Before Summer Marshall headed to her bakery job on Tuesday, she dropped off her daughter at school and picked up a few supplies from Trader Joe’s in case the Santa Ana winds knocked out power. She was headed back to the mobile home she shared with her mother in Pacific Palisades when she saw a huge plume of smoke over the Santa Monica mountains. “It looked closer than I ever remember seeing — most fires start up toward Malibu,” Ms. Marshall said. Within the hour, she and her mother were frantically loading vital possessions into their car. As they crawled along Pacific Coast Highway surrounded by other cars packed with people, luggage and pets, Ms. Marshall turned to take a video with her phone. “You see all these cute little mobile homes and the sun going dark behind the smoke.” Their home, along with the entire Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates, was incinerated shortly after. “It looks like a bomb went off,” Ms. Marshall said. News media coverage of the Palisades fire has emphasized celebrities and wealthy Angelenos mourning the loss of their houses when they burned, like Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s $6.5 million home, and heaving sighs of gratitude when they were spared, including Ben Affleck’s recently purchased $20 million spread. But amid the mansions and millionaires, there remained pockets of working-class residents, including food service workers like Ms. Marshall.She and her family are safe at an aunt’s house, but all of the mobile home park’s residents have been displaced. Overlooking Will Rogers State Beach, Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates was likely one of the most scenic mobile home parks in the United States. And many of the 500-square-foot homes were bought for a fraction of the cost of the large houses studding the surrounding hills, where the median home price topped $3 million. Perhaps most important in the real estate climate of Los Angeles, the lots were rent controlled. Ms. Marshall described the park as a close-knit mixture of retirees and working families, and the location also offered an easy commute to her job at the Petitgrain Boulangerie in nearby Santa Monica. “I need to go back to the bakery for my sanity,” Ms. Marshall said. On Tuesday, Hannah Marschall was scheduled for an afternoon shift as a server at the Santa Monica restaurant Milo & Olive. When the evacuation orders came, she was able to get her two cats and a smattering of personal items out of her two-bedroom apartment two miles from the Palisades Village that she and her boyfriend had moved into in October. If she had been working a morning shift, she never would have made it home. “I’m grateful. If I had been in Santa Monica, there would have been no way possible to get back to the Palisades to get my cats,” Ms. Marschall said. “We just got our last piece of furniture about a week and a half ago — a pullout couch my mom was supposed to stay on when visiting our apartment for the first time next weekend,” she added. On Wednesday, she found a video on X that showed the charred remains of a staircase that they recognized belonged to her building, a triplex on Sunset Boulevard. Ms. Marschall and her boyfriend moved to a rental property owned by his family in Malibu for now. For the moment, the fires make traveling to work in Santa Monica impossible. “There are only two ways through: P.C.H. and the Palisades,” she said, referring to the highway. In the Palisades mobile home park, Tony Kozlowski lived a few doors down from Summer Marshall and her mother, Virginia. A 72-year-old retiree, he had taken a job as a baker at the Pacific Palisades Vons grocery store to supplement his social security. “You start at 3 a.m. and no one’s around, it smells good and you play your music in the store,” he said. “When the store opens up, customers know your name. I do like it.” He found out about the fires as his 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. shift ended on Tuesday, and he rushed home. As he packed, planes roaring overhead scared his cat out of his arms. He searched for it, but the police told him he needed to evacuate. “I didn’t grab anything, just my brother’s ashes, and the clothes I had on my back.” Over the past two days, Mr. Kozlowski has juggled FEMA paperwork with trips to thrift stores and charities to get an outfit and a pair of shoes so he can go back to work. He starts Saturday at a nearby Santa Monica store, until the Palisades location reopens. He is not optimistic he will be able to live nearby, at least not in a place like he had, because of the expensive rents in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles. “It was rent controlled,” he said. “I had been there for 10 years in this trailer with an ocean view. I was so lucky.”

The authorities in Louisiana on Wednesday closed a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 10 that spans nearly half the state, as a powerful winter storm brought record snowfall to the Gulf Coast and triggered the state’s first-ever blizzard warning. The announcement shortly after midnight meant that 200 miles of the highway in Louisiana were closed because of deteriorating conditions. The authorities had previously closed a 50-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and another 50 miles in and around New Orleans since early Tuesday. The eight inches of snow that fell at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Tuesday beat a record of 2.7 inches set in 1963, according to the National Weather Service. Interstate 10 is one of three highways that run coast-to-coast in the United States and a crucial east-west link for the southern Louisiana cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Its span in Louisiana is just under 275 miles, and connects the state with Mississippi and Texas. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Most of the stills posted by the Louisiana traffic department from cameras along Interstate 10 at around 2 a.m. local time showed deserted, snow-covered stretches of the highway.

