The Great Los Angeles Fire Turns Eastward, Putting UCLA Campus in Crosshairs
As five separate blazes continue to burn, law enforcement says some LA area fires are due to arson.
I predict the Los Angeles wildfires will go down in history, joining the burning of Rome and the Chicago fire in the catalogue of massive urban destruction created by natural forces and man-made foolishness.
I will be following the wildfires through the weekend. As of this morning, the Great Los Angeles Fire consists of five major blazes:
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- The Palisades Fire, which has burned over 19,900 acres and destroyed an estimated 5,000 structures
- The Eaton Fire, which has expanded to 10,600 acres
- The Hurst Fire, affecting at least 855 acres
- The Lidia Fire, which has burned nearly 350 acres
- The Kenneth Fire, which ignited recently in the San Fernando Valley
So far, 11 deaths have been confirmed and more than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. At least 150,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders. Law enforcement sources told The Los Angeles Times that many of the small fires reported (multiple via X.com) are suspected to be acts of arson.
Palisades Fire
The Palisades Fire is currently the largest and most destructive, having become the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history. According to Watch Duty, it has destroyed over 21,000 acres and is at 11% containment. Over 5,000 buildings have been incinerated, and the Los Angeles School District has cancelled classes.
Last night, the fire shifted eastward, threatening areas closer to the 405 freeway, including Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood, and potentially putting UCLA in its crosshairs. Firefighting efforts have been redirected to combat the eastward progression, with additional aircraft and strike teams deployed.
An evacuation warning has been issued for an area bordering UCLA’s campus, reaching the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Veteran Avenue, an intersection that directly borders the UCLA campus. While there is no immediate fire danger to the campus, the university is on high alert.
UCLA students have criticized the administration for their delayed response to the emergency, taking to social media to share their complaints and concerns.
It wasn’t until Wednesday night that Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that UCLA would curtail campus operations, cancel undergraduate classes and move graduate classes to remote on Thursday and Friday in light of the multiple wildfires in the area.
…”UCLA? More like university care less about (its students’ lungs),” TikToker @negativesmart wrote while capturing the bright red, smoke-filled sky from their alleged dorm room.
“L.A. may be on fire, but don’t worry, UCLA says all things are normal,” another TikTok video by @ayiana.scott said, which has been viewed more than 1 million times.
Origin: The Palisades Fire began in the backyard of a wealthy enclave known as Palisades Highlands. It was initially perceived as a minor brush fire in the arid terrain. The Los Angeles Fire Department’s arson investigators are examining the brushy hillside near the fire’s origin.
Eaton Fire
The Easton fire is currently at 15% containment and has impacted over 14,000 acres. Over 7000 buildings gave been damaged or destroyed, and the communities of Altadena and Pasadena are still under threat.
Origin: The cause of this blaze is still under investigation, though the top suspect is currently a downed power line.
Surveillance video and witness accounts are raising questions about whether the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, California may have been started by a downed power line.
The video shows power lines running through Eaton Canyon arcing in the high winds on Tuesday just after 6 p.m. Within minutes, it sparked a fire that exploded in size.
Cal Fire has a copy of the video, and while the person who owns it says they won’t release it while the investigation is ongoing, others in the area say they witnessed the same thing.
Hurst Fire
The Hurst Fire in the Sylmar area is currently at 76% containment and has hit nearly 800 acres. Firefighting efforts are continuing to focus on building and improving containment lines, with an emphasis on public safety and structure protection.
Evacuation orders have been downgraded to warnings and evacuation restrictions have been lifted. Residents returning home are advised to observe extreme caution and are advised to NOT drink the water until advised by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Origin: As with the Eaton fire, the cause is still under investigation but transmission lines are the prime suspect.
Southern California Edison said the fire ignited near its transmission lines.
“While the reported ignition site (of the Hurst Fire) is within the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s service area, SCE has transmission facilities near the reported ignition site, and the company is currently conducting a review of the event,” officials said.
Lidia Fire
The Lidia fire near Acton (in the Antelope Valley area) is currently 98% contained and has burned approximately 395 acres. Firefighters have made significant progress in containing the blaze, with support from aircraft operations. Crews are continuing to strengthen containment lines and perform extensive mop-up operations.
Origin: The cause of this blaze is still unknown.
Kenneth Fire
The fire is currently at 1052 acres and 50% containment. Firefighters will work throughout the day to mop up hot spots and improve containment lines, adding to the overall containment of this fire.
Origin: As my colleague Mary Chastain reported, Juan Sierra, a 33-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of a probation violation after he was allegedly seen attempting to start a fire in the West Hills neighborhood. Although Sierra has not been charged with starting the Kenneth fire, he is considered a person of interest in the investigation.
Conclusion
The destruction of one of our Great Cities will go down in history as the consequence of one of the most wretched examples of urban political governance. Just how angry are Californians?
Angry enough that our press is beginning to ask hard questions of its Democratic leaders, who thought they would breeze into January with ease and focus on lawfare against President/President-elect Donald Trump.
As wildfires rage in Los Angeles, Speaker of California's Assembly Robert Rivas would not answer my questions, if now is the right time to have a special session to legally fight Donald Trump.
Both the CA Senate & Assembly gaveled into the Trump-related special session today. pic.twitter.com/GfgXkGnrDj
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) January 9, 2025
There is not a bus that has a big enough undercarriage to put all of the failed civic leadership at the local and state levels.
