Palisades Fire live updates: Wildfires spread in Los Angeles, prompting mandatory evacuations, as Santa Ana winds expected to intensify

[ozso]

I know CA Republicans and the ones I know aren't that dumb.

What does that have to do with being familiar with Jerry Brown?

 

[essentialsaltes]

Lessons from the burn zone: Why some homes survived the L.A. wildfires​

[Not much of a surprise. Apart from luck and location, which may have helped the most, some were built to codes decades ago and others were built to modern codes (or even better).]

"some combination of fortunate timing, a lucky wind shift and — according to experts, modern approaches to architecture and landscaping"

David Steiner doesn’t credit his home’s survival to supernatural forces. The sturdy concrete structure has a fire-resistant roof and tempered, double-paned windows. Firefighters stood on his balcony to hose down his and neighboring properties.

Jim “Taz” Evans is no stranger to wildfire. After the artist’s Malibu home burned down in the Old Topanga fire of 1993, he and his wife Nancy rebuilt a fire-resilient fortress with steel-reinforced walls and a metal roof. There are no eaves or roof vents that could otherwise trap heat or allow embers to inside. The walls are trimmed in cinderblock to protect from flaming debris blowing up against the seam where wall meets ground. Gardeners come each week to clear brush.

“We built with one idea in mind: this nightmare was going to come back,” Evans said.

Sometimes, however, no amount of preventive measures can save a home.

In 2019, Steve Yusi and his wife dropped $75,000 on a fire suppression system for their home on Anoka Drive in Pacific Palisades. The system boasted heat and flame detectors, fire retardant, a 2,500-gallon sprinkler system to soak the property and humidify the air for an hour, and autonomy from the power grid.

The house burned down anyway. the home’s position on a canyon edge exposed to flames racing uphill simply proved too much for his defenses.

Arthur Coleman is at a loss to explain why his Altadena home withstood the Eaton fire, which destroyed virtually his entire neighborhood, along with his garage.

Since the engineer purchased the 1950 home a decade ago, the only improvement he’s made is to paint its exterior, he added. “We didn’t try to protect it, so how it got protected is beyond me.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

If we need an opposite of the heroes thread.

2 arrested for impersonating firefighters, using illegitimate fire truck in Palisades Fire area​

Sheriff deputies then made contact with the individuals in the fire truck as they attempted to enter an evacuation zone. The occupants claimed to be from "Roaring River Fire Department" in Oregon, an agency deputies said was not legitimate.

Both suspects, Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were arrested for impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone. The truck, which was purchased at an auction, was also impounded.

Dustin Nehl has a criminal history in Oregon for criminal mischief and arson.

 

[keith99]

Decades ago when I was bicycling a lot I explored a lot of the area near Topanga Canyon.

Somewhere in those hills is a house that is a cross between an Italian villa a and a bunker.

I don't think it was in the path of the recent fires, but some day it will be in the path of a fire. My bet is that it will survive.

 

[durangodawood]

If we need an opposite of the heroes thread.

2 arrested for impersonating firefighters, using illegitimate fire truck in Palisades Fire area​

Sheriff deputies then made contact with the individuals in the fire truck as they attempted to enter an evacuation zone. The occupants claimed to be from "Roaring River Fire Department" in Oregon, an agency deputies said was not legitimate.

Both suspects, Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were arrested for impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone. The truck, which was purchased at an auction, was also impounded.

Dustin Nehl has a criminal history in Oregon for criminal mischief and arson.

Sometimes Im shocked how completely idiotic people can be. Then I remember we're in America.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Man arrested on suspicion of arson after brush fire in Griffith Park​

Los Angeles police arrested a man Monday on suspicion of arson after a small brush fire broke out in Griffith Park under the observatory.

The man was allegedly seen by a witness setting a fire in the area, police sources said. No other details were available.

He was at least the ninth person across Southern California taken into custody for allegedly starting small fires in the wake of Eaton and Palisades infernos. The causes of those two fires remain under investigation.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Just 200 posts to go in this thread until the fires are put out.

It's been mostly windy , since the fires started. Maybe the rain on Saturday and Sunday might help put out the fires.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Eaton Fire is 95% contained. Palisades at 72%.

However, there are some new fires, including a significant one, the "Hughes Fire" up north near Santa Clarita & Magic Mountain

It is not as close as this looks from the photo:

 

[durangodawood]

It is not as close as this looks from the photo:

It never is. Ive seen a lot of smoke plumes coming from over the next ridge only to find its miles and miles away when I get a full view.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Speaker Mike Johnson suggests 'conditions' needed on disaster aid for LA wildfires​

He did not offer specifics and ABC News has asked his office to clarify.

After natural disasters, additional funding to help rebuild is usually approved with few if any conditions and typically receives bipartisan support.