Snow and sleet blanketed parts of northern Texas, Oklahoma and western Arkansas on Thursday as forecasters warned that “heavy snow and disruptive ice” would pile up across the South through the end of the week. On Thursday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport where over 1,400 flights scheduled for Thursday were canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. More than 200 flights were canceled at Dallas Love Field Airport. In Georgia, the National Weather Service elevated their forecast and issued a winter storm warning for the northern half of the state, including Atlanta. Forecasters expect freezing rain along the I-20 corridor and up to three inches of snow starting early Friday morning, potentially making it nearly impossible to travel and causing power outages. From the southern plains of Texas and Oklahoma to the Carolina coastal plains, much of this winter precipitation is forecast to fall on places where people are less accustomed to winter weather, and it is likely to cause hazardous driving conditions, power outages and school closures. Key things to know In the Southern United States, it doesn’t take huge amounts of snow or ice to disrupt everyday life. Over a half foot of heavy snow is expected to create dangerous travel conditions along and south of Interstate 40 across Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee. Farther south, along and just north of Interstate 20 from Texas to Georgia, snow is likely to change to sleet and freezing rain as warmer air noses in above the freezing temperatures at the surface. The region will continue to see cooler temperatures into next week, prolonging the likelihood of hazardous travel conditions. By Thursday afternoon, snow had covered northern Texas and shifted into Oklahoma as the storm began to take shape in the Gulf of Mexico before an expected shift to the northeast. The heavier snow is likely to remain in northern Texas and into Oklahoma. The most likely snowfall totals in Texas will be between two and four inches, mainly along and north of I-20, in an area that averages less than two inches per season.Anticipating the potential effects, Dallas schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott used a news conference on Wednesday to warn drivers: “Be careful. Be cautious.” “We’re not used to driving on ice and snow,” he said to his fellow Texans. “We’re not used to driving in conditions like this.” In the midst of battling the winter weather, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas also delegated emergency resources on Thursday to east and southeast Texas ahead of heavy rainfall and potential flooding. Snow moved into central and eastern Oklahoma by Thursday afternoon, shutting down college campuses early and government buildings, including all tribal-run offices in the Choctaw Nation in the eastern part of the state. Editors’ Picks Is ‘Reef Safe’ Sunscreen Really Better? Help! How Do I Make Sense of All These Trends? How to Manage Your Blood Sugar With Exercise Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The snow and ice moved into Arkansas in the evening on Thursday. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency as the storm entered the state, directing the state’s National Guard to respond to drivers in emergencies. Highways in western Arkansas were covered by 2 p.m. with some accidents blocking traffic on Interstate 40 and Highway 7. As the storm crosses the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday into Friday, any slight change in its path could result in precipitation that differs from the forecast in a given area. A slightly more northern track would shift the heavier snow farther north and lift the line of freezing rain and sleet. A more southern track would do the opposite, bringing the heavier snow deeper into the South and leaving the northern areas dry.Winter precipitation is expected across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas from Thursday night into Friday. By early Friday morning, it will have surged farther east across Tennessee, northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee issued a state of emergency on Thursday afternoon ahead of the worst of the storm heading toward the state. While Tennessee is no stranger to winter storms, some areas, like Memphis, could receive their largest two-day snow total in 40 years. Parts of the state are still recovering from Tropical Storm Helene, which moved through the state in September. Forecasters in Nashville reminded locals not to become hung up on the precise amounts, as any snow could cause hazardous travel in the region. In Atlanta, it has been nearly 11 years since a small snowstorm, locally referred to as snowmageddon, shut down the city and became a punchline for a “Saturday Night Live” skit. While snow has fallen in the city since then, it may still catch people off guard as the type of precipitation changes through the day. What is expected to start as snow Friday morning is likely to turn to sleet and then freezing rain across the Atlanta metropolitan area, turning untreated roads into ice skating rinks by the evening hours. Gov. Brian P. Kemp of Georgia declared a state of emergency on Thursday because of the forecast and said it would be in place through Tuesday. The governor asked residents to avoid travel as much as possible in the next few days. “Hazardous conditions, including ice and snow, can develop quickly and make travel very dangerous,” he said in a statement. Across North Carolina, a similar scenario will begin to unfold around midday Friday and last overnight into Saturday. Accumulations of up to two inches are currently expected in the Mid-Atlantic area east of the Allegheny Mountains.The storm is then expected to move off the coast, where it will strengthen but remain far enough away to avoid being a major hazard for the Northeast. Abnormal cold across the East Coast is expected to continue into next week, allowing for some snow to stick around. And where the snow has melted during the day, it may refreeze at night, creating ongoing transportation hazards.

