found at a property near the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu by the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(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 . 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 . 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 . 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 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 Topanga (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern ...
. This number was later revised to three. Late on January 10, the
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) provides public health services to Los Angeles County residents. Barbara Ferrer is the Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Muntu Davis is the Los Angeles County ...
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 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 Brentwood is a suburban neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. History General Modern development began after the establishment of the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors in the ...
, new evacuation orders were made for the Tarzana and Encino neighborhoods, with evacuation warnings extending to south of
Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it is along the commem ...
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 ; by 4:37 p.m. it had grown to . 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 The Eaton Fire was a highly destructive wildfire in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in Southern California. The fire began on the evening of January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, and a powerful S ...
. 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 . 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 ; 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
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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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
sent
Canadair CL-415 The Canadair CL-415 (Super Scooper, later Bombardier 415) and the De Havilland Canada DHC-515 are a series of amphibious aircraft built originally by Canadair and subsequently by Bombardier and De Havilland Canada. The CL-415 is based on the ...
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 , 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. Newly released footage suggests that the Palisades Fire may have rekindled from the earlier Lachman Fire, which began on January 1. Experts believe that embers from the earlier fire smoldered unnoticed and reignited amid extreme wind conditions.


Evacuation

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 Marqueece L. Harris-Dawson (born November 7, 1969) is an American politician, currently serving as the president of the Los Angeles City Council since September 20, 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, who has ...
, the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of
Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...
and acting
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
, declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
in response to the fire. During the hectic evacuation, some roads became gridlocked. In some areas, residents were seen fleeing their vehicles along the Pacific Coast Highway and taking refuge in the ocean to escape the advancing flames. 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 The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
(LAPD) sent around 140 officers to assist with evacuations and gridlock. Fire department officials issued an
Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...
message, which was relayed by the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
, to notify residents of the evacuations, and subsequently ordered residents unable to evacuate to
shelter in place Shelter-in-place (SIP; also known as a shelter-in-place warning, Specific Area Message Encoding, SAME code SPW) is the act of seeking safety within the building one already occupies, rather than emergency evacuation, evacuating the area or seeking ...
. At 2:30 p.m. on January 8, an evacuation order covering part of
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
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 Wilshire Boulevard ( wɪɫ.ʃɚ is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue (Lo ...
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 Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
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 The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
. Evacuation orders were lifted on January 27, when the City of Los Angeles allowed resident-only access to the previously mandatory-evacuation areas.


Impact


Structures destroyed

According to Wildfire Alliance statistics, The Palisades Fire destroyed 6,837 structures, per CAL FIRE’s final report on January 30, 2025. Earlier estimates included 1,900 structures by January 8 (Wildfire Alliance) and 3,501 by February 4 (LAFD), reflecting ongoing assessments, making it the most destructive in Los Angeles's history. It surpassed the
Sayre Fire The Sayre Fire, also known as the Sylmar Fire, was a November 2008 wildfire which burned 489 residences in Los Angeles, considered to be the "worst loss of homes due to fire" in the city's history at that time. The fire was first reported at 10 ...
, 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 An air quality index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As air pollution levels rise, so does the AQI, along with the a ...
. The fire completely destroyed much of Pacific Palisades; almost every structure in the area north of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
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 Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades is a United Methodist church in the Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The community of Pacific Palisades was laid out as a result of ...
, Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, St. Matthew's Episcopal Parish School, Village School, and the landmarked
Pacific Palisades Business Block The Business Block Building was a historic building located in Pacific Palisades, California, that was designed by architect Clifton Nourse and dedicated in 1924. The building was and sat on of land. The Business Block building was located be ...
building. An archive containing at least 100,000
score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
s by
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
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 The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California, operating separate from the Los Angeles County Public Library system. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million resid ...
was destroyed. The
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
schools
Palisades Elementary Palisades Elementary Charter School (known colloquially as Pali Elem) is an elementary charter school in Pacific Palisades, California, part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Also known as Palisades Elementary and Palisades Charter E ...
and Marquez Elementary Schools were destroyed.
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
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 The Getty Villa is an educational center and an art museum located at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of th ...
caught fire although the building itself was unscathed. The house of
Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
and the stables at the
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is a California State Historic Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. The park was established in 1944 to preserve the estate of American humorist Will Rogers, includi ...
were destroyed; park staff safely evacuated the horses and removed some of the exhibited memorabilia. The historic
Topanga Ranch Motel Topanga Ranch Motel was a historic seaside motel located within Topanga State Park in Los Angeles County, California. The motel was built in 1929 by William Randolph Hearst. On January 8, 2025, the motel was destroyed by the Palisades Fire. ...
at
Topanga State Park Topanga State Park () is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park is located adjacent to the Topanga neigh ...
also burned down. A total of 30 buildings across the two parks were destroyed including staff housing. Restaurants along
Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to: Roads * Pacific Coast Highway or PCH, segments of California State Route 1 * Pacific Coast Highway, parts of New Zealand State Highway 2 and all of New Zealand State Highway 25 and New Zealand State Highway 35. ...
that burned included
Cholada Thai Cholada Thai was a Thai cuisine, Thai restaurant on the California State Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway in the unincorporated community of Topanga, California, Los Angeles County, United States. Located adjacent to the Malibu, California, city o ...
, Moonshadows, the
Reel Inn The Reel Inn was a seafood restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in the unincorporated community of Topanga, California, Los Angeles County, United States. Located adjacent to the city of Malibu, it was opened in 1986 by Andy Leonard; twenty ...
and Rosenthal Wine Bar & Patio. The house on Alma Real Drive where
Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and " ...
wrote
The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
song " Light My Fire" and the
Robert Bridges House The Robert Bridges House was a single-family house designed, built, and occupied by Los Angeles architect Robert Bridges. The home stood on tall concrete pillars above Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. It was destroyed in the ...
perched atop
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
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 Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...
house designed for Nancy and
Benedict Freedman Benedict Freedman (December 19, 1919 – February 24, 2012) was an American novelist and mathematician, the co-author of '' Mrs. Mike'' and a professor of mathematics at Occidental College in Los Angeles.. Life Upbringing Freedman was born to a Je ...
, 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. The Getty Villa Museum planned to reopen after a seven-month closure. Restoration efforts at the Getty Villa Museum included deep cleaning, system flushes, air and water filter replacements, and the removal of over 1,300 fire-damaged trees.


Celebrities affected

Numerous celebrities lost homes in the fire, including
Eric Braeden Eric Braeden (born Hans-Jörg Gudegast; April 3, 1941) is a German-American film and television actor, known for his roles as Victor Newman (fictional character), Victor Newman (from 1980) on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', as H ...
,
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...
,
Adam Brody Adam Jared Brody (born December 15, 1979) is an American actor. His breakout role was as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series '' The O.C.'' (2003–2007). For his performance as Noah in the Netflix romantic comedy series '' Nobody Wants T ...
and
Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester ( ; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is known for her starring role as Blair Waldorf on the CW television series ''Gossip Girl'', which ran from 2007 to 2012. She has also appeared in fi ...
,
Patrick Bruel Patrick Benguigui (; born 14 May 1959), better known by his stage name Patrick Bruel (), is a French singer-songwriter, actor and professional poker player. Biography Early life Patrick is the son of Pierre Benguigui and Augusta Kammoun, d ...
,
Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...
,
Barbara Corcoran Barbara Ann Corcoran (born March 10, 1949) is an American businesswoman, investor, syndicated columnist, and television personality. She founded The Corcoran Group, a real estate brokerage in New York City, which she sold to NRT for $66 million ...
,
Denise Crosby Denise Michelle Crosby (born November 24, 1957) is an American actress and model known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar mainly in Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 1), season one of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and Yar's daug ...
,
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...
,
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purchased in 2019 was one of the few properties to survive the fire, as did the homes of celebrities
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, and
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. On ''
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'', actor
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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 medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...
s in the fire; a few days after,
Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former foil fencer, and Olympic gold medalist. He has served as the ninth president of the International Olympic Committee since 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected to tha ...
, the president of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
, announced that he would be provided with replica medals to replace them.


Other effects

The Los Angeles premieres of '' Wolf Man'', ''
One of Them Days ''One of Them Days'' is a 2025 American buddy comedy film directed by Lawrence Lamont and written by Syreeta Singleton. The film stars Keke Palmer and SZA (in her film debut) as two friends who must scramble to find rent money after one of t ...
'' and ''
Unstoppable Unstoppable may refer to: Film and television * Unstoppable (2004 film), ''Unstoppable'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David Carson * ''Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', a 2005 America ...
'' were canceled due to the fire. The property damage caused by the fire has resulted in vast liabilities for
home insurance Home insurance, also commonly called homeowner's insurance (often abbreviated in the US real estate industry as HOI), is a type of property insurance that covers a private residence. It is an insurance policy that combines various personal insur ...
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.


Reactions

California Governor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
traveled to Los Angeles to observe the initial fire response as well as meet with State, Local and Federal officials including then President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, 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 Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...
was in
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
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 X Corp. is an American tech company headquartered in Bastrop, Texas. Established by Elon Musk in 2023 as the successor to Twitter, Inc., it is a wholly owned subsidiary of xAI since March 28, 2025, which is itself partly owned by Musk. T ...
Chairman and CTO
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
called the Mayor "utterly incompetent". Then
President-Elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Un ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
voiced his concern on
Truth Social Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH) is an alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), an American media and technology company majority-owned by U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a "Twitter clone" ...
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.


Investigation

The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...
has deployed a National Response Team to investigate the origins of the fire. According to the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', 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. In May 2025, ATF conducted a controlled burn in the Palisades Highlands in attempt to gather more information on the origins of the fire.


Relationship to the Lachman Fire

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 The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' 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 The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
, 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 The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, 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.


Other possible causes

According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 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 The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal Public utility, utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of wat ...
(LADWP) to replace old power lines for wildfire mitigation was temporarily stalled after it had damaged 183 '' Astragalus brauntonii'' plants, an
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
. 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. A lawsuit filed by victims of the fire against the city of Los Angeles and the LADWP claimed that around 10:30 p.m. on January 7th, power lines downed by the Palisades fire could have caused a secondary fire. The LADWP responded with a public statement clarifying that the lines in question were manually deenergized around 2:15 p.m. earlier that day.


See also

*
2025 California wildfires There are a series of wildfires burning throughout the state of California. As of June 9, 2025, a total of 2,353 fires have burned 76,292 acres (30,874 ha) across the state. Background The timing of "fire season" in California is variable, dep ...
*
List of California wildfires This is a partial and incomplete list of wildfires in the US state of California. California has dry, windy, and often hot weather conditions from spring through late autumn that can produce moderate to severe wildfires. Pre-1800, when the a ...


References


External links


Palisades Fire Damage Maps – LA County
{{California wildfires by deaths 2025 in Los Angeles January 2025 Southern California wildfires 2025 fire Wildfires in Los Angeles County, California