A fast-moving wildfire erupted in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening iconic landmarks like the Hollywood Bowl and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as Los Angeles grappled with a wildfire crisis that has already claimed five lives and forced 130,000 evacuations.
Dubbed the Sunset Fire, the blaze spread dangerously close to the entertainment district, clogging streets around Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds with panicked traffic. Sirens blared, helicopters raced to dump water on the flames, and hotel guests fled on foot, while some bystanders edged closer to record the chaos on their phones.
The fire erupted amid a larger wildfire catastrophe in Southern California, with three other blazes raging out of control. While winds eased slightly on Wednesday, conditions remained treacherous. Hurricane-force gusts from the previous day had fanned flames across vast areas, igniting block after block and overwhelming firefighting resources.
At least six schools sustained severe damage, including Palisades Charter High School, a filming location for Hollywood classics like Carrie and Teen Wolf. UCLA canceled classes for the week due to the pervasive danger.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned of “erratic winds” complicating firefighting efforts, although air operations resumed after being grounded Tuesday night. Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin reported that the Eaton Fire had destroyed or damaged 200 to 500 structures. Intense winds carried embers miles ahead of the flames, creating a relentless challenge for firefighters.
In the Pacific Palisades, a historically destructive fire flattened entire neighborhoods, leveling over 1,000 structures, including grocery stores and banks. The celebrity-dotted hillside, once memorialized in the Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA, now lies in ashes.
Scenes of devastation stretched for miles, with California Mission-style homes and bungalows reduced to charred rubble. Stone fireplaces, blackened arches, and melted sports cars littered the landscape. Residents like Jose Velasquez fought valiantly to save their homes, dousing roofs with water as embers rained down. While Velasquez succeeded, many neighbors were not so fortunate.
“The messages started coming in, asking if their houses were still standing,” Velasquez shared. “We had to tell them that it’s not.”
Meanwhile, across the city, residents worked in masks, battling toxic smoke that blanketed Los Angeles in a haunting reminder of the fires’ reach and destruction.
