California Today: These Are the Winds That Turn Wildfires Deadly in L.A.

Today's top stories from California.

January 29, 2025, 9:31 a.m. Eastern time By Alyce McFadden I pulled off Interstate 5 and there it was: a billowing column of smoke, opaque and dark against a bluebird sky. I thought the fire would be hard to find. It wasn't. When I arrived in Castaic last week, the Hughes fire was climbing up a slope at the base of Castaic Lagoon. I walked across Ridge Route Road, its four lanes closed to traffic. The flames were just across the ravine, separated from me by only a small river bed and a plane of golden grass, crisp and dry. I paused, unsure, breathing through a respirator mask. Electricity snapped and buzzed in the power lines overhead. Should I get closer? Was I safe to do so? I grew up in Los Angeles but now live in Brooklyn, where I report on New York for the Metro desk. I'd never covered something like this before. I tried to remember everything I'd learned about natural disasters during a training months earlier. Park with your car facing away from danger. Make sure someone knows where you are. Don't be stupid. Castaic residents who hadn't evacuated milled around, as unsure as I was. Together, we watched the fire leap and dance. It came south around a bend in the hillside and crept down, catching the brush yards away from us. "OK," I told a man in a red hoodie standing to my right, "that's close enough." Back in my rental car, I drove south on Ridge Route Road. I pulled into the parking lot of a rec center. Just seconds later, the fire was there, too, flickering in the dry grass in the distance. Time seemed to slow in the fire's presence. The sky glowed in strange ways and the round ball of the sun turned blood-red. After sunset, flare-ups twinkled like low stars, menacing and mesmerizing against black hills. The interstate was eerily quiet. Helicopters above thrummed low and loud. Bulldozers groaned back and forth across the dry landscape, clearing brush and chewing up ground. Wildfire is a visible beast, but it's an audible one, too. I pushed farther south, parking near an evacuated animal shelter where firefighters and officers were congregating. "It's getting sporty out here, man," one firefighter told another. A gust of wind brought flames peeking over the top of a ridge above us. Covering disasters, I learned, has a way of doing something to you: They teach you something about the world, and they teach you something about people, but they also teach you something about yourself. Just because you're fully trained doesn't mean you're not a little bit scared. And just because you're a little bit scared doesn't mean you can't do your job. And so that's what I did. Today's Top Story The New York Times These Are the Winds That Turn Wildfires Deadly in L.A. The Santa Ana winds tend to cause the same corridors to burn over and over again. Experts say the region needs to adapt. Read more More California News Lack of Detail in Funding Freeze Leaves State and Local Agencies at a Loss Democratic and Republican leaders alike voiced concern about the pause in federal dollars "creating chaos" and "jeopardizing the financial stability" of their states. California Historical Society to Dissolve and Transfer Collections to Stanford The society faced financial challenges that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Its nearly 600,000 items stretch back before the Gold Rush. A 'Shark Tank' Star on Losing Her Home in the L.A. Fires The mobile home of Barbara Corcoran, a real estate mogul and businesswoman, perished in the Palisades fire, along with those of all of her neighbors. "I feel like I lost my sweetheart." Could Trump Use the 'God Squad' to Override Environmental Law? The president wants to convene the rarely used panel, which has the power to carve out exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. Here's what to know. What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons Lessons from a radical 20-year experiment and a quiet triumph of public policy. Wildfires Are Revealing the Limits of Our Hydrant Systems While hydrants can play a role in fighting a wildfire in its early stages, the systems weren't designed to combat the large blazes currently ravaging the Los Angeles area. With Fires Burning, the Grammys Made a Choice: On With the Show Sunday's event has high-profile contests featuring Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan. But the big question may be whether the show strikes the right tone. 'A Dangerous Virus': Bird Flu Enters a New Phase A pandemic is not inevitable, scientists say. But the outbreak has passed worrisome milestones in recent weeks, including cattle that may have been reinfected. Local Conditions Look up the heat index in your area using The Times's heat tracker. See active fires using The Times's wildfire tracker. 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