Cracks emerge in House GOP after speaker's threat to saddle California wildfire aid with conditions​

In an interview aired Wednesday night, Trump said he may withhold aid to California until the state adjusts how it manages its scarce water resources. He falsely claimed that California's fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas.

"I don't think we should give California anything until they let the water run down," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Several Republicans who narrowly won California House seats in November have expressed dismay that the state relief could be hitched to demands in exchange for helping the thousands of Californians in their districts still reeling from this month's disaster.

"Playing politics with people's livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the Southern California wildfire victims and to our brave first responders," Republican Rep. Young Kim, whose closely divided district is anchored in fire-prone Orange County, said in a statement.

"Californians are entitled to receive federal disaster assistance in the same manner as all Americans," [Rep. Ken Calvert] wrote on X.

Trump plans to visit the state to see the damage firsthand on Friday.

 

[keith99]

Lower Stone Canyon Reservoir has a capacity of 3.38 BILLION gallons of water. It is local to Palisades fire.

Just now I tried to find how full it is. No luck. But I did find out that there is an overlook actually named Stone Canyon Overlook which has a view of both Stone Canyon Reservoirs. When the fires are out I'll try to get a look. No way I'm going now as there is a chance I could be in the way of actual firefighters.

Lower Stone Canyon Reservoir does not meet drinking water standards. So if water from it was introduced into the system it would be announced. That pretty much says the mere 138 million gallons of Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir is not even close to being used up.

 

[Nithavela]

It's been mostly windy , since the fires started. Maybe the rain on Saturday and Sunday might help put out the fires.

Keep posting!

 

[essentialsaltes]

Trump wants voter ID laws as condition for aid for California​

Trump floats 'maybe getting rid' of FEMA​

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he plans on signing an executive order "fundamentally reforming" the Federal Emergency Management Agency "or maybe getting rid of them."
"I think, frankly, FEMA is not good," he said.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Trump wants voter ID laws as condition for aid for California​

Trump floats 'maybe getting rid' of FEMA​

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he plans on signing an executive order "fundamentally reforming" the Federal Emergency Management Agency "or maybe getting rid of them."
"I think, frankly, FEMA is not good," he said.

I personally think CA shouldn't have to pay Federal taxes. Until Trump gets out of office. BTW I'm sure the upper middle class and rich people will benefit the most from FEMA in CA. I'm sure most of the illegals get pushed in the poor areas in CA.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Homeowners in Palisades Fire burn area angered by bank’s decision​

City National Bank informed Pelton that it was abruptly cutting her HELOC, which allows homeowners to borrow against their available equity, by $50,000 even though her property was untouched by the 23,000-acre fire.

The explanation City National Bank offered was that Pelton’s property, and others in the wildfire burn area, had “declined significantly” in value. Rather than cancel the line of credit outright, the bank said it would reduce her line of credit “until further assessments” could be made.

“To be sure, financial institutions have a responsibility to minimize their exposure to risk after a natural disaster. That’s all perfectly understandable,” [consumer reporter] Lazarus said. “But what should be concerning to homeowners is the speed at which City National Bank moved and the fact that it didn’t seem to do any due diligence whatsoever. It just cut first and asked questions later.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

I saw the last half or so of last evening's roundtable with President Trump, Mayor Bass, and dozens of other local Congresscritters of both parties and emergency service leaders.

It ended on a high note with Trump promising he would fix everything, but most of the roundtable did not provide much confidence of that.

[ETA: Per Vambram's post about Governor Newsom meeting Trump, what he said at the roundtable was "I'm going to give you everything you want," he told the group. "I'm going to give you more than any president would have ever given you."]

Just a few details from memory:

Trump said he would eliminate any and all federal regulations or permits that would slow rebuilding. He used that as a platform to attack state and local regulations, advising Mayor Bass that she should let homeowners build back 10% more -- it was not clear to me if that was about house square footage or ceiling height or what. Trump was weaving mightily. It got a little testy between Bass and Trump for a short period.

Likewise there was some Trump criticism of local government that it would take 18 months before rebuilding could restart. This figure is apparently an estimate from the Army Corps of Engineers on their process of clearing debris and fixing roads. So a) this has nothing (directly) to do with rebuilding homes and b) is the Army, which answers to the Commander in Chief, not the mayor.

A firefighter[?] from Paradise [80% destroyed in the Camp Fire in 2018] said that "FEMA was a great help to us and we've mostly rebuilt the town." Trump opined that FEMA "used to be great" but now it was terrible. I'm not sure it was right then, but he also riffed about how states should fix their own emergencies.

Another person tried to make the case that "Maybe California, with 40 million people, can summon the resources to deal with this situation, but what if something this size happened in Rhode Island." Trump either missed the point or intentionally missed the point, and just harped on California some more, and made sure that guy didn't get any follow-up.

