Wildfire Winds Ease but Forecasters Warn of Remaining Risk

The devastation from the Palisades Fire on beachfront homes, in Malibu, Calif., on Jan. 15, 2025. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

The winds that whipped up the infernos which have ravaged Los Angeles for over a week have finally eased, but forecasters have warned the area still remains at risk.

The Red Flag warnings indicating ideal fire conditions of high winds and low humidity expired across the City of Angels on Wednesday evening, but the National Weather Service (NWS) says that dry and blustery conditions will continue on Thursday, meaning blazes are still at risk of sparking.

Some Red Flag warnings in mountainous regions will remain in place until 3 p.m. Thursday.

In a post on their website, the service said: “Even though no rain is in the forecast, the winds are expected to switch to a more onshore flow late Thursday and into Friday, bringing higher relative humidities and less chaotic wind flow, thus helping to mitigate the wildfire threat compared to recent days.”

The NWS added that the relief for the United States’ second-largest city will be brief, as there is a high chance for new Red Flag warnings to come in again as soon as Monday.

Twenty-five people have died, with that number expected to rise, and millions remain under a critical fire threat.

Officials urge Angelenos to continue to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

“We want to reiterate the particularly dangerous situation today. Get ready now and be prepared to leave,” County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath told a press conference on Wednesday.

The conflagrations have damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures, and forced as many as 200,000 people from their homes, as they ripped through an area the size of Washington.

Some 82,400 people were under evacuation orders and another 90,400 faced evacuation warnings as of Wednesday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna told the same press conference.

However, the efforts of 8,500 firefighters from the United States, Canada and Mexico have stayed the growth of the flames for the past three days.

The Palisades Fire on the western edge of LA was held at 23,713 acres burned, and containment was at 21 percent.

The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city stood at 14,117 acres, and is 45 percent contained.

A relatively small new fire broke out on Wednesday in San Bernardino County east of LA, burning 34 acres, Cal Fire reported.

Two other fires in Southern California, The Hurst Fire and The Auto Fire were under 98 percent and 85 percent containment, respectively.

Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2025. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

As the fires still blaze, criticism has already begun as questions are asked about whether the city properly prepared for fire danger amid warnings about dangerous weather, even though firefighters were on alert and able to deploy assets beforehand.

Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was quizzed at a press conference on Wednesday about a Los Angeles Times report that alleged officials had decided against ordering 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift on Jan. 7 as the fires began to intensify and grow out of control.

The LA Times report cited former LA Fire Department officials who said the officers due to go off shift should have been kept on duty and that the decision to only deploy five out of an available 40 fire engines was a mistake.

The report further alleges the department also didn’t call in off-duty firefighters until after the Palisades Fire had blazed into life.

Crowley defended her department’s preparation, saying it was impossible to know exactly where fires might break out and that some firefighters had to remain in place to field ordinary emergency calls, which could arise anywhere in Los Angeles.

“I can tell you and stand before you, we did everything in our capability to surge where we could,” she told the press conference.

Crowley added that despite “limited capacity,” crews were able to respond quickly by calling for assistance from other agencies and issuing a plea for help on social media to off-duty firefighters.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.