Since last night, the Palisades Fire has been quite active on the NE corner, between Topanga and the 405 corridor. Also, there have been active firing operations along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains between Topanga and San Vicente Mountain Park. Tonight’s Lookout Livestream looks at today’s major events on the Palisades Fire, and … Read more
When homes are densely packed in alignment with the direction of strong fire-season winds, it is nearly almost impossible to cut enough brush to make the homes defensible. Fire burns from house to house, no longer a ‘brush fire’, rather it is referred to as an ‘urban conflagration’ or simply a ‘conflagration’. Wind-driven brush fires … Read more
10pm Update – New Fire Spread Toward 405 Freeway and San Fernando Valley After sunset today, the Palisades Fire, influenced by more north-westerly winds, has shifted towards San Fernando Valley and the 405 corridor, with significant activity in Mandeville Canyon. Firing operations were observed to secure control lines, but the fire crossed a retardant line, … Read more
Destructive Fires Are Not A New Thing in SoCal! We just wrapped up an interview with my longtime friend and colleague, Tim Chavez, about the history of large, damaging Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires in Southern California. Some areas around Malibu have burned 5 times in the past 60 years! A summary of the interview and … Read more
8pm, 1/9/2025 We just finished our evening livestream. It covers today’s fire activity. Tonight, after covering today’s basic fire action, we did an interview with journalist Susie Cagle about ways communities work together after major disasters. A summary of the fire situation and our interview follows the video, below. Summary Lookout Director Zeke Lunder, a … Read more
UPDATE 2pm, 1/9/2025 The Palisades Fire is most active on the northeast corner, in the Mandeville Canyon area. Airtankers are currently running laps on a major ridge to the east of the fire to box it in from pushing farther toward Crestwood Hills, The Getty Museum, and the 405 corridor. Good morning! Here is … Read more
UPDATED 10:20pm, 1/8/2025 The Palisades and Eaton Fire were both active today. Both fires made major advances last night, and throughout the daylight hours, today, and with the exception of some growth to the north on the Palisades Fire, the fires largely burned out previously unburned areas and consumed structures within their morning footprints. Lookout … Read more
Santa Ana Winds Drive Major Wildfire Growth in Southern California 1/8/2025 – 8am. Two large fires started in Southern California during a strong Santa Ana windstorm on Tuesday, January 7. They are the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. They had burned about 30,000 acres, combined, by Wednesday morning. In this morning’s report (below) I … Read more