CALIFORNIA FIRE: How Did This Happen?

In The Wall Street Journal, Carl Churchill, Peter Champelli, and Katherine Sayre detail the timeline of the California fires, writing:

A brush fire on Tuesday set off one of the most destructive blazes in Los Angeles history: the Palisades fire. By Thursday evening, nearly 20,000 acres of land and thousands of structures had been burned, displacing thousands of residents.

Here’s how the blaze swiftly traveled from the brush-filled hills to nearby residential enclaves, forcing residents to quickly move south through gridlocked paths.

Fire Breaks Out
Tuesday 10:30 a.m. PST: First alert from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Fifteen minutes later, a satellite shows a fire starting in the hills above the Pacific Palisades.

11:44 a.m.: Nearly an hour later, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection report issues the first evacuation warnings.

The fire began near Temescal Canyon Trail and roughly 2 miles from the Getty Villa, a museum filled with ancient Greek and Roman art.

12:37 p.m.: In just two hours, an evacuation order is issued for much of the populated area of Pacific Palisades – roughly 40,000 people.

The fire spans 200 acres.

First Threat
2:00 p.m.: The fire starts to spread within the hills of the Palisades, creeping towards more populated areas.

3:00 p.m.: Mayor Karen Bass’s office posts on X that evacuees should head south to the Pacific Coast Highway. Emergency alerts don’t include specific evacuation routes.

Firefighters bulldoze cars blocking Sunset Boulevard, the major exit route among only a few hillside thoroughfares. It snarls as thousands of people move south.

Palisades officials in the past have said evacuation routes are situationally driven, which has led to confusion among residents and uncertainty as families tried to escape past fires.

6:00 p.m.: The fire gains ground rapidly, expanding thousands of acres, to nearly 3,000 acres. Strong winds push the fire down the canyons.

8:00 p.m.: The mayor declares a state of emergency. Much of the region from Pacific Palisades to Malibu is now under evacuation orders.

Overnight, fire embers cascade onto Malibu, setting off a historic fire on the city’s famous waterfront. Many multi-million-dollar beachfront homes are destroyed with only the occasional chimney or staircase left standing.

Wednesday: By dawn the next day, smoke from the Palisades and other fires hangs over the city. The blazes are 0% contained.

A preliminary aerial survey indicated that approximately 5,316 structures might have been destroyed by the Palisades fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday. The Palisades fire was 6% contained by Thursday evening.

Public officials are still struggling to contain the wildfires across LA—and take stock of their toll.

Read more here.