A CBS reporter's Instagram update while covering the wildfires ripping through the Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon in California has demonstrated the devastation caused.
Jonathan Vigliotti, who has been with the outlet since 2015, posted a video of a Malibu "sandcastle" home being leveled by the blaze, with the reporter noting properties in the community are "crumbling one at a time."
"In all my years covering wildfires, I've never seen one grow in such intensity over 14 hours as it spreads from one community to another," Vigliotti said in the video text.
Indeed, California is no stranger to wildfires, but the ferocity of the ones breaking out in early January took many by surprise.Â
Colin McCarthy, a self-proclaimed storm chaser, posted on X on Jan. 7 that the Palisades fire was "absolutely exploding," while a later post provided startling footage of the fire's violent spread.
The #PalisadesFire is absolutely exploding in West LA and is quickly moving toward homes in Pacific Palisades.
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) January 7, 2025
Has all the looks of a potential wildland urban interface fire disaster. Evacuate if you are in danger and follow all evacuation orders from local officials. pic.twitter.com/AACLYB6rSS
Pasadena and Altaneda be prepared to evacuate if you are asked to tonight. The #CloseFire is explosively growing and exhibiting long-range spotting into the Eaton Canyon Golf Course area well ahead of the main fire. pic.twitter.com/Y9wIMKdGtG
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) January 8, 2025
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, a deadly combination of low humidity, dry conditions, and strong, shifting winds has hastened the spread and enabled its expansion.Â
The Los Angeles Times reported that wind speeds were as high as 100 mph and that by Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, 2,925 acres of land had been burned.
At around 7 a.m. Wednesday, LAist reported that over 50,000 residents were under evacuation orders — including in Altadena, Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, and all of La Cañada Flintridge — and a further 46,000 were under evacuation warnings.
In addition to the blaze itself, smoke inhalation is a notable concern for citizens, especially those with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.
The catastrophe in California has underscored the need to reduce our production of planet-warming pollution that is making temperatures rise and extreme weather conditions, such as droughts, more likely — which then encourages the formation and spread of wildfires.Â
On Dec. 25, Edgar McGregor of MyEatonCanyon reported, "Eaton Creek is running dry, soils are parched, and vegetation remains dust-ridden."
McGregor added: "The fourth wettest month of the year, December, will end as a total shutout in 2024 with no measurable rainfall at the official Pasadena weather station. This has only happened four other times in 118 years of precipitation record-keeping."
For those in California and surrounding areas, stay updated with the help of local fire and police agencies on social media, and heed all evacuation orders if and when they come.
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