I will be monitoring the disaster reports throughout the weekend, so stay tuned.
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You can order “The Great Los Angeles Fire” by Edward Stewart (1980) to see what they should have planned for, if anything. Amazon
The LA mayor was just on warning looters about looting. Next to her was a person who was signing and making wild gesticulations warning deaf people not to go looting. Perhaps she should’ve had a Spanish translator instead.
Owners of the destroyed houses on the ocean side of the PCH will likely not be allowed to rebuild. The Calf. Coastal Comm’n will make sure of that. And to boot, the CCC will force you to remove all the debris. What a double whammy: in the other LA sections, if you had no insurance, you at least had the land value which could then be sold on its own. But for certain PCH houses on which there was no insurance, you may still own the land but no way to improve it. Meaning, it’s of no value to a would-be buyer. So you’re left with a great place to have a picnic for the day. But zoning won’t even allow you to put up an overnight tent.
Don’t know it for sure, but the CCC may have jurisdiction for any structure within 1000 feet of the water line.
Com’n, Frank, take it from the top,
That’s life, that’s what people say
You’re riding high in April
Shot down in May
But I know I’m gonna change that tune
When I’m back on top, back on top in June***
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtQw_3ZO8ow
*** For Californians, there’s always hope. In the next election, they can vote in even more Democrats.
That counts as a taking, if enough value is lost, and needs compensation. “Enough” varies.
Absent insurance, wouldn’t the “land value” in many cases just go to the bank with the morgage?
Brings back memories of this song.
https://youtu.be/YsmGUsPuDhU?si=O8mZ-6FPehXQ9TRY
FWIW:
“The jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission extends inland from the mean high tide line, varying in distance depending on the specific location and type of area:
In general, the coastal zone extends 1,000 yards from the mean high tide line.
In significant coastal estuarine, habitat, and recreational areas, the jurisdiction can extend inland to the first major ridgeline paralleling the sea or up to five miles from the mean high tide line, whichever is less.
In developed urban areas, the zone generally extends inland less than 1,000 yards.”
I have read opinions from people that have had dealings with the CCC, that it is unlikely the the “Nine Angry Lesbians” on the board are not likely to approve permits to rebuild on the ocean side of the PCH.
c
Kamala Harris won all of California’s 54 electoral college votes, while also having a stronghold across LA County (except for a few precincts in the Beverly Hills and Glendale areas), according to data reported by the LA Times.
Ballots cast in the five voting precincts that largely constitute the Palisades (9005918A, 9005919A, 9005929A, 9001382A, 9007693D) overwhelmingly went to Harris.
You get what you vote for.
There is probably an edict that Salt Water can’t be used to fight fires because of potential ecological harm. Reminds me of the potato famine in a country surrounded by an ocean full of fish.
Hunter-gatherers arrived in Ireland around 8000 BC. They hunted and gathered for thousands of years. Eventually they learned to plant oats, wheat and barley and lived on that for two thousand years. Then potatoes were brought over from America and within 200 years they were starving due to a potato shortage.
On the flip side of that, the French actually preferred to starve rather than eat potatoes! The King had to go around shoveling potatoes down his mouth to try and convince the people to eat the tasty tubers rather than starve to death. Typical French.
What would the cost be to place wires below ground, especially up where the winds blow most? They built freeways through mountains. Time to address the worst risks ASAP. Then again, it’s the land of the blue.
UCLA will tell you, they are the center of it all. Fortunately, it’s only a fire, not words.
PG&E is spending 20 billion dollars to bury 10K miles of distribution lines. When you look at the high voltage transmission lines, the cost is even higher and they have about half the lifespan of an above ground line. Repairs take longer and they’re more expensive as well.
Apparently some think that looters aren’t just opportunists, but possibly organized theft rings actually setting the fires.
https://x.com/shaunmmaguire/status/1877547614742118588
The power of these things is unimaginable. If you’re going to build on or near accumulated brush, undergrowth, dead vegetation and the like you’re simply gambling. If it’s in an area known for high winds it’s a really bad gamble. To have even a chance you’d better have unlimited supplies of water.
Can you imagine what the homeless and the drug addicts are going to be doing in LA with all of these places burned down (but likely lots of gold and jewelry salvageable in the ruins – because that is why you hold gold!)? It will be a total free-for-all. And the few houses that are still standing in those areas will be uninhabitable – both because there are no services to the area but also because the desolate areas are going to be crawling with the worst sorts of people – Escape From New York sort of folks.
And, on top of all this, the owners still get the pleasure of having to pay their property taxes, for houses that don’t exist to pay for schools that don’t exist … and even if they get the adjustment for the house ashes, there is still the property, itself, to pay the taxes on.
With the current way Los Angeles and California runs, I don’t think there is a chance to rebuild much. After these fires, they are only gong to put 1000 more restrictions and regulations on home building, now. Those lucky enough to have collected insurance will have to be living elsewhere for years, anyway.
It will certainly be interesting to see what LA looks like in 5 years. Those burned out areas all crawling with homeless and addicts and illegals … I am thinking that this fire might have killed the city. Literally. But, we’ll see.
The chances of LA (or Cali) going Republican after this are still slim-to-none, because they are nihilist retards. Well … they have certainly gotten their nihilist fantasy.
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