California
Firefighters gain ground on 3 huge Southern California blazes
A firefighter douses flames in the perimeter of a property while battling the Bridge Fire on Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif.
Eric Thayer/AP
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Eric Thayer/AP
LOS ANGELES — Helped by cooler temperatures, firefighters gained ground Friday against three blazes in Southern California and authorities began scaling back evacuation orders that displaced thousands of people.
The largest is the Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles, which has burned 81 square miles (210 square kilometers), torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. The cause of the fire is not yet known. After days of burning without fire crews being able to stop its forward march, it was 3% contained on Friday.
“Firefighters made great progress on the ground, aided by aircraft to attack the fire aggressively 24 hours per day,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement.
While firefighters have made significant progress, the three major wildfires that have ravaged the mountains east of Los Angeles, destroying dozens of homes, injuring a dozen people, and burning more than 155 square miles (400 square kilometers), still pose significant threats to some communities.
California is entering the height of wildfire season and has already seen nearly three times as much acreage burn as during all of 2023.
Evacuation orders were being scaled back, including in parts of Big Bear where the Line Fire forced thousands of people to flee. Authorities say a delivery driver purposely started the blaze Sept. 5.
The fire has charred 59 square miles (153 square kilometers) in the San Bernardino mountains, where Southern Californians ski in the winter and mountain bike in the summer. It was 21% contained as of Friday.
The Line Fire is burning through dense vegetation that grew after two back-to-back wet winters when snowstorms broke tree branches, leaving behind a lot of “dead and down fuel,” Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Jed Gaines said.
The Big Bear Zoo said it moved all its animals to a zoo in the city of Palm Desert to protect them from the wildfires and escalating temperatures.
The fires have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures across Southern California since they escalated during a triple-digit heat wave.
Cooler weather that began midweek has helped firefighters slowly gain the upper hand in battling the blazes. No deaths have been reported, but at least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, have been treated for injuries, mostly heat-related, authorities said.
Jason Anderson, district attorney for San Bernardino County, said Thursday that nine arson-related charges have been filed against Justin Wayne Halstenberg, who is accused of starting the Line Fire.
Anderson said Halstenberg, 34, attempted to start three fires within an hour in the city of Highland. Two were extinguished by firefighters and a good Samaritan, and the third became the Line Fire, according to authorities.
“This is particularly galling in a community that unfortunately over the last couple of years has dealt with the scourge of wildfires,” he told reporters, adding that the suspect’s vehicle has been linked to three areas where the fires were started.
Halstenberg is due to be arraigned on Monday according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, which said Friday that it did not have information about an attorney for him.
Halstenberg’s mother, Connie Halstenberg, told the Los Angeles Times that her son “did not light that fire.”
The full extent of the damage caused by the wildfires remains unclear, but Anderson said at least one home has been destroyed by the blaze.
Farther south, the Aiport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties has burned more than 37 square miles (96 square kilometers). Reportedly sparked by workers using heavy equipment, it was 8% contained as of Friday morning.
Ten firefighters and two residents were injured in the blaze, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The fire has been difficult to tame because of the steep terrain and dry conditions — and because some areas hadn’t burned in decades. It destroyed at least 27 cabins in the Holy Jim Canyon area, authorities said.
In northern Nevada, Washoe County officials confirmed Friday that a wildfire that broke out south of Reno last weekend destroyed 14 homes the first two days but none since as containment continues to increase.
Authorities have lifted all but a few of the evacuation orders that initially forced covered as many as 20,000 residents. Power has been restored to all but about 140 customers, NV Energy said. No deaths or serious injuries were reported.
Containment of the Davis fire was estimated at 56%, with no growth in the perimeter for the third day in a row after it burned nearly 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) of timber and brush along the Sierra’ Nevada’s eastern slope near Lake Tahoe.
The Washoe County sheriff was seeking tips from the public as an investigation continued into the origin of the human-caused fire, which started Sept. 7 in a regional park about halfway between Reno and Carson City.
California
Christmas storm still on track to hit Southern California. Here is when the heaviest rain arrives
Southern California is preparing for a powerful winter storm over the Christmas holiday, with forecasters warning of heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and potential flooding across the region.
According to the National Weather Service, the storm will bring an extended period of significant rainfall from Tuesday through Saturday, with totals expected to reach 4 to 8 inches across coastal and valley areas and 8 to 12 inches or more in the foothills and mountains by Saturday evening. Officials are urging residents to take necessary precautions, as flooding and debris flows could pose serious risks throughout the week.
