SoCal Fire Report - 1/8/2025
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- A summary of today's developments on the Palisades and Eaton Fires.
We review current intel and recent fire history, and talk about how fires spread in dense urban neighborhoods.
6:00pm, 1/8/2025
Cover photo by Michael Steinberg @norcalstormchasing
The best place to get accurate data and calm educated analysis that no one knows about. What a shame. Appreciate you, Zeke 💪
When you don’t shake your ass, or act like an idiot online, one hardly gets views. However, it seems zeke is doing really well on the algorithmic roller coaster.
@@Ken2234 He actually did a timid little shake once and experienced a nominal increase, but you can't find it anymore. Conscience got the best of him in the . . end 🍑🤭
Thanks for the calm perspective and information. Really appreciate it.
Thanks!
It’s sooo refreshing to listen to a professional who understands the mechanics behind these fires ! Thank-You !
Im an Australian fire fighter, you've raised some valuable points, homes need to built from steel, your codes need to be stricter about design, material, location, proximity to each other, fire prevention measures and gardens ... change all and you have a very good chance of you & your home surviving .... the issue is architects and clients like non practical, non survivable in a fire & non design appealing homes better suited to NY than California environment ...
Don't they constantly rebuild there homes anyway, they are not ment to last 100's of years!
In Europe, in the Mediterranean climate areas like Spain and Portugal they have caught on to fire hazard and commonly use building materials that are fire resistant--shutters on the windows, non flammable roofs, fire resistant siding and sparse vegetation around the house.
I know a woman who, after losing her Mandeville Canyon home in the Bel-Air fire of 1961, rebuilt a fireproof house of steel and glass on the same lot. Then the Mandeville Canyon fire came along in 1978 and the new house melted.
Eskimos have faced this problem forever.
no such thing as fireproof
No house will survive the blowtorch conditions of a Santa Ana type wind if you are adjacent to a lot of other homes on fire. I noticed a lot of homes in the LA fires were burning from within. Glass doesn't stand a chance. In Europe they often put shutters on their windows. I installed a metal shutter on the window that would face the oncoming wind driven fire that I can roll down before I evacuate.
This is so incredibly interesting. I wish you could be invited to press conferences to speak the truth about fire behavior.
Best stuff I have seen on these fires.
Thank you for what you’re doing! These fires do need the cause to be identified, but none of us are qualified to do so. You provide a valuable information service. Fire is often beyond human control, the combo of these Santa Ana’s and the very low humidity is the proximate cause. We can debate was caused the confluence of these two things, but no human set these fires, as far as we know. So stop the blame game.
Great discussion about the difficulties of simply rebuilding in a wildfire/firestorm environment. Reminds me of the discussion about expanding urban areas in "Tornado Alley" regions. Sensible solutions vs. cost.
Always wondered if snow-making devices use at a concentrated level could have a dampening effect on these fires (not to make snow, of course, but to soak a neighborhood is a mist, like the widespread fogging you find in Monterey/Carmel). No doubt would require its own water system $$$ outside of hydrant system, and would be used to treat a threatened neighborhood from glowing embers, not to attack an existing inferno.
Love this channel.
I feel you might need to adjust the
Microphone to get a more consistent audio delivery.
Honestly, this is the best coverage
Out there.
Super insightful as well.
Thank you
🙏 from Texas
Thank you Zekenfor your calm and fact-based coverage. It’s dismaying that conspiracy theories and misinformation are flying thick right now, I’m so glad that there’s a knowledgeable non-sensationalized resource like The Lookout.
I just subscribed after watching Dr.Swain from weather west. We need more informative stuff like what you do! Thank you!!
Some solid reporting with sanguine analysis.
TYVM
Fantastic job as always Zeke. Really appreciate your InSite to these events.
Zeke - Thank you!
Learned so much !!
Again, thank you Zeke.
Helpful perspective as I've been trying to find approximate/current perimater of a particular ridgeline in the Northern aspect of Topanga Canyon (dear freinds property). Thanks for this resent post this evening. Helpful and as through numerous prior fires and evacs before whether involving myself, family or friends, much appreciated.
Calm, nonsensationalized info, Zeke you're our go to, kudos.
Tara
Hope you got some sleep in . Thank you for all you do !
...Thank you. Learned a lot. I'm from Florida. May Jesus help everyone
You’re so cool, from Canada 🇨🇦
I'm watching Fox 11 from LA and they are keeping their cool. Live helicopter coverage over the fires. They zeroed in on a spot fire on an unburned house deck from deck furniture. If you have to evacuate--- throw your flammable deck furniture well away from your home. The reporters are catching onto the fact a wind driven fire has a narrow footprint. So it's better to evacuate at right angles to the forward spread and not into the fire's path.