The extreme Santa Ana windstorm that has spread wildfires through Los Angeles abated slightly on Thursday morning, but the calmer winds are likely to be only a brief respite. Todd Hall, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, said that Southern California could face several more wind events — periods of sustained high winds — that could accelerate the fires spreading through the Los Angeles area. He said the wind was expected to pick up on Thursday night, then again over the weekend and possibly next week. On Wednesday, the fire danger was extremely critical, with winds exceeding 60 miles per hour and sometimes reaching 100 m.p.h. The fire danger is not as high on Thursday, and the wind speeds won’t reach Wednesday’s levels. But with active fires still burning, the crisp, tinderbox-like environment in Southern California will still create critical fire weather conditions again on Thursday. Winds are expected to strengthen through on Thursday evening, when another moderate to locally strong wind event is forecast, with wind speeds of 20 to 30 m.p.h. and gusts up to 60 m.p.h. Humidity levels are also expected to stay low, making an elevated fire risk still likely. A red flag warning for critical fire weather will remain until 6 p.m. local time on Friday. Friday into Saturday, the wind speeds may relax, and fire weather conditions could improve, allowing firefighters to gain ground before another weaker wind event occurs Saturday night into Sunday morning. There is a chance that with Santa Ana winds returning, critical fire danger will return over the weekend. While the conditions are not expected to reach the intensity or longevity of the current event, they could still prolong the fire threat, especially since Southern California’s vegetation remains critically dry. There has been little rain the region since last spring, with none forecast in the coming days. Mr. Hall said that the wind event early next week “needs to be watched carefully,” as it could have gusts up to 80 m.p.h. And with yet another offshore wind event looming, forecasters are warning to stay vigilant.

The wildfires burning in and around Los Angeles have razed neighborhoods, killed at least 29 people and forced desperate evacuations. The two largest rank among the most deadly and destructive blazes in California history. The sights of thick columns of smoke, eerie orange skies and beloved landmarks in ashes have instilled a new sense of vulnerability in residents, many of whom are used to fires but unaccustomed to so much destruction. Firefighters have been able to contain the smaller blazes and make steady progress on the two largest, and the latest round of dangerous winds subsided on Tuesday. But it could take weeks before people can return to the hardest-hit areas, according to experts.In early January, a series of large and small fires began to form a ring of blazes around Los Angeles. The largest is the Palisades fire, along the Pacific Coast west of downtown, which as of Tuesday had burned more than 23,400 acres and was 65 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. The fire forced evacuations along Pacific Coast Highway, including in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Santa Monica. The next largest fire is to the east: the Eaton fire in the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Pasadena. It has burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed thousands of homes and displaced tens of thousands of people in evacuations. Containment had reached 89 percent by Tuesday.In the past two weeks, fire crews also contained a number of smaller blazes: the Kenneth fire, which broke out in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley; the Lidia fire, in the Angeles National Forest; the Sunset fire, which ignited in the Hollywood Hills; the Auto fire in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles; the Hurst fire, which started near Sylmar; and the Archer fire, which broke out Friday morning in Granada Hills. A few more small fires erupted in the San Diego area on Tuesday, but they were contained by the afternoon.Preliminary estimates of the scale of damage wrought by the Palisades and Eaton fires put each among the five most destructive in California history. The Palisades fire has destroyed more than 6,000 structures, according to Cal Fire, and the Eaton fire has destroyed over 9,000 structures, a category that includes homes, garages and businesses. The Eaton fire devastated an enclave in Altadena, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, that has long been a magnet for middle-class Black families. The Palisades fire destroyed local landmarks in some of the most affluent areas of Los Angeles. They include Palisades Charter High School, the alma mater of numerous celebrities and a filming location for many television shows, including “Modern Family.” The fire also destroyed the ranch house that the entertainer Will Rogers owned until his death in 1935, and the Topanga Ranch Motel, which appeared in a number of films over the decades.The National Guard and local law enforcement agencies have been enforcing curfews and trying to keep evacuated neighborhoods locked down until