The first, and most impactful, surge of rain is expected Tuesday night into Wednesday, when a moderate to strong atmospheric river will target the area. During this period, rainfall totals could reach 2 to 5 inches in coastal and valley regions and 5 to 10 inches in foothills and mountain areas, with hourly rates of 0.75 to 1.25 inches possible. The extended rainfall and intensity raise concerns about widespread urban flooding, mud and debris flows, and hazardous driving conditions, particularly during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
A flood watch has been issued for all four counties from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening, and the National Weather Service recommends that residents begin taking protective actions now.
In addition to heavy rain, strong southerly winds are expected Tuesday and Wednesday, particularly in the mountains and foothills, with the potential to knock down trees and cause power outages. Officials are advising residents to avoid swollen creeks and rivers, refrain from unnecessary ocean activity, and take precautions such as parking vehicles away from tall trees during periods of strong wind.
Forecasters emphasized that the timing and intensity of the storm could still change and encouraged residents to monitor updates from the National Weather Service and KTLA’s meteorologists.
A massive fog bank that has been blanketing much of California’s Central Valley with low-lying clouds since Thanksgiving time has prompted fears online of a mysterious and harmful “radiation fog,” but scientists say this is a misunderstanding of basic scientific terms and common weather patterns in the region.
“There’s something in the fog that I can’t explain,” a California man said in a recent video as he wiped soot from his truck bumper, in a post by Wall Street Apes, a popular X account.
There is indeed a “radiation fog” over the region, but that term refers to the general radiation of energy, not nuclear radiation. During radiation fog events, or “tule fog” as it’s known in California, named for a native marsh plant, fog forms when the moist ground cools rapidly at night, causing water vapor in the air to condense into thick fog.
A rainy autumn and winter in California, as well as a late November high-pressure system over the state, has further exacerbated this effect, helping create a fog bank that often stretched 400 miles up the center of the state.
Residents described the fog, which may actually be getting less common in the region compared to historical trends, as cold and eerie.
“It’s like going into a dream stage where you can’t see anything around you,” David Mas Masumoto, a peach farmer in the San Joaquin Valley, told The New York Times. “You feel like you’re in this twilight zone.”
Masumoto added that he can’t remember another time with such thick fog in the last 50 years.
As for the particles that some residents were seeing in the fog, there’s a standard explanation for those too.
“Fog is highly susceptible to pollutants,” Peter Weiss-Penzias, a fog researcher at UC Santa Cruz, told The Los Angeles Times.
The Central Valley, home to the state’s key north-south highway and miles of agricultural land, is known for its poor air quality.
“It could be a whole alphabet soup of different things,” Weiss-Penzias added.
The fog, which continued through late this week, is expected to thin out as heavy rains disrupt weather patterns in the state.
One lucky Southern Californian has won over $2.3 million after numbers were drawn for the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night.
Although no winner hit all six numbers for the $1.5 billion jackpot, one ticket matched five numbers and will take home $2,323,527.
The winning numbers were 4, 5, 28, 52, 69 and a Powerball of 20. The Power Play multiplier was 3x.
The SoCal ticket that hit five numbers was sold at Wright’s Market at 2691 Ventura Blvd. in Oxnard.
The Powerball jackpot will rise to an estimated $1.6 billion for the next drawing on Monday, Dec. 22 – the game’s fourth-largest prize ever and the fifth-largest among all U.S. lottery jackpots.
If a player wins Monday’s jackpot, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize estimated at $1.60 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $735.3 million. Both prize options are before taxes.
If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.
The new prize marks only the second time in Powerball history that the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The only other time was in 2023, when a $1.08 billion jackpot was won on July 19, followed by a $1.765 billion jackpot on Oct. 11. Both jackpots were won in California.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million and the overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9.
Top 10 largest U.S. lottery jackpots across Powerball and Mega Millions:
- $2.04 Billion – Powerball – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
- $1.787 Billion – Powerball – Sept. 6, 2025 – MO, TX
- $1.765 Billion – Powerball – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
- $1.602 Billion – Mega Millions – Aug. 8, 2023 – FL
- $1.60 Billion est. – Powerball – Dec. 22, 2025
- $1.586 Billion – Powerball – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
- $1.537 Billion – Mega Millions – Oct. 23, 2018 – SC
- $1.348 Billion – Mega Millions – Jan. 13, 2023 – ME
- $1.337 Billion – Mega Millions – July 29, 2022 – IL
- $1.326 Billion – Powerball – April 6, 2024 – OR
Lottery officials noted that so far, the 45 consecutive Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner have raised over $100 million for public schools in California.
“Every California Lottery game sold contributes to the Lottery’s mission of raising extra money for California’s public schools,” lottery officials said. “These funds support a variety of programs across the state.”
Powerball tickets are $2 per play and drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night at 7:59 p.m.
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