Fire 75 percent contained as of Friday morning
By Sam Catanzaro
After relentless work by firefighters throughout the night, the Palisades Fire has been reduced to 42 acres and 75 percent contained as of 9:00 a.m. Friday as the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) nears putting out the blaze which has been burning since Monday morning.
The Palisades Fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Monday, October 21. The fire’s initial location was corrected by the LAFD Tuesday to 800 N Palisades Drive from 500 N Palisades Drive.
As of Friday morning, the structures previously threatened and evacuated remains at 628, while structures with damage is reported at eight, according to the LAPD. There has been no loss of human life or structures destroyed by this blaze.
“The anticipated Santa Ana winds arrived. However, due to firefighters’ relentless work over the past four days, the fire perimeter held and containment was increased from 55% to 75%,” said Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) public information officer Brian Humphrey. “Due to continued progress, LAFD Field Incident Management Team 1, at the Will Rogers State Beach command post, will be demobilizing and transitioning the Palisades Fire incident to the local battalion at 8:00 AM, Saturday, October 26th. As we continually work to free up resources today to respond to other incidents, the number of firefighters has been reduced from 115 to 40.”
Humphrey says the incident update provided Friday morning is the final incident update for the Palisades Fire.
According to the LAFD, strong Santa Ana winds will continue across the burn area through Friday. In addition, widespread single-digit relative humidity will continue through Friday.
“Santa Ana winds will continue to trigger extreme fire danger. Residents living in wildfire-prone areas are encouraged to be prepared in the event of a brush fire, remain vigilant, and familiarize themselves with the Ready-Set-Go program,” Humphrey said.
According to Humphrey, three firefighters have been injured fighting the blaze. On Wednesday, two firefighters were taken to the hospital after being struck by falling rocks. One civilian was taken to the hospital Monday with a respiratory issue.
40 total personnel are assigned to the fire across a range of agencies.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), CAL FIRE, Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), L.A. Emergency Management Department (EMD), L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP), L.A. Department of Water and Power (DWP), SoCal Gas, American Red Cross, L.A. Public Works, Department of Transportation (DOT) and Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA) are among the cooperating agencies.
“Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC) offers a grateful thank you to all of the first responders who protected our community…We also saw many instances of neighbors helping neighbors in the threatened area and in the greater Palisades,” PPCC said in a statement. “This is not an isolated incident or threat. Wildfires are a way of life in Pacific Palisades. The last super fire that burned through the Santa Monica Mountains interface with Pacific Palisades and Brentwood was 1978, when many homes were lost and St. Matthews Church burned to the ground. Much of the native growth has been untouched by fire since then.”
For more information on preparing to evacuate, visit https://www.lafd.org/ready-set-go.
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