California fires live: sixth wildfire breaks out in Los Angeles as five people killed | Los Angeles

One of the five fires currently burning, the Lidia fire in Acton, has now grown to 348 acres, in a major expansion of the blaze.

Only a couple of hours ago, the fire was only 50 acres, and was around 30% contained. According the the Angeles National Forest, the fire is currently 40% contained.

Acton is just north of the forest, close to the Antelope Valley, with a large area south and west of the town under evacuation orders from Wednesday evening.

The Associated Press is reporting that President Joe Biden has cancelled a trip to Italy, choosing instead to remain in Washington and monitor the LA Fires.

The trip was meant to be his final overseas trip as president, and was cancelled just hours before he was set to depart for Rome and the Vatican.

Biden was scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon after eulogizing former President Jimmy Carter at a memorial service in Washington. He was expected to meet with Pope Francis and Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Good evening, Mostafa Rachwani with you to take you through updates as they come.

Today So Far

Thank you for joining us today in our coverage of the wildfires and windstorm wrecking havoc across southern California. Here are the top takeways from the day:

• Six wildfires are currently raging across Los Angeles county. The largest and most devastating so far have been the Palisades fire, at 15,832 acres, and Eaton fire, at 10,600 acres, but other blazes – particularly the growing Hurst fire and Hollywood Hills-based Sunset fire – are continuing to worry Los Angeles residents. Approximately 100,000 people are under evacuation order, though the number continues to shift, and 1,500 structures have been destroyed. Five fatalities have been reported.

• One additional wildfire is burning in neighboring Ventura county.

• All schools across the Los Angeles unified school district will be closed on Thursday. In order to continue providing school meals to students who rely on them, superintendent Alberto Carvalho said, “we are activating eight different centers for the distribution of food to a grab-and-go product for students of Los Angeles Unified that will begin early tomorrow morning.”

• President Joe Biden has formally signed off on a federal disaster declaration. The White House says the declaration allows for federal funding to be made available to affected individuals in Los Angeles county for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs aimed at helping individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

• Various celebrity residents of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu areas have lost their homes to the Palisades fire, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton. A sign of Los Angeles’ importance to the entertainment industry, the Academy Awards extended the deadline for voting for Oscar nominations and the Critics Choice Awards has been postponed.

• Firefighters from across US western states are traveling to California to aid in the fight against the Los Angeles area fires, including 60 units from Oregon, 45 from Washington, 10 from New Mexico, 15 from Utah, and others from Arizona.

AirBnB and Uber are offering free services to LA residents impacted by the southern California wildfires.

Uber is offering free rides up to $40 to active evacuation centers using the code WILDFIRE25, according to LA County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath.

Meanwhile, Airbnb.org is working with 211 LA to offer free, temporary housing to LA country residents who have been displaced from their homes or forced to evacuate by the wildfires.

Guardian reporter Lois Beckett, who lives in Los Angeles, has been covering the wildfires devastating southern California. As we head into the second night of these vicious storms, here she is reflecting on last night:

Los Angeles firefighters were already stretched thin on Tuesday night, as a ferocious, fast-moving fire engulfed mansions and businesses in the Pacific Palisades, one of southern California’s most luxurious coastal neighborhoods.

Then, just after 6 pm local time, a second fire broke out, this one on the opposite side of the city, near Pasadena, home to universities such as CalTech and Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Furious gusts of wind, some moving as fast as 60 to 70mph (96 to 112km/h), drove both fires to spread quickly across the bone-dry landscape. The wind was fast enough that it threatened to rip an open car door off its hinges, and so full of dirt and debris that it was painful to the eyes.

At around 10.30pm local time, a third major fire broke out, this one in the San Fernando valley, north-west of the city.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has ordered an immediate evacuation of parts of the Hollywood Hills neighborhood where the Sunset fire broke out at about 5.50pm on Wednesday evening.

The order encompasses parts of the neighborhood surrounded by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and down to Hollywood Boulevard to the south

Fire crews are responding to the fire, which currenly encompasses about 20 acres, with 20 additional fire engines, LAFD public information officer Margaret Stewart told ABC News Los Angeles.

The Hurst fire, which is located in the Sylmar neighborhood, grew to 850 acres Wednesday evening. The blaze, which previously encompassed 700 acres, is still the third largest of six wildfires ongoing in Los Angeles County.

President Joe Biden has formally signed off on a federal disaster declaration.

The White House says the declaration allows for federal funding to be made available to affected individuals in Los Angeles county for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs aimed at helping individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California led 47 members of the state’s congressional delegation in asking Biden to grant California governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to the wildfires and windstorm event in southern California earlier today.

Actor and comedian Billy Crystal and his wife Janice have lost their home to the Palisades fire, the couple confirmed in a joint statement Wednesday.

“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing. We ache for our friends and neighbors who have also lost their homes and businesses in this tragedy,” the couple said. “Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this. We pray for the safety of the fire fighters and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home.”

The couple is just one of many celebrity families to have lost homes in the wealthy California community. Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton have also reported that they lost homes to the Palisades fire.

“Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family,” Moore said on Instagram, posting a video of devastated streets in the Altadena neighborhood near Pasadena. “Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control,” the actor-singer wrote.

Hilton said a Malibu home where her young son took his first steps was among those lost to the flames. “The devastation is unimaginable. To know so many are waking up today without the place they called home is truly heartbreaking,” she wrote.

Here are some Pacific Palisades residents speaking about the fires: