California
California’s summer vibe is post-COVID. The data are not
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 17. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
COVID is crashing California’s summer
The summer COVID bump is not stopping, unlike many of our concerns about getting infected from summers past.
I’ll include myself in that group.
During a journalism industry event I attended over the weekend, I shared a banquet room with hundreds of people, plus smaller rooms for panel discussions. I saw only one person wearing a mask and it stood out; there was someone being cautious at a level I no longer am in daily life.
If I hadn’t spotted that mask, I don’t know that COVID would have crossed my mind. I’ve been getting my boosters. I don’t mask up in my day-to-day anymore, but I still have masks on hand for air travel. Like many Californians and Americans, my guard is mostly down.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that just 20% of U.S. adults consider the coronavirus a major public health threat. Just 10% said they felt very concerned about getting COVID and having to be hospitalized because of it, while 12% reported feeling very concerned they might unknowingly spread the virus to others.
Shoppers with and without masks at Santee Alley in July 2022.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
We’re now in our fifth summer living with COVID, and we’re over it — even as the data show the virus continues to mutate and spread more easily. The subvariants known as FLiRT now dominate the U.S. caseload, as my Times colleague Rong-Gong Lin II reported this week:
“For the two-week period that ended July 6, an estimated 70.5% of COVID specimens nationwide were of the FLiRT subvariants — officially known as KP.3, KP.2 and KP.1.1 — up from 54.9% a month earlier.”
California is one of seven states with “very high” COVID levels in its wastewater, according to the CDC, and estimated to be significantly higher than last summer.
According to state health data, the seven-day positivity rate reached 13% on July 8. Of course, that’s an undercount, since it does not include at-home tests or the people who catch COVID but don’t test at all.
But look around and you’ll probably notice that we’re traveling, gathering and partying like it’s 2019.
“Certainly, people are trying to get back to whatever life was like before the pandemic,” Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, told Rong-Gong. “We’re in a different place than we were before. … However, good common sense shouldn’t go out the window.”
The simplest safeguard tries to employ some of that common sense: If you’re sick, stay home and isolate. And get tested to have a better sense of what you’re dealing with.
COVID symptoms vary, but often include fever, aches, sore throat, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose and headaches. Although vomiting, diarrhea and stomachaches are less common, they can still be the result of a COVID infection.
Health officials advise people to wear masks for five days after their symptoms improve to protect others. To keep the elderly, immunocompromised and other high-risk people safe, L.A. County recommends anyone infected steer clear for 10 days after a positive test or the start of symptoms.
As COVID continues to rise this summer, we want to hear from you, newsletter readers:
How concerned are you about COVID right now? How often is it on your mind in daily life?
How have the precautions you take changed over time — or have they not? Do you think the average person is taking it more or less seriously than you are?
Share your concerns (or lack thereof) by taking this survey and you might see your and fellow readers’ responses in a future edition of Essential California.
More on COVID:
Today’s top stories
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How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
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And finally … a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.
The colorful cliff faces at Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s great photo is from staff photographer Christopher Reynolds of the colorful cliff faces at Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego. It’s on our new list of the 50 best beaches in SoCal.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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California
Jamie Lee Curtis fights back tears on ‘Tonight Show’ over California wildfire ‘catastrophe’ near her home: ‘It’s f–king gnarly, guys’
Jamie Lee Curtis fought back tears as she detailed the “catastrophe” of the Palisades Fire near her California home when she appeared on “The Tonight Show” Wednesday.
“As you know, where I live is on fire right now. Literally, the entire city of the Pacific Palisades is burning. I flew here last night. I was on the plane and started getting texts. It’s f–king gnarly, you guys,” Curtis said.
“It’s a catastrophe in Southern California. Obviously there has been horrific fires in many places. This is literally where I live. Everything.”
Curtis said she had “many, many, many” friends who have lost their homes in the devastation of the fires.
“It’s a really awful situation,” she added.
The 66-year-old added she was flying home first thing Thursday to be with her family and friends.
The Academy Award-winning actress, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband Christopher Guest, took to Instagram earlier Wednesday to share with her followers that her home was “possibly” on fire.
“My community and possibly my home is on fire,” the actress wrote in the post. “My family is safe. Many of my friends will lose their homes. Many other communities as well.”
“Take care of each other,” she told her followers. “Stay out of the way and let the firefighters do their work. Pray if you believe in it and even if you don’t, pray for those who do.”
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
The Emmy winner is one of tens of thousands of people who have been forced to flee their homes in Pacific Palisades and neighboring areas.
Four fires have exploded in Los Angeles County, taking over 27,000 acres of land with zero containment in the Palisades, Eaton and Sunset fires.
The Hurst Fire is 10 percent contained, officials announced.
The fires are being fueled by strong winds, “dry fuels” and low humidity.
The “Halloween” star isn’t the only Hollywood figure whose home is under threat due to the fires.
Harrison Ford was seen talking to police as he attempted to get through to check on his $12.6 million Brentwood home he had evacuated because of the raging blaze.
Ford’s “Star Wars” co-star Mark Hamill was forced to flee his Malibu home Tuesday as the fire bore down on the area.
The 73-year-old actor detailed his hour-long “last minute” evacuation from Malibu as he experienced the most horrific fire since 1993.
Other LA-based celebrities have been forced to evacuate their homes amid the crisis, including “This Is Us” star Mandy Moore, “Schitt’s Creek” star Eugene Levy and “Once Upon a Time in America” actor James Woods.
Multiple major wildfires are leaving a trail of destruction and death in the Los Angeles area.
A handful of wildfires kicked up Tuesday, powered by high winds and dry conditions , and have exploded in size. As of Tuesday afternoon, 2 people have been killed and more than 80,000 people have been evacuated.
Follow live coverage here.
The maps below show the size and status of the fires. They will be updated frequently.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Aerial video from AIR7 on Wednesday morning offered one of the first overhead glimpses at the devastation caused by multiple wildfires in Los Angeles County.
Footage from the helicopter showed the destructive path of the Eaton Fire near Altadena, which resulted in at least two fatalities while destroying more than 100 structures and burning more than 2,200 acres.
Shortly after 9:30 a.m., the aircraft’s perspective showed several two-story homes burning in the area of Lilac Canyon Lane, located in a residential neighborhood near the north end of Lincoln Avenue. Many nearby houses were smoldering.
Meanwhile, another ABC7 helicopter was over Pacific Palisades, where massive plumes of smoke continued to rise above burning homes in the foothills. Other structures were completely destroyed.
Houses were also on fire near Topanga Canyon Boulevard, the major artery that stretches from the San Fernando Valley to Pacific Coast Highway.
Media and fire department aircraft were mostly grounded Tuesday due to dangerous conditions caused by a powerful windstorm in the region.
Copyright © 2025 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
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