A CSAA agent told me the trees in the Santa Rosa coffee park neighborhood acted like a fuse. It was one reason they wouldn’t insure a house next to a line of trees in El Dorado Hills.
Thanks for your service dude!
The Michael Jordan of fire knowledge 👌🇺🇸
Santa Ana winds happen in Oregon, Northern Cal and Colorado. They just have different names in those places. I agree, being topographically driven they are never going away. In Portugal and Spain homes have non flammable rooves, metal shutters on windows and fire resistant siding. We need to learn from their experience living for hundreds of years with wildfire.
@@Fireweed108 Foehn winds is the technical name for a regional wind patterns. Santa anas, sundowners, chinook are Foehn winds.
@@brycemccurry7859 I know--I just use the term Santa Ana because that is the most recognizable of the names. No one knows the term foehn.
Juan Browne (blancolirio) sent me here. Very informative.
Blancolirio has great info on air attack.
I love Juan Browne. He did a great service with the Oroville dam disaster. He’s a private pilot and a commercial pilot too
@@DanielinLaTuna ...and trained as a pilot for one of the many firefighting roles.
@ thanks, I didn’t know that
Thanks for the info. This is a very clear look at how these fires are going.
The thumbnail is one of those paradoxes in art: stunning portrait of utter devastation.
Thank you! For what you do.
Zeke, you are my go to for fire information.
Only house on front street that did not burn had a metal roof and stones for landscape
You're a popular guy Zeke and I know why; because you're uniquely informative showing us big picture 🎉 The way you navigate the screen sucks me in!
Your live channel 7 is doing chopper coverage
Chico State baby!
Love this channel -- it's the best for real, reliable information that one can trust and find helpful - -- yeah it is hard to watch TV news since the child-4yo-TV news activates hysteria about the "wild fires" - (so this is why I get a call from my mother who lives in AR watching the TV-Fox News and she becomes manic-worried about me ) -- that's why I am happy to find "The Lookout" for sensible news that "wild" can be tamed (urban fires where homes become the forest)
I had to turn it off. The news people in the field are so dramatic! The situation is horrible but don’t add to the fear. Your calm voice make it much easier to watch.
You could probably go live with all the changing events. There is now the Sunset fire.
arson
🥵Great info here always!
So sorry to see all the dumb trolls showing up in the chat... Zeke does an incredible job - doesn't deserve that nonsense.
In a book called "The Ecology of Fear" Mike Davis lists 13 fires over 10,000 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains between 1930 and 1996; all in the Fall; almost all ran to the ocean. There have been more since (Woolsey fire, 1996, was huge). Apparently the lesson is never learned.
I seen lots of people complaining that they are not using ocean water. I don't know if most people know that saltwater kills most vegetation and can keep it from coming back for a few years in large amounts.
Hey Zeke, thanks for the info and analysis, ignore the trolls.
If you check these comments, could you answer a question? What is your opinion on yucca trees as a fire resistant shrub? Thank you
Only half way in thank you for the information.
Great job keeping us informed without fanfare, THANKS!👍🏼👍🏼
I feel really bad for the animals. I bet wild animals will be running thru the streets of the Urban areas in total fear!
Thank you for mentioning the water supply situation. Many mountain communities have water tanks located high above them to support water pressure, mostly. They are also a source for water supply as well as, but they’re not of infinite level. Once they run out of water, and the pumping stations are already operating at close to capacity, well, that’s it.
Also the city (of Los Angeles) does have many open water reservoirs up in the hills, but moving water from reservoir to reservoir is complicated. It can’t be done on the fly.
So to developers like Rick Caruso, who are blaming the Water Department, shame on him. He ran for Mayor of L. A. and lost; sounds like sour grapes, his criticism of DWP and Mayor Bass
As long as people are not killed, this is not a crisis, now stored energy is released and the ground is fertilized with minerals and energy. In a few years the area will be full of green grass and flowers.
Zeke do you have a link to the California Fire History kml you are using at 35:00 or did you build that yourself? Thanks
The CalTopo app provides fire history
I could not watch or listen to any of the news coverage of the fires. The lack of knowledge and understanding is maddening and the finger pointing is embarrassing. I’ve recommended people come to the LOOKOUT if they want to understand what’s really going on. Thank you for an intelligent educational look and what’s happening there Zeke.
Any thoughts on the Watch Duty App?
Also if you have any other suggestions for a better one, or complimentary to it?
