‘It is crazy’: Wildfires ravage Los Angeles area, destroying synagogue and causing chaos

California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as US officials prepared for the situation to worsen early Wednesday.

The fires appeared to destroy scores of homes, business and other structures in three separate areas of southern California, with at least one synagogue completely destroyed by fire and other Jewish institutions under threat.

All three fires were at 0 percent containment as of early Wednesday.

In Pasadena, a blaze dubbed the Eaton Fire consumed over 1,000 acres as flames raced down Eaton Canyon toward homes and assisted living facilities, forcing thousands to race for safety, with winds expected to continue whipping up into the early morning hours.

Footage showed the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center completely gutted, with much of the Spanish-style structure reduced to flaming rubble. The Conservative congregation, founded in 1921, had been in the building since 1941, according to its website.

“The roof of this building, the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, has completely collapsed,” KABC correspondent Jaysha Patel reported from the scene as flames consumed the building. “In a matter of minutes, this has just completely collapsed.”

Torah scrolls in the sanctuary were reportedly removed before the fire reached the building.

Flames had spread so rapidly after the fire broke out Tuesday evening that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.

An even larger fire spread across nearly 3,000 acres in the seaside community of Pacific Palisades, where the rabbi of an Orthodox Chabad synagogue said flames had damaged part of the property, posting a picture of Torahs being removed Tuesday afternoon.

#BREAKING Chabad of the Pacific Palisades has safely evacuated all the Torahs from their building.#PalisadesFire pic.twitter.com/A5ngbIbigH

— Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) January 8, 2025

“Unfortunately, our property has been impacted—our storage area has suffered severe damage, as well as multiple cars in the parking lot. While these losses are difficult, we are most thankful that everyone is safe, and we continue to pray for the protection of all in the affected areas,” the Chabad center said on Facebook early Wednesday.

Other structures near the Chabad house were seen on fire,  including parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie,” the 2003 remake of “Freaky Friday” and the TV series “Teen Wolf.”

Kehillat Israel, a Reconstructionist congregation further up Sunset Boulevard, was also under threat, with a nearby high school catching fire. The condition of the synagogue building was unknown.

The hillside area along the coast is dotted with celebrity residences and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin’ USA.” In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

Officials didn’t give an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but they said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat. Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned. He declared a state of emergency.

By evening the flames had spread into neighboring Malibu and several people there were being treated for burn injuries and a firefighter had a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.

It was unclear if the fire had affected several Jewish camps which burned down during a large wildfire that broke out in 2018.

Officials warned that the blaze could spread toward nearby Santa Monica as well, home to a sizeable Jewish population.

The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.

When Real Life Becomes a Horror Movie: Crews using a bulldozer to clear vehicles abandoned near the #PalisadesFire.pic.twitter.com/yu25Pg0RCF

— Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) January 8, 2025

Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.

“We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” Trainor said. “People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming.”

A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation. The fire had burned over 500 acres by Wednesday morning, according to CAL fire.

Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph (97 kph) in some places Tuesday, increasing to 70 miles an hour (112 kph) by early Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. They could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.

The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight. A high wind warning was in effect for the region through 6 p.m., the weather service said.

“This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen 2011 windstorm that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley,” the weather service said in a red flag warning early Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X early Wednesday that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. “Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives,” Newsom said.

The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help reimburse California for the firefighting cost.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 200,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us, due to the strong winds.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May.

Pacific Palisades, which borders Malibu about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown LA, includes hillside streets of tightly packed homes along winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretches down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.

Long-time Palisades resident Will Adams said he immediately went to pick his two kids up from St. Matthews Parish School when he heard the fire was nearby. Meanwhile, he said embers flew into his wife’s car as she tried to evacuate.

“She vacated her car and left it running,” Adams said. She and many other residents walked down toward the ocean until it was safe.

Adams said he had never witnessed anything like this in the 56 years he’s lived there. He watched as the sky turned brown and then black as homes started burning. He could hear loud popping and bangs “like small explosions,” which he said he believes were the transformers exploding.

“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” Adams said.

Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the homes.

“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

Our deck three minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/KpZDELpN8L

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 7, 2025

Some trees and vegetation on the grounds of the Getty Villa were burned by late Tuesday, but staff and the museum collection remain safe, Getty President Katherine Fleming said in a statement. The museum located on the eastern end of the Pacific Palisades is a separate campus of the world-famous Getty Museum that focuses on the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.

Film studios canceled two movie premieres due to the fire and windy weather, and the Los Angeles Unified School District said it temporarily relocated students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area.