Massive wildfires rage in California

By Veronica Rocha, Jessie Yeung, Brian Ries and Eric Levenson, CNN

Updated 11:54 a.m. ET, October 5, 2019
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12:58 p.m. ET, November 9, 2018

State official: "We know there are fatalities" in California wildfires

Fatalities have been reported in the California wildfires, Mark Ghilarducci, director of California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, announced in a news conference Friday.

"We know there are fatalities but we really can't put a number on it quite yet," Ghilarducci said.

Officials will provide numbers and details as they become available, he added. It is unclear at this time which fires have claimed lives.

More than 150,000 people have been forced from their homes, and California has requested firefighting assistance from the neighboring states of Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Washington, Ghilarducci said.

12:20 p.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Camp Fire grows to 70,000 acres, about the size of Charleston

The Camp Fire in northern California has now grown to around 70,000 acres with 5% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 

That is roughly the size of Charleston, South Carolina, or five times the size of Manhattan.

The fire burning in Butte County has damaged and destroyed structures, but there is no way to tell how many at this point.

“We aren't even at the point to where damage assessment teams are able to go in, so no idea on structures lost. It'll be a couple days before we get there,” said Rick Carhart with Cal Fire.

As the flames encroach on the city of Chico, Carhart said their priority remains "the safety of people, then structures, then the land."

As long as we are sure that everyone is safe, then we'll do everything we can to help the structures," he said.

A red flag warning will remain in effect throughout the morning in Northern California. Firefighters expect the winds to calm down later today, Carhart said.

12:10 p.m. ET, November 9, 2018

The Woolsey fire is spreading a football field every 2 seconds

From CNN's Judson Jones

Santa Ana winds are peaking this morning with winds gusts up to 70 mph in the mountains.

Malibu Hills, where the blaze is burning, has winds Friday morning of 38 mph and gusting to 52 mph.

The heavy winds aren’t just a fluke — there’s actually a regular weather phenomenon in this area of California called a Santa Ana wind event. The Santa Ana winds happen because high pressure builds over the western US, forcing air over the California deserts. As the air pushes over, down and through the coastal mountains, it dries, warms up, and picks up speed. That’s why the area can see such strong winds.

Early Friday morning, the fire doubled in size from 4,000 acres to 8,000 acres in 90 minutes. That is 44 acres a minute or around a football field every two seconds.

The area’s geography is fueling the spread.

12:02 p.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Kim Kardashian West and Alyssa Milano flee their homes as wildfires rage

From CNN's Chloe Melas

(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)

Celebrities were among the thousands of residents fleeing their homes as wildfires raged through California. As of Friday morning, more than 20 million people were under red flag warnings across the state.

Kim Kardashian West was forced to evacuate her Calabasas, California, home due to the looming threat the fires posed.

"Pray for Calabasas," Kardashian West wrote on an Instagram story. "Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home. I pray everyone is safe."

Kardashian West's sisters, Kourtney Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian, also had to leave their homes.

Actor and activist Alyssa Milano wrote on Twitter that she also had to evacuate her California home.

"I just had to evacuate my home from the fires," Milano tweeted. "I took my kids, dogs, computer and my Doc Marten boots. (Husband is in NY. Horses are being evacuated by my trainer.)"

11:40 a.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Malibu adjusts evacuation alert to only parts of the city

After alerting a mandatory evacuation for the entire city of Malibu earlier Friday morning, the city has adjusted their emergency alert to only evacuate parts of the city.

The mandatory evacuation is in effect for the area south of the 101 Freeway from the Ventura County line to Las Virgenes, southward to the ocean, the new alert said. The area east of Malibu Canyon is under voluntary evacuation.

11:38 a.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Pepperdine University cancels classes because of the Woolsey Fire

The fast-moving and unpredictable Woolsey Fire prompted Pepperdine University to close both its Malibu and Calabasas campuses on Friday.

"This situation is fluid and developing rapidly with changing fire conditions," the university said in a statement.

Here's a portion of the university's statement:

"A number of strong, wind-driven fires continue to burn in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, with all manner of firefighting efforts being employed, including air operations. The Calabasas campus is now under mandatory evacuation and was vacated yesterday evening. The Malibu campus is not currently affected by these evacuation orders, but the fires continue to burn and could be a threat to the campus if they are driven down toward the coast by winds. Many of our community members living in these surrounding areas have been impacted by the fires and have been displaced by the evacuation orders."
11:18 a.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Camp Fire evacuees trapped in cars beside burning trees

From CNN's Gianluca Mezzofiore

Whitney Vaughan, a resident of Paradise, California, had gone to work Thursday morning not realizing how close the Camp Fire was. Upon arrival, she was told Paradise was under immediate evacuation.

After rushing home, she and her husband joined the chaotic evacuation.

“The flames were whipping and spreading so fast. It began to jump the road. There wasn't anywhere to go ... The people behind us abandoned their cars and took off running carrying their babies and kids," she told CNN.

Traffic was at a standstill, and as she and her husband waited, she filmed the line of cars stuck beside burning trees.

"We barely stayed ahead of it and multiple times, as we followed the flow of cars, we thought the fire was going to kill us. It was everywhere. After 3 and a half hours we finally made it through the gridlock," Vaughan said.

Watch it here.

10:45 a.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Malibu declares mandatory evacuation

Malibu has ordered a mandatory evacuation due to the fast-moving Woolsey Fire that has charred parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Residents were advised to evacuate through the Pacific Coast Highway, and avoid canyon roads.

According to the emergency alerts, the nearest evacuation center for Malibu residents is at Palisades High School, and large animal evacuation centers have also been established at the Zuma Beach parking lot and the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center in Lake View Terrace. 

The Los Angeles County Fire Department also tweeted that residents faced "imminent threat" and should "leave area immediately."

10:43 a.m. ET, November 9, 2018

Woolsey Fire crosses 101 Freeway and forces road closures

 

The Woolsey Fire, straddling Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, jumped the 101 Freeway and triggered road closures.

The fire forced ramp closures near Cheseboro Road, Valley Circle and Reyes Adobe.

Ventura County Fire Capt. Scott Dettorre told CNN affiliate KTLA the area of Liberty Canyon and Cheseboro at the 101 Freeway is a major focus of the firefight.

“Please, please, please if you are asked to voluntarily leave the area, please do. If/when that mandatory comes, don’t hesitate, go. Make sure your stuff is packed and ready. Please leave the area,” he told KTLA.

Dettorre said many structures were lost in the fire. The winds, he said, were going to pick up and firefighters were gearing “for a few more hours of strenuous battle.”