As of January 9, 2025, several wildfires (such as Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Sunset, Lidia), fueled by dry conditions and strong winds, have burned through 29,000 acres of land around Los Angeles since January 7. These fires have forced nearly 180,000 people to evacuate their homes. We live relatively close to the Eaton Fire (about 6 miles away), which was first reported at around 6:30 p.m. on January 7 near Altadena. By January 9, it had grown to over 10,600 acres with 0% containment. This is the second fire near us since we moved to California. In September 2020, the Bobcat Fire occurred much closer to us than the Eaton Fire. However, the Eaton Fire, with its unpredictable shifting winds, has burned a significantly larger area, making it much more dangerous.
I had heard of the Santa Ana Winds before but never understood what they were. Essentially, they are strong, dry and warm winds originating in higher altitudes in inland desert regions that blow toward the sea-level Pacific Coast near the Los Angeles area. They result from high-pressure systems over the Great Basin pushing air downslope through mountain passes. These winds often bring the lowest relative humidities to coastal Southern California. Combined with warm, compressionally-heated air and high wind speeds, they create critical fire weather conditions that fuel destructive wildfires. Southern California hasn't seen rain for eight months, further fueling the possibility of wildfires, but the destructiveness was unexpected due to the strong winds (Winds can reach 60-80 mph, or even 100 mph, with unpredictable direction.).
At around 9:30 a.m. on January 7, I noticed the sky looked unusual, so I took a picture. By 2:30 p.m., I observed high winds unlike anything I had seen before and decided to take a video. (I have documented it in a YouTube video. The link is at the bottom of the post.) I later learned that at 10:30 a.m., the Palisades Fire had broken out in Los Angeles. By then, it had burned more than 17,234 acres—almost 27 square miles—destroyed 1,000 structures, and remained entirely uncontained, making it the most destructive fire in L.A.'s history.
截至2025 年1 月9 日，由於受乾燥天氣和強風影響，自1 月7 日以來，多起野火（如 Palisades、Eaton、Hurst、Sunset、Lidia）已燒毀洛杉磯周邊 29,000 英畝土地，近 18 萬人被迫撤離家園。我們住的地方距離伊頓 (Eaton) 大火相對較近 (大約6英里左右)，這場大火最早是在 1 月 7 日傍晚 6:30 左右在阿爾塔迪納 (Altadena) 附近開始被播報出來，截至 1 月 9 日，火勢已蔓延至 10,600 多英畝，控制率為 0%。這是我們搬到加州以來，附近發生的第二起火災。2020 年 9 月，雖然山貓 (Bobcat) 大火發生地點離我們家比伊頓大火更近，但是由於風向變化莫測，伊頓大火燒毀的面積更大，讓我覺得伊頓大火更加危險。
我以前聽說過聖塔安娜風 (Santa Ana Winds)，但不明白它是什麼。基本上它們是強勁、乾燥和溫暖的風，源自內陸沙漠地區較高的海拔，吹向洛杉磯附近海平面的太平洋海岸。它們是由大盆地上方的高壓系統將空氣通過山口向下推而形成的。這些風通常會為南加州沿海地區帶來相對低的濕度，它們與暖空氣、壓縮加熱空氣和高風速相結合，便造就了嚴重的火災天氣條件，助長了破壞性的野火。南加州已經 8 個月沒下雨了，更助長野火發生的可能性，只是在強風的肆虐下 (風速可高達時速 60-80 英里，甚至 100 英里，且風向不定)，破壞性出乎意料之外。
1 月 7 日上午 9 點半左右，我發現天空看起來很異常，所以我拍了一張照片。下午 2:30，我又看到了前所未有的大風，於是決定拍攝影片。(我已經在 YouTube 影片中記錄了這段經歷。連結放在帖子的底部)。 我後來才得知，上午 10 點半，洛杉磯爆發了帕利塞茲大火 (Palisades Fire)。火災已經燒毀了超過 17,234 英畝的土地 (近 27 平方英里) 摧毀了 1,000 座建築物，且火勢仍未完全控制，成為洛杉磯歷史上破壞力最強的火災。
By 6:30 p.m. on January 7, we lost power and internet service. Looking out our windows, we could see the Eaton Fire in the distance but felt its threat very close to home. It was frightening to watch the fire throughout the night. We also checked again the emergency 'Go Bag' that we had prepared long ago so that we could leave home calmly when the evacuation order came.
1 月 7 日傍晚 6:30 我們不僅停電了，網路服務也中斷了。向窗外望去，我們可以看到遠處的伊頓大火，但我們感覺它的威脅離我們很近。整夜看著大火真是令人心生恐懼。我們也把老早就準備好的逃生包包，再檢查一遍，以備疏散命令來時能從容離開家。
On the morning of January 8, around 7:30 a.m., I could no longer see flames, but thick smoke filled the sky. By 10 a.m., I heard a helicopter flying back and forth on different routes. Without visible flames, I felt somewhat less nervous. My husband, always prepared for unexpected situations, ensured we had several fully charged power banks for our cell phones and functioning flashlights. Despite the power outage, we managed to have dinner under the flashlight and even watched the UCONN women’s basketball game to distract ourselves from the ongoing fire.
1 月 8 日早上 7 點半左右，雖然已經看不見火焰，但天空卻煙霧瀰漫。到了上午 10 點，我聽到直升機在不同的航線上來回飛行。沒看到火焰就讓我的緊張感減輕了一些。我的丈夫總是為意外情況做好準備，確保我們有幾個充滿電的手機充電寶和可以使用的手電筒。儘管停電了，我們仍然設法在手電筒的燈光下吃了晚飯，甚至看了康乃狄克大學女子籃球賽，以分散我們對正在發生的火災的注意力。
On January 9, we had a doctor’s appointment that required us to go out. The smoke outside was so heavy that we had to wear KN95 masks. According to weather reports, the winds are expected to pick up again. These terrible fires have destroyed so many properties. I pray the winds die down soon and that all the fires are brought under control. Although the fire is not over yet, I am grateful to God for His protection and care.
1 月 9 日，我們需要出門去看醫生，外面煙霧太大，我們只好戴上 KN95 口罩。根據天氣預報，預計風力將再次增強。這些可怕的火災毀壞了許多房屋。我祈禱風力趕快減弱並且所有火勢都得到控制。雖然火災尚未結束，但是我帶著感恩的心，來感謝神的保守及看顧。
Eaton Fire Updates According to CalFire as of January 14, 2005 9 AM
- 14,117 acres burned; 35% contained
- 39,428 structures threatened, 2,722 structures destroyed, 329 damaged
- 15 civilian fatalities, 5 fighter injuries
- Red flag warning remains in effect
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