I don't think some ppl will rebuild. I think after this, if they get their payout from insurance, they probably will leave the area.
I also hear some ppl had problems before insuring their house, so they may not have any choice but to leave.
Is there any news on the Sunset fire, on how it started, being that was well away from any fires, and it appears that it started up on a mountain in the wild, arson?
yes
Maybe I missed it but do we know what was the cause of fires originally? Power line, etc??
Still too soon for the fire investigation teams to get in and find the seat of each of these fires.
An excellent contribution glad I found this factual and considered analytical update.
In Australia there are now restrictions on what you can rebuild and designs and specifications have changed. Wind is a huge risk factor and we have had massive fires so bad they were close to the cities. People have unreasonable expectations especially in extreme weather events. We get intense heat as well. I'm looking at steel frame houses and designs similar to the one you showed without eaves and with a clean structure.
As it is meant to be your off season in winter my understanding is some water dumping planes have been loaned to Australia. Peak fire season for us is February that's the height of our summer.
Years ago I had an American staying with me and he was working for emergency services coordinating and he was saying how uneventful and boring it was. And I said: wait for February. And sure enough, everything exploded that February fire season. There are so many elements that come together to produce massive fire events and as you say, the important thing is to learn from them.
Malibu effectively has what we call a 'fire break' from a recent burn. We use them to control a fire, sometimes burning in the path of the oncoming fire. But these efforts can sometimes backfire of course especially with a sudden change of wind.
I was part of a team that went down to Australia to fight fires in 2007. Australia is so far ahead of the US.
@@Fireweed108 Thanks but we have to be. As a continent Australia was burning when Captain Cook was first mapping the place. The indigenous Australian Aboriginal people were using fire stick burning to smoke out kangaroos and wallabies to assist with hunting. Fire resistant species became dominant, (from ancient times there used to be more broad leafed species but they died out or became vastly reduced to isolated places).
The entire continent smelled so strongly of burning eucalyptus they could smell it before Cook and the others sighted the land. The images over the past decade of burning have been so overwhelming they put the images in the shade. The whole event is so intense it creates firestorms from within the smoke rises high into the skies.
It's problematic and we have as the world's driest continent after Antarctica (frozen water doesn't count) huge issues with climate extremes.
I visited California but didn't spend any time in LA. It made me feel insecure the whole time, danger felt not far off I never felt truly relaxed there. Not in the houses perched on the hills not anywhere. But maybe it's because I know how to manage the danger here. Earthquakes are another continent, literally! Here ours are mild even though the entire continent is moving 4 cm north per year. That's a lot but we are on a continental shelf it's relatively stable.
But we are in this intense climate change situation together and we need to pull together like never before. I actually think this is gong to be a turning point on fires, fire management awareness and climate change awareness, at least I hope so. I'm encouraged that Zeke is getting attention from at least one mainstream media organisation.
People want a fire truck in their street not realising how embers travel in high winds.
Not realising that air support cannot happen in high winds.
Not realising what is involved.
This coming week looks like it could be brutal, even as people struggle to comprehend the losses so far.
I am sickened by talking heads talking to yet another person/celebrity about their losses and then asking them how they feel? It's so lazy, exploitive and lacking in information or social responsibility.
Don't get me started on what's being said politically, it makes me so frustrated.
How are there separate fires happening at the same time when there was no lighting strikes involved?
Arson-/human caused fires and fires spread from embers from existing fires. I've heard nothing about that. Firefighters are trained to preserve the origin of a fire when they come to fight it so maybe we will hear about the cause later.
Watched segment about John Carr saved his home in Pacific Palisades and neighbors homes on both sides from fires with water so it can be done but don’t wait on firefighters do it yourself
Coastal Commission is an issue, they make you keep ESHA
Has the (originally 10050) now 10066 Cielo Drive mansion been impacted by the fires?
@@Jennifermcintyre Thanks for the info. The original 1941 house was torn down in 1994 and a 22,000 square foot mansion was built on the property, and the street number was changed.
Juan Brown sent me here.
All the hotels will be full in LA
15:36...Yes, lots of landscaping but all lush & green. Well-maintained. Shouldn't be flammable, or at least an issue.
Lush and green on top, full of dead and duff underneath. When you single didget RH and major winds, EVERYTHING burns.
Anything about Studio City?
I haven’t heard anything about Studio City. What have you heard?
Yes, there is an active fire in Studio City. A four-story residence located at 3656 N. Sunswept Dr. caught fire around 8:52 p.m. on Wednesday night. The blaze engulfed the home, spread to nearby brush, and extended to neighboring houses. Firefighters are actively working to contain the flames and prevent further spread into surrounding vegetation. 