residents can safely return. At least 100 people had been arrested in evacuation zones across all of the fires, officials said. Charges have included looting, identity theft, possession of narcotics and possession of burglary tools, according to officials. The Los Angeles County district attorney has announced several prosecutions related to the fires, primarily on charges of looting.At least 29 people have died in the fires. The Eaton fire has killed at least 17 and the Palisades blaze at least 12, making them two of the deadliest in California’s history.Details have begun to emerge about those killed. Five of the victims of the Eaton fire lived within blocks of each other in a close-knit neighborhood in Altadena. The dead in the Palisades fire included a hang-glider, a surfer, a space engineer and a former child star from Australia. Why did so many wildfires break out at about the same time? Forecasters warned for days before the first fires erupted last week that fire danger would be very high. They cautioned that wind gusts could reach 50 to 80 miles per hour, and even 100 m.p.h. or more in some places in the mountains. And vegetation built up over two consecutive wet winters had turned to tinder after months of drought this year. The combination of high winds, dry air and ample fuel combined to make a critical fire-weather event likely in Southern California. Late fall and early winter tend to be when catastrophic fires are most likely to break out in California. Cooler weather coincides with the arrival of Santa Ana winds, the strong, dry gusts that blow southwest from Nevada and Utah into Southern California and are linked to the region’s most devastating fires. The deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s recent history, which destroyed the town of Paradise in the foothills of the Sierras, broke out in mid-November 2018.Firefighters have made progress containing the blazes since winds first started to ease more than a week ago. But the region remains at high risk for wildfires, and the threat is worsened by the low humidity. Another round of strong Santa Ana winds swept through the area early this week. They have abated, but could pick up again on Wednesday evening. The weekend, however, is expected to bring rain — a light but rare shower after several abnormally dry months. That will help dampen the flames, but could also increase the risk of flooding and debris flow.

The windy weather conditions that have fueled the furious spread of wildfires in Southern California finally started to ease on Wednesday afternoon. The worst winds may be over, but the fire danger remains, and another round of powerful winds is expected to pick up again on Thursday afternoon. “It’s a long duration event,” said Devin Black, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. Wind speeds across Los Angeles and eastern Ventura Counties gradually dropped off in the afternoon, but were still strong. Just after 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Mr. Black said some areas were gusting up to 60 miles per hour. Overnight, the winds were as fast as 80 m.p.h., even near 100 m.p.h. in the mountains. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Wind speeds are expected to continue to decrease slowly into the evening. Another concern is the shifting wind direction. Andrew Rorke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, warned that the winds were expected to shift slightly and blow from the northeast, which could push the Palisades fire west, where there are more structures. Even with the strong winds out of the northeast, swirling wind patterns known as eddies have formed in some locations, including near the Eaton fire east of Los Angeles. These changing winds, which can spin behind the downwind side of a large object, like a mountain, a rock outcropping or a building, could cause the fires to spread in unpredictable ways. Even as the winds ease on Thursday, the multiple fires and extremely parched vegetation mean that even weak winds could continue to create a wildfire hazard. More danger may be looming. In the latest forecast on Wednesday afternoon, the Weather Service said another round of Santa Ana winds may arrive by Thursday afternoon, earlier than expected. After a brief reprieve Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the winds could pick up again later on Thursday, peaking overnight and continuing into Friday morning across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, forecasters warned. Earlier forecasts indicated the next event would likely begin Friday.This next Santa Ana wind event is expected to be more typical than the current one, with predominantly northeasterly winds focused along the typical Santa Ana wind corridor from the Santa Clarita Valley to Point Mugu. In this area, gusts are likely to be up to 40 m.p.h. in lower-lying areas and up to 60 m.ph., even 70 m.p.h. in the valleys and foothills. “We’ve got the gusty winds, but it’s not like the horrific gusts of 80 to 100 m.p.h.” said Carol Smith, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. Weather conditions are expected to improve over the weekend, but yet another Santa Ana event is likely next week.

