Palisades Fire

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Private Firefighter: People Were Offering Me $1M

'I'm here filling a gap,' one tells Rolling Stone

(Newser) - In the midst of the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles real estate mogul Keith Wasserman tweeted an urgent plea for private firefighters to come to his home to protect it. "Will pay any amount," he wrote. The plea drew plenty of attention and scorn, but it also illustrated the...

Man Admits Flying Drone That Hit Firefighting Plane

Canadian 'Super Scooper' was hit while fighting Palisades Fire in Los Angeles

(Newser) - A California man has agreed to plead guilty to flying the drone that took an aircraft fighting the Palisades Fire out of action earlier this month. Prosecutors say Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, KCAL reports. Akemann will...

Opinion: Wildfires Taught Me a Lesson About Help
Opinion: Wildfires Taught
Me a Lesson About Help
OPINION
Jan 31, 2025 12:34 PM CST

Opinion: Wildfires Taught Me a Lesson About Help

Meghan Daum writes about losing everything, then learning to let her friends step in

(Newser) - The Eaton Fire destroyed the Altadena home being rented by Meghan Daum and thus turned all her "material possessions into ash," she writes in a New York Times essay. Since then, "I've had to accept more help in more forms from more people—friends and strangers...

Nirvana Reunites at Aid Show, With One Extra Grohl
Nirvana Reunites at Aid Show,
With One Extra Grohl
the rundown
Jan 31, 2025 10:17 AM CST

Nirvana Reunites at Aid Show, With One Extra Grohl

FireAid concert brings out all kinds of surprises

(Newser) - The epic FireAid benefit concert to help people hit by the Los Angeles wildfires is in the books, with organizers reporting tens of millions of dollars raised. Some highlights:
  • Nirvana: Drummer Dave Grohl, bassist Krist Novoselic, and rhythm guitarist Pat Smear (who played with Nirvana as a touring guitarist) reunited
...

Amid LA Fires, Meryl Streep Made a Hollywood Escape

She 'cut a car-size hole' in a fence and drove through

(Newser) - Meryl Streep may have an unparalleled body of work and be running out of shelf space for her accolades, but it turns out that she can also MacGyver her way out of a situation. As her nephew, Abe Streep, writes in New York magazine, the actor found herself somewhat trapped...

Rent Prices in Los Angeles Soar After Wildfires

Increases appear to violate the state's price-gouging law

(Newser) - My what a strange coincidence: Rent prices across the Los Angeles region have skyrocketed just as thousands of people are scrambling to find lodging after the wildfires. The Washington Post , for example, analyzed listings via RentCast and found that rent has increased 20% overall in Los Angeles County since the...

Trump Begins First Trip, Says FEMA Might Be Axed

Trump is visiting North Carolina and California to assess disaster areas

(Newser) - President Trump has begun the first trip of his second presidency with a stop in North Carolina to see areas that got slammed by Hurricane Helene . Later, he is visiting the Los Angeles area to see the damage from still-burning wildfires.
  • FEMA: In Asheville, North Carolina, Trump reiterated to reporters
...

Reality TV Couple Sues LA Over Palisades Fire

Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag join others in blaming city after homes burn down

(Newser) - Reality TV couple Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are suing the city of Los Angeles after losing their Pacific Palisades home in the wildfires that have torn through Southern California in recent weeks, the AP reports. The couple, who rose to stardom on The Hills, a spin-off of Laguna Beach,...

Their Homes Are Gone, but Now They Have a Keepsake

Artists' offers to sketch, paint burned homes 'means the world' to those left with nothing

(Newser) - Homes burned to the ground in Los Angeles County are getting new life—with a paintbrush. Watercolor artist Jordan Heber typically charges $350 to $400 for painting commissions , mostly of beloved homes. After whole neighborhoods burned in California, she created a TikTok video showcasing her work and offering to paint...