Trump was long on his off-base wildfire stock phrases like "bring the water down" and short on any concrete details. Ordinarily, I would expect the (acting) FEMA director to be at his side to handle some of the nuts and bolts that we shouldn't expect any President to be aware of. But this was a Trump-centric display of the weave, surrounded by people of good will from both parties trying to solicit federal aid and finding it a tough sell.

[Oh, how could I forget. When there was some pushback on bringing the water down, Trump got a little testy and sarcastically commented that water was found to be very effective in fighting fires.]

 

[essentialsaltes]

Investigators study Eaton Canyon electrical tower area as possible origin of Altadena fire​

Southern California Edison officials have so far said they do not believe their electrical equipment was responsible.

Power lines over Eaton Canyon saw surge in current before fire, Edison says​

Four Southern California Edison lines over Eaton Canyon saw a momentary increase of electrical current about the same time the destructive Eaton fire is believed to have ignited on Jan. 7, the utility company told state regulators in a filing Monday.

The incident, according to the filing, happened after Edison’s Eagle Rock-Gould line — about five miles away from the suspected start of the fire — experienced a fault, sending the increase of current across the company’s transmission system. [Edison says it was within tolerances.]

[This] also comes after one of the firms suing the company, Edelson PC, released a new video that appears to show flashes from the Southern California Edison tower, possible arcing and sparks, just moments before the hillside is ignited, and the fire begins to quickly spread across the canyon and toward homes.

Direct video link

 

[essentialsaltes]

Has Congress ever conditioned natural disaster aid?

Johnson’s misleading claim that conditions were placed on Katrina, Sandy aid​

Our research finds that conditions were placed on $12 million in Katrina aid, out of nearly $122 billion.

Congressional appropriations often contain clauses that might withhold some funding unless certain parameters are met. We found that one Katrina bill authorized $12 million for a Louisiana hurricane protection study but stipulated the money would not be provided “until the State of Louisiana establishes a single state or quasistate entity to act as local sponsor for construction, operation and maintenance of all of the hurricane, storm damage reduction and flood control projects in the greater New Orleans and southeast Louisiana area.”

In defense of Johnson’s statement, his office pointed to the $12 million appropriation we had identified — which was rather minor in the context of almost $122 billion in aid. The office could not point to conditions on Sandy aid, and we couldn’t find any either.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Johnson’s misleading claim that conditions were placed on Katrina, Sandy aid​

Our research finds that conditions were placed on $12 million in Katrina aid, out of nearly $122 billion.

Congressional appropriations often contain clauses that might withhold some funding unless certain parameters are met. We found that one Katrina bill authorized $12 million for a Louisiana hurricane protection study but stipulated the money would not be provided “until the State of Louisiana establishes a single state or quasistate entity to act as local sponsor for construction, operation and maintenance of all of the hurricane, storm damage reduction and flood control projects in the greater New Orleans and southeast Louisiana area.”

In defense of Johnson’s statement, his office pointed to the $12 million appropriation we had identified — which was rather minor in the context of almost $122 billion in aid. The office could not point to conditions on Sandy aid, and we couldn’t find any either.

A rephrasing. Here is $12 M to study hurricane protection which you can have once you have an agency responsible for hurricane protection. (Johnson is such a dishonest person.)

 

[essentialsaltes]

What caused the Palisades blaze? Visual evidence points to a recent fire nearby.​

Did New Year’s Eve fireworks start the largest Los Angeles fire?

But sources with knowledge of the inquiry said there are two leading theories: An 8-acre blaze that fire officials thought they had put out on Jan. 1 in the same area reignited and spread because of intense winds, or a new fire was somehow sparked nearby that morning. Sources have told The Times the blaze appears to have human origins.

The Lachman fire was reported about 12:17 a.m. on New Year’s Day in the hillside above Pacific Palisades by a resident whose home is about two blocks from the popular Skull Rock trail. Sources with knowledge of the investigation who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Times the Lachman fire appears to have been sparked by fireworks.

Assistant Chief Joe Everett, who oversees LAFD’s West Bureau, which includes Pacific Palisades, said firefighters conducted a cold trailing operation at the site in which crews feel for any lingering heat along the fire’s edge, dig out every live spot and trench live edges of the fire to ensure nothing can later flare up.

They kept patrol on the site for more than 36 hours, Everett told residents at a community meeting this month.

[or] Another fire in the same area​

UC San Diego cameras that monitor the mountains and hills, including Pacific Palisades, captured the Jan. 1 blaze. The Times reviewed available footage over the next six days, and no new smoke was visible. But about 10:30 a.m. Jan. 7, new smoke is seen in the same area.