The “Barbenheimer” residences in Santa Monica were situated just shy of a mile from the nearest evacuation zone as of Friday morning. The California wildfires ignited on Tuesday, with the Palisades Fire, Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley, and Eaton Fire near Pasadena sparking flames. By Friday morning, the Palisades Fire had ravaged over 20,000 acres and had containment measures in place at an 8% level. The Hurst Fire had consumed more than 770 acres with containment at 37%, while the Eaton Fire had engulfed nearly 14,000 acres and was only 3% contained, per reports from Cal Fire.
On Wednesday, two additional blazes, the Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills and Lidia Fire in Acton, flared up. By Thursday afternoon, the Sunset Fire had burned approximately 43 acres and was fully contained as confirmed by Cal Fire. Meanwhile, the Lidia Fire had charred nearly 400 acres with containment efforts at 75% as of Friday afternoon.
Most recently, the Kenneth Fire commenced on Thursday, positioned south of Bell Canyon near Hidden Hills. The Kenneth Fire had spread across 1,000 acres and attained a 35% containment rate by Friday morning according to Cal Fire.
By the end of the week, the toll on the community was stark, with over 10,000 residential properties, commercial establishments, and other structures either damaged or obliterated. Regrettably, at least 10 individuals had lost their lives, stated the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Approximately 180,000 individuals were under mandatory evacuation orders and an additional 200,000 were advised to be prepared for potential evacuation, as underscored by Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Reporting: Andre Byik, Joedy McCreary, and BrieAnna J. Frank
Greta Cross is a respected national journalist at USA TODAY. For updates, follow her on Twitter and Instagram @gretalcross. Have a story to share? Reach out to her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article was first published on USA TODAY: Are the Santa Monica ‘Barbenheimer’ homes safe from fires? What we know