Conan's Home Survives Fire, but Not Assistant Sona's

'I'm letting you go. Is this a bad time?' he asks

(Newser) - Conan O'Brien devotes the entirety of the latest episode of his popular Conan Needs a Friend podcast to the Los Angeles wildfires. As it turns out, his Pacific Palisades home was spared—barely—but the home of co-host and longtime assistant Sona Movsesian in Altadena was not as fortunate,...

Cops: Couple With Fire Truck Impersonated Firefighters in LA

One of them served time for arson in Oregon

(Newser) - Two people who showed up in a Palisades fire evacuation zone over the weekend in a fire truck claimed to be volunteer firefighters from the Roaring River Fire Department in Oregon —and they were arrested after authorities determined that the department doesn't exist. Police say Dustin Nehl, 31,...

Tennis Legend's Trophies Stolen During Fire Evacuation

Pam Shriver had packed them in a car while fleeing from the Pacific Palisades fire

(Newser) - Hall of Fame tennis player Pam Shriver wanted to save some of her most precious trophies from the California wildfires, but she ended up losing them in another way. ESPN reports that when Shriver, 62, awoke Thursday at the hotel where she had fled to escape the Palisades fire, she...

Menendez Brothers' Key Hearing Gets Pushed

Los Angeles-area wildfires cause delay

(Newser) - A new sentencing hearing for brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez in the killing of their parents has been delayed for nearly two months because of Southern California's wildfires. Recently elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement Friday that the hearing planned for Jan. 30...

Wildfires May Have Contaminated LA's Water

'Chemicals can't be killed. You have to physically remove them from the water'

(Newser) - Fire crews are making progress against the Los Angeles-area wildfires, but residents are facing fresh challenges including potentially contaminated drinking water. Utilities have issued "Do Not Use" or "Do Not Drink" notices in areas affected by the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, and experts say it could...

Fire Prevention Efforts Paid Off at Getty Museum

'We're holding up well, but it's been totally wild'

(Newser) - They take fire prevention extremely seriously at the J. Paul Getty Museum's two campuses in Los Angeles, and those efforts paid off last week when the Palisades fire came within 6 feet of the Getty Villa's eastern wall. The museum—and its 40,000 antiquities—remained intact, though...

After the 'Unimaginable,' Hollywood Steps Up to Help

Halle Berry donates 'entire closet' to wildfire victims; Sharon Stone, other celebs also boosting efforts

(Newser) - As firefighters desperately work to contain the Palisades Fire and other blazes breaking out in Southern California, locals are trying to help, too —even stars like Halle Berry, who decided she was going to donate all the clothes she owns to help, reports USA Today . "I'm packing...

Police Say LA Looters Are Impersonating Firefighters

'We have people who will go to all ends to do what they do,' LAPD chief says

(Newser) - What's lower than looting homes evacuated amid the Los Angeles wildfires? How about looting homes while dressed as a firefighter? Police say at least one of the dozens of looting suspects arrested over the weekend was in disguise. "We are turning him over to LAPD because he was...

Dad-Daughter Duo Tell Neighbors if Houses Survived

Vanessa and Aluizio Prata stayed behind, do drive-bys to let neighbors know if they still have a home

(Newser) - As the fire roared toward their Altadena home, Vanessa Prata and her parents hurried to pack their car. But they didn't leave, reports the AP . Instead, the Pratas remained in their family home of 27 years, which is somehow still standing even as homes just over a block away...

Heidi Montag's Old Song Is No. 1 Again After Fire

Reality star's 'Superficial' shoots to No. 1 on iTunes after blaze destroys couple's LA-area home

(Newser) - Reality TV stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have a small bit of consolation after the California wildfires. Variety reports that on Friday, Pratt, 41, posted a bunch of photos on TikTok showing him in front of their scorched, destroyed home, along with a plea for fans to stream Montag'...

Weather Service Issues Highest Alert Level in LA Area

Strong winds expected to return Monday night

(Newser) - Firefighters have been making progress against the deadly wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area—but that progress is being threatened by dangerous winds that have caused the National Weather Service to issue its most severe fire warning . The NWS says another round of Santa Ana winds will cause a...

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