LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – The Palisades Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, edged closer to one of the city’s major population centers on Friday: the San Fernando Valley.
Sky5 footage showed the fire’s northern flank burning toward Mulholland Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains, where aerial firefighting crews have dropped slurry lines in hopes of halting the fire’s northern progress.
“They anticipate the fire reaching this point,” said Sky5 reporter Gil Leyvas. “That has a lot of people in the San Fernando Valley worried. The fire is uncomfortably close.”
The fire was roughly two miles from Tarzana’s Braemar Country Club and neighboring communities. The Palisades Fire was mapped at 21,317 acres Friday afternoon, with containment at 8%.
Tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders or warnings. The evacuation order extended throughout the Pacific Palisades to the Pacific Ocean and included areas of Santa Monica, Malibu, and Topanga. Residents and businesses in Calabasas and parts of Tarzana and Encino remained under an evacuation warning on Friday.
The CalFire map showing the Palisades Fire perimeter and evacuation zones as of 8 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2025. (CalFire)
The fire erupted Tuesday morning and, fanned by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, quickly ripped through residential and commercial areas in Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Officials estimate that more than 5,000 structures have been destroyed, many of them homes.
Damage is believed to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
In addition, just before 4 p.m. Friday, incident commanders expanded the Palisades Fire evacuation warning to include neighborhoods just west of the 405 Freeway.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
At least 11 people have been killed in Southern California in both the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena. Of those 11, five are confirmed to have died from the Palisades fire, including one person who was found in the rubble of a burnt building in Malibu.
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
-
Sky5 view of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
As for the future firefighting operations and the potential for more wildfires, Cal Fire issued this warning:
“The Palisades Fire continues to exhibit wind-driven and topographic runs upslope. Short-range spotting is still observed,” the agency said in a bulletin. “On Saturday, typical mid-January conditions are expected. Sunday and continuing through the middle of next week, weak to moderate Santa Ana winds are expected. There is a chance of strong winds Tuesday. There will continue to be a high likelihood of critical fire weather conditions through next week.”
Live updates are available below.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.