Much of the Los Angeles area resembled a war zone Wednesday as at least four massive fires raged unchecked and destroyed hundreds of structures, driven by the worst Santa Ana winds to hit the region in more than a decade -- winds that were expected to ease slightly by evening but continue into Thursday.
"The high speed river of air remains over L.A. County this morning and is fueling a widespread major wind event," according to the National Weather Service. "The core of this low level jet will slowly move southward during the day and this will cause the winds over L.A. to slowly decrease. Since the wind speeds are so high now -- mountain gusts 70 to 90 mph -- the slow decrease will not bring the winds down to below warning levels until early evening.
"There will, however, be a fairly notable drop-off in wind speeds late (Wednesday) morning."
The winds are expected to drop off more significantly on Thursday, but escalate again for several hours Friday morning.
"Residents across Southern California are urged to remain vigilant and monitor the latest forecasts," according to the NWS. "There is high confidence in strong offshore winds with the potential to be the strongest wind event of the season, especially for the Southland valleys. Trees, large tree branches, and power lines may be downed by the wind next week. Residents living the near the foothills and mountains are advised to review the Ready,Set,Go! fire plan. Most residents should be in the Set stage and being prepared to go in the event of the fire evacuation."
The winds were fueling four major brush fires in the L.A. area Wednesday, the largest being a roughly 3,000-acre blaze that destroyed much of Pacific Palisades. Thousands of acres also burned in the Eaton Canyon area above Altadena, while the Hurst Fire in Sylmar chewed through hundreds of acres and a new blaze erupted Wednesday morning in the Sepulveda Basin.
Hundreds of structures were believed to have been lost in the various fires, with fire crews unable to utilize water-dropping aircraft due to the ferocity of the winds. Ground crews -- unable to keep pace with the firestorms -- focused their efforts on evacuating residents and protecting lives, in many cases watching helplessly as flames jumped from structure to structure.
National Weather Service forecasters said earlier that the windstorm was likely to be the worst to hit the region since 2011, and Mother Nature did not disappoint as she delivered unrelenting winds that brought down power lines and trees across the region.
"Widespread damaging north to northeast winds and extreme fire weather conditions will continue through Wednesday," according to the National Weather Service. "Winds will peak through Wednesday morning. Downed trees and power lines, power outages, hazardous driving conditions, increased traffic, and airport delays are to be expected across the Southland. Any wildfires that start may spread rapidly with extreme fire behavior."
On Tuesday night, a wind gust of 98 mph was reported in the Saddle Peak area of the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, NWS officials said. A 97 mph gust was recorded in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains. Several other mountain areas recorded winds topping 80 mph.
Red flag warnings of critical fire danger took effect at 4 a.m. Tuesday and will remain in place until 6 p.m. Thursday for the Malibu coast, the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando Valley, Calabasas, the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the Golden State (5) and Antelope Valley (14) freeway corridors.
At noon Tuesday, the warning extended to include Los Angeles County beaches, the Palos Verdes Hills, Catalina Island and the inland Los Angeles County coast, stretching into downtown Los Angeles. The warning will continue in those areas until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
A separate red flag warning will be in place until 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Antelope Valley, Antelope Valley foothills, Catalina Island and Palos Verdes Hills.
The warnings were upgraded to "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warnings -- noting extremely critical wildfire conditions -- at noon Tuesday and continuing until 4 p.m. Wednesday for the San Gabriel Mountains, San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys, the Hollywood HIlls, coastal areas adjacent to the Sepulveda Pass, Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains.
In Orange County, a red flag warning will be in place through 6 p.m. Thursday for the Santa Ana Mountains and inland parts of the county, including a "particularly dangerous situation" from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday. Orange County coastal areas will be under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The dangerous winds prompted closure of the Los Angeles Zoo to the public on Tuesday, and it remained shuttered on Wednesday. Schools across the region were also closed as the winds created dangerous conditions and fires erupted in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, scorching thousands of acres of terrain.
All Malibu campuses of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will remain closed Wednesday, and district officials were still deciding whether to close Santa Monica campuses.
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced that Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary, Canyon Charter Elementary School, Marquez Charter Elementary School, Palisades Charter Elementary School, Paul Revere Charter Middle School, and Topanga Elementary Charter School would all be closed Wednesday due to wind and fire conditions.
Palisades Charter High School, which was not in session, was reported to have been heavily damaged in the Palisades Fire Tuesday.
Due to the closure of the L.A. Zoo, students in the LAUSD's Zoo Magnet program were directed Wednesday to report to North Hollywood High School.
Students at the closed LAUSD schools will "pivot to continuity of learning" programs on Wednesday, but district officials said those schools may revert to remote learning on Thursday.
In the vicinity of the Eaton Fire burning near Altadena and Pasadena, classes were canceled Wednesday for schools in the Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada, Burbank, Arcadia and Monrovia unified school districts.
Universal Studios Hollywood and the adjoining Universal CityWalk were also closed for the day Wednesday due to the wind and fire conditions.
NWS officials warned residents to be prepared for the possibility of downed trees and power poles and hazardous driving conditions, particularly for big rigs and other high-profile vehicles. The winds could also result in air travel delays and turbulence. Forecasters also advised residents to stay away from windows and trees once the winds start, park cars away from trees, and to prepare for possible power outages by charging all electronic devices ahead of time and ensure generators are prepared.
As is standard during high-fire-danger conditions. Southern California Edison customers in some areas could have their power turned off under the utility's Public Safety Power Shutoffs program. The program is designed to de- energize power lines that could potentially be damaged and spark a wildfire during red flag conditions.
As of early Wednesday morning, more than 35,000 SCE customers in Los Angeles County had their power cut due to the program, along with more than 2,000 in Orange county. Another 122,000 customers in L.A. County were under consideration for power cuts, along with nearly more than 26,000 in Orange County.
Updated information about power cuts is available at www.sce.com/outage-center/outage-information/psps.
The city of Los Angeles imposed red flag parking restrictions at 8 a.m. Tuesday, continuing until further notice, likely for the duration of the wind event. The restrictions are designed to keep streets clear for emergency vehicles that may need to quickly access developing wildfires, and to ensure open roadways for residents who may need to evacuate. Pasadena city officials implemented similar parking restrictions.