In addition to this incident, Los Angeles is currently experiencing multiple wildfires that have led to significant disruptions. Over 30,000 residents have been evacuated, and several television productions, including “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, have suspended operations due to the fires. Major events like the Critics Choice Awards have also been postponed. 
Given the rapidly evolving situation, it’s crucial to stay informed through local news outlets and adhere to any evacuation orders or safety advisories issued by authorities.
I checked the local news. The house on fire on the Studio City side of the Hollywood Hills is not considered part of the Sunset Fire. It is too far for embers to have traveled that far, especially since winds are very calm.
It is just one house at this time and city firefighters are on it
Nothing could have been done. Or could it have?
If you get your insurance money can you leave and build somewhere else??? If so maybe the super rich want to move from there. Please discuss about insurance.
You can re-build wherever you want to. The people in LA may not be able to rebuild where their home was because the cost of construction has skyrocketed so they may be forced to re-build in a more affordable area. I update my home insurance every year to allow for the increasing costs.
Hemp houses metal roofs and stone landscapes
How far you do you think this will go up Topanga for the Palisades fire? No way it gets close to the 101 right?
Never say never Samwise Gamgee.
101 is now closed! Hollywood is on fire! Evacuated
@@SinaloaTacos I don't believe it is closed north of Topanga though
Don't assume fire will stop or go where you think/want it to go.
The Great Los Angeles Fire 2505
I agree about the camera work is a bit indulgent, for the fire gazers, but they don't give useful information.
Density like this is not sustainable. Starting with the effect on the grid all these people depend on, and it becomes a trigger as in The Paradise fire
This is becoming a world wide issue, not only L.A. or California...
Not enough safe grounds to build on, not enough water, resources, etc.
Nobody is talking about the Brentwood hills fire
This is great but I find you a little hard to understand
Responsibility gymnastics when this much money is involved. These aren't Paradise, CA domiciles.
Steve Street Mrs. O'learys cow started it.
This might be a dumb question but I have wondered how the dams being taken down and the lakes being drained in Northern California will affect fighting fires in those areas?
Great at .09 speed.
this was arson
20:51 I see media filming and 100's of burned down homes with water spraying up out of the slap, why doesn't the fire crews turn off the water meters?
@Kevin Lopez hahahaha
Are the environmentalists going to get sued and go to jail with life sentences?
Paris Hiltons house burnt down
Spielberg is also in the Palisades... Schwarzie?
it's OK she has loads of houses inherited from Daddy & plenty of time living on his $ to rebuild
So jump out of the box and explain what strategy needs to be implemented to fight this fire based on your intel and experience…
If you knew anything about Zeke you'd eat your words, man. He's a huge proponent of prescribed fire as a tool to reduce fuel loading/wildfire danger. Check out his Cohasset/Maple Creek videos.
@ No, I don’t know anything about Zeke, and I only stumbled upon this channel due to the current fire north of me and don’t have the time to check out his previous videos. If you grasp my original question correctly, I want to hear his opinion on how to deal with the current situation. If he feels that starting a prescribed fire on Hollywood Avenue to reduce fuel loading, I how would like to hear his ideas how to do this in an urban environment. Although I’m pretty sure that those residing on Hollywood Ave. would strongly disagree…
He actually covers the dilemma in the second half of tonight’s broadcast quite extensively. Can’t do Rx fire as needed in densely populated urban areas, even though it is the best tool normally. Ridgelines above canyons with dense vegetation should not be occupied, but people aren’t willing to give them up.
As to fighting fires during Santa Ana winds, you can’t.
For prevention--A combination of "home hardening" and limiting the type and amount of veg on the property. Check out info from the Marin County fire department about home hardening. Although with Santa Ana winds, the blowtorch effect can overcome the effects of home hardening. Home hardening will help the homes on the flanks of the fire and in non-Santa Ana wind driven fires. A Santa Ana driven fire can't be "fought" head on, It would be like putting people in front of a blowtorch. Firefighter's have to work on the edges--using water, retardant and burning out from a fireline. Homeowners can help firefighters by not having flammable materials next to their homes, on their roofs. I saw some engines are using water from swimming pools.
Now you're homeless rich people, pennies on the dollar.
All these Hollywood moguls have multiple homes and apartments... average house price in the Palisades is $4.5 million.
@@sufizmjim 😂 My fren, Rich people may be a LOT of things, but **HomeLess** they will NEVER be 😉
Thanks!
Thanks!