West
Palisades, Eaton fires in Southern California 100% contained, officials say
The Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire that burned a total of nearly 40,000 acres in the Los Angeles area have been 100% contained, fire officials said on Friday.
The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres on the west side of Los Angeles and the Eaton Fire set 14,201 acres ablaze starting on Jan. 7, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The two major fires and several smaller ones created the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles County history, killing 28 people and damaging or destroying more than 16,000 structures, Cal Fire said.
CALIFORNIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY AFTER HIS DRONE COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT FIGHTING PALISADES FIRE
Vehicles and a house burn as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, U.S. January 8, 2025. (REUTERS/David Swanson)
At the height of the fires, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, according to Los Angeles County officials.
Damage and economic losses are estimated at more than $250 billion, according to private forecaster AccuWeather.
Rain finally fell in Southern California in the past week, which aided firefighters in containing the fires but also increased the risk of flash floods and mudslides in the hills and the spread of toxic material left behind in the fire’s devastation.
A view of homes destroyed by the Eaton Fire on January 9, 2025, in Altadena, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Full containment is largely symbolic at this point as fires still remain isolated in steep mountain terrain, fire officials said.
“It’s more important when we say forward progress is stopped,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Margaret Stewart told Reuters.
Progress was stopped about a week after the Palisades and Eaton fires swept through the region.
LOS ANGELES AGENCY REVEALS ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEADLY WILDFIRES AS INFERNOS STILL RAGE
A Super Scooper plane drops water on the Palisades fire on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, California. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Stewart said the rain was “more of a hindrance” because it led to mudslides and blocked roads first responders needed to access.
“Had this rain come two weeks ago, it might have been more helpful,” Stewart said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Hawaii
Towering lava fountains of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano trigger park and highway closures
HONOLULU — The latest lava fountaining episode of an erupting Hawaii volcano reached 1,000 feet high Tuesday, prompting temporary closures at a national park and part of an important highway because of falling glassy volcanic fragments, including ash.
Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, has been dazzling residents and visitors for more than year with an on-and-off eruption that periodically sends fountains of lava soaring into the sky.
The fountaining that began Tuesday morning marked the eruption’s 43rd episode since it began in December 2024. A livestream showed two fountains of bright-red lava and smoke. It’s unclear how long the fountaining will last. Some episodes have lasted a few days and others a few hours.
Like other times, the molten rock was confined within Kilauea’s summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and hasn’t threatened homes or buildings.
But the lava fountains were creating trouble for neighboring communities and a highway where the volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra, was falling. The tephra prompted temporary closures at the national park around the summit and a partial closure of Highway 11, an important route around the island, on either side of the park.
Hawaii County officials also opened a shelter at a district gymnasium for residents and tourists impacted by the road closure or falling tephra. There were no people using the shelter soon after it opened, said Tom Callis, a county spokesperson.
The National Weather Service issued an ashfall warning.
Volcanic tephra can irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system, according to county officials. Tephra also can clog and cause other problems with water catchment collection systems, which are common in some parts of the Big Island, officials said.
Ash fell so heavily during a previous fountaining episode that some communities needed help from county civil defense workers to clean up ash that coated their homes, Callis said.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
Montana
Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11
Nevada
Smith’s employees pack 5,000 meal kits for Clark County students
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Smith’s employees are packing 5,000 meal kits for Clark County students through a partnership with Move for Hunger and Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada.
The event took place on March 10 at Decker Elementary School.
About 270 leaders from across seven states are also participating in building the kits. The donation is valued at approximately $50,000.
Feed The Need: Helping Southern Nevadans fight food insecurity
In the past year, Smith’s and its customers provided more than 16 million meals to nonprofit hunger-relief organizations throughout Nevada through donations.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
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