Tuesday night, a historic wind event swept through Southern California, spreading horrifying fires that torched a dense urban patchwork of homes, institutions and businesses. The multiple fires in greater Los Angeles have produced only two deaths so far, somewhat mercifully. But the windstorm is expected to continue, and already much of Pacific Palisades has burned to an unrecognizable gray. A decade ago, this kind of disaster seemed unthinkably rare. In retrospect, Canada’s 2016 Fort McMurray disaster, which formed the basis of John Vaillant’s book “Fire Weather,” was the beginning of a frightening new era. Then came Santa Rosa, Paradise, Boulder and Lahaina — the deadliest North American fire in more than a century, if one that now hardly stands out in cultural memory against the other scars of urban firestorms. In neighborhoods like these, often far from the wildland-urban interface, it’s almost impossible to clear enough brush to make homes defensible, as the wildfire expert Zeke Lunder noted on Tuesday. The homes provide the fuel, and the fires jump from house to house. These years of fire have also initiated a set of arguments about its driving factors — to what extent the new disaster landscape is the result of climate conditions or fuel buildup from decades of fire suppression and to what extent building and population patterns have pushed more people into the path of fire. At times like this, for better or for worse, those arguments and their policy implications feel less urgent than the sheer scale of the wreckage and the simple and obvious lesson: We are not prepared. “There’s no number of helicopters or trucks that we can buy, no number of firefighters that we can have, no amount of brush that we can clear that will stop this,” Eric Garcetti, then the mayor of Los Angeles, told me in 2019. “The only thing that will stop this is when the earth, probably long after we’re gone, relaxes into a more predictable weather state.” Seven of the eight largest wildfires in California history have burned since then.

With arctic air still locked in place across the East, the next winter storm is poised to bring a treacherous mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain to the South and possibly the Mid-Atlantic, which once again could potentially disrupt travel and daily life for millions of people in the coming days. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings across northern Texas, southeast Oklahoma and Arkansas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth and Little Rock, Ark. areas. Additional winter storm watches cover an area from northern Texas to Tennessee and Kentucky, including northern parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Forecasters warned of hazardous travel conditions and potential disruptions to daily life in these areas. The storm is arriving just days after the first major winter storm of the year disrupted life in the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic, delaying or canceling more than 9,000 flights, causing accidents resulting in at least three deaths, and leaving more than 200,000 customers without power amid states of emergencies in several areas. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT This winter storm is expected to begin on Wednesday along the Gulf Coast before moving northeast in an elongated path from Texas to the Carolinas, bringing a mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain. What to expect: Snow, ice and freezing rain The first signs of winter weather will arrive on Wednesday night, with light snow developing over western Texas, moving into Dallas by Thursday morning. The true impact is set to unfold Thursday into Friday, as a more potent system strengthens along the Gulf Coast and combines with arctic air spilling southward.The exact path the storm takes out of the Gulf of Mexico will have a direct impact on what type of winter precipitation falls and where. Heavy snow is anticipated through Thursday in north-central and northeast Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Fort Worth office of the Weather Service predicts areas in northern Texas may receive isolated totals in excess of eight inches, but more widely two to four is expected and only light snow for central Texas. Similar totals are forecast for southeastern Oklahoma, where some areas could see up to six inches of snow by Friday. Arkansas is also in the storm’s path, with central parts of the state, just south of the Interstate 40, is forecast to receive the highest snowfall amounts at up to eight inches from Friday into the weekend. Editors’ Picks Is ‘Reef Safe’ Sunscreen Really Better? Help! How Do I Make Sense of All These Trends? How to Manage Your Blood Sugar With Exercise Heavy amounts of snowfall are also likely for northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, northern Georgia, Tennessee and the far west of North Carolina, with up to six inches possible. A wintry mix of freezing rain,sleet and ice are also forecast, from central Texas, the north of Louisiana and central parts of Mississippi and Alabama, creating a patchwork of wintry conditions, though specific amounts are hard to pinpoint this far in advance, Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, said on Tuesday. “There’s still some uncertainty once you get east of Mississippi,” he said. In Georgia, where a winter storm watch is in effect from Friday, the precise precipitation type is still uncertain Forecasters are also concerned the storm may take a more southern track, producing large totals of snow in the north, where up to six inches or more was forecast, but also bringing a mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain to the Atlanta metro area and around the Interstate 20 corridor, from northern Louisiana to Georgia and South Carolina. From Friday, the storm is also forecast to bring snowfall to areas of Tennessee, Kentucky, the north of Mississippi and Alabama and into North Carolina and possibly South Carolina. According to Tennessee’s current Weather Service forecast, the south may potentially accumulate more than six inches of snow. Mr. Mullinax said that if Memphis exceeds six inches, it will be the first time in almost 40 years that the city has had a two-day snow total greater than that. Into Friday night, the storm is likely to bring snow to the Mid-Atlantic, as well as some light sleet or freezing rain across eastern North Carolina. By Saturday afternoon the storm will have mostly cleared into the Atlantic. Travel hazards and disruption The Weather Service cautioned that areas in the path of the storm are likely to face travel disruptions and hazards from the wintry weather. On Thursday roads in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas Fort Worth, Little Rock and the Texas Hill Country may be treