California fire: Death toll rises to 10, officials say

More than 1.5 million homes, businesses and other power customers had no electricity as of Wednesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

Almost all of the outages were in Southern California.

The Federal Aviation Administration has expanded the size of a ban on non-firefighting aircraft over the Los Angeles-area wildfires.

The temporary flight restriction now includes the area over Hollywood Hills, Calabasas, Santa Monica Mountains, National Recreation Area, and Century City.

The Palisades Fire on the coast of Los Angeles is now over 15,800 acres, continuing a pattern of monumental growth despite decelerating winds.

US President Joe Biden has officially approved a major disaster declaration for California, the White House said on Wednesday, unlocking federal resources for survivors.

“Today, President Biden has approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, allowing survivors to immediately access funds and resources to jumpstart their recovery,” the White House said in a fact sheet outlining the federal response to the wildfires.

“Additionally, FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to reimburse California for firefighting costs last night," the statement added.

The Palisades Fire has now burned through at least 11,802 acres of land in Southern California with 0% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The fire’s current size marks a significant increase from earlier in the day.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be closed through Monday, as the center is located within the Eaton Fire’s mandatory evacuation zone, JPL said in a statement Wednesday.

“Currently, JPL facilities, labs and hardware are secured and protected. Deep Space Network operations, normally conducted at JPL, have been moved offsite to a back-up operations center,” JPL said.

World Central Kitchen’s relief team is in southern California to provide meals to first responders and families impacted by wildfires in the Los Angeles area, the Washington, DC-based non-profit said in a news release Wednesday.

The non-profit said members of its relief team have been mobilizing across the Los Angeles region to provide “comforting meals” to those impacted by the wildfires.

World Central Kitchen, founded by chef Jose Andres, focuses on fighting hunger around the world.

Wednesday night’s hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena has been postponed because of “the devastating effects of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area,” the National Hockey League announced.

Brent Pascua, a battalion chief for CAL FIRE, or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said until the winds die down, “we’re not going to see any containment.”

“These fires move so quickly,” he told CNN. “It doesn’t give you time to think of what to pack. It doesn’t give you time to think of how you’re going to get out. Make sure you have those two things planned before an event like this happens,” he told CNN.

Customers who booked vacation rentals through Airbnb in areas experiencing wildfires or utilities outages are eligible to cancel for a refund, the company said on Wednesday.

Fire officials at a station in Santa Monica briefed US President Joe Biden on one of the wildfires burning in Los Angeles County, specifically about the Palisades fire.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the situation in Southern California is “quite dire” as wildfires continue to wreak havoc.

“The increased severity and frequency of extreme weather events have driven people from their homes,” he said. “It is one of a series of contributing challenges that finds our world with the highest level of human displacement since World War II. There are over 80 million people displaced in the world today,” he said.

The Eaton Fire, that has caused two deaths and the destroyed hundreds of buildings, expanded in size late on Wednesday morning.

The fire, centered near Pasadena, has burned 10,600 acres, according to Cal Fire. That’s a jump of roughly 8,000 acres over the size given for the fire at a news conference less than three hours earlier, according to CNN.

US Vice president Kamala Harris’ home in Los Angeles was also put under an evacuation order on Wednesday.

“No one was in her home at the time. She and the Second Gentleman are praying for the safety of their fellow Californians, the heroic first responders, and Secret Service personnel,” Harris’ spokesperson Ernesto Apreza said in a statement posted on social media.

A victim of the wildfires watched the devastation they caused near her home through a doorbell camera.

“My daughter reminded me to check my Ring camera. When I opened the app, I saw the plants on fire and my neighbor’s stuff burning behind our home. The home next to me which is under construction looked like it was burning down,” the woman told CNN.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has deployed the state National Guard troops to help assist with the response to multiple wildfires raging across Los Angeles County, according to a statement made through his X account.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is set to arrive in the city “shortly” as several wildfires burn in the county, according to Celine Cordero, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff.

“The mayor will be on the ground shortly,” Cordero said during a news conference Wednesday. This week, Bass was scheduled to attend the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama as Ghana’s president, CNN reported.

Here is a list of the Los Angeles landmarks that are closed right now due to the wildfires:

Griffith Park, including Lake Hollywood

Runyon Canyon Park

Los Angeles Zoo

Hollywood Reservoir

Hollywood Sign

Roads through the Sepulveda Basin in the San Fernando Valley

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is banning flights from near the uncontained Los Angeles wildfires, according to a federal bulletin to pilots.

The FAA notice says the restriction was put in place at the request of the Los Angeles Fire Department “to provide a safe environment for fire fighting aviation operations,” CNN reported.

The temporary flight restriction, which begins a mile north of Santa Monica Airport includes the area over Pacific Palisades, Malibu Beach, and the Getty Center, is live now through January 21 and bans flights up to 7,000 feet above sea level.

US President Joe Biden is set to receive a briefing from California Fire officials at a local fire station in Santa Monica on Wednesday, according to CNN.

The president received a briefing from his team on the raging wildfires in Los Angeles County overnight, a White House official said.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has been in constant communication with California Governor Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Bass, their teams, affected counties, and other local officials throughout the night,” the official was quoted by CNN as saying.

The Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C Marrone said in a press conference on Wednesday that the LA County Fire Department and all 29 fire departments in the county were not prepared “for this type of widespread disaster.”

“The L.A. County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities,” CNN quoted Marrone as saying.

LA County Sheriff Robert G Luna addressed the press on Wednesday and said that officials prioritizing the safety of residents over everything else as first responders worked to contain the wind-whipped flames of the wildfires.

“We have been in constant communication with both our fire and law enforcement partners across LA County and beyond to ensure that all available resources that are needed are being deployed strategically and effectively, but we are prioritizing life over everything else,” Luna was quoted as saying by CNN.

LA city fire department chief Kristin Crowley told reporters on Wednesday that the wildfires of Palisades and Hurst combined in Southern California are pushing and testing the capabilities of the emergency services department of Los Angeles.

According to latest data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire) , 5,742 acres of land have been burned by the wind-whipped wildfire across Los Angeles.

LA County fire chief Anthony Marrone said on Wednesday that the Palisades fire has so far destroyed 1,000 structure and continues to rip through Los Angeles.

Marrone added that over 5,000 acres have burned in the wildfire and zero percent is contained.