Imagine pulling into McDonald’s and seeing this…
the wind in LA is INSANE rn… pic.twitter.com/T5GU8z1FEh
— juju 💰 (@ayeejuju) January 9, 2025
Hurricane force winds fanning flames.
Fearsome winds forced crews to ground firefighting aircraft in the battle against the Palisades fire on Tuesday night, making it even more challenging for firefighters to get a handle on the fast-growing blaze.
The use of aircraft was halted shortly before 8 p.m., and Los Angeles fire officials said they would continually reassess weather conditions to determine when they might be used again, said Margaret Stewart with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire remained 0% contained at 11 p.m. Tuesday as “extreme fire behavior” continued to challenge firefighters, according to the L.A. County Fire Department. Wind gusts up to 60 mph were expected to continue through Thursday.
The fire ignited at Piedra Morada Drive at 10:30 a.m. and had scorched 2,921 acres by early evening, forcing more than 30,000 residents to flee their homes. The extreme wind event blasting Southern California was forecast to peak between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday, posing a serious challenge to overnight efforts to combat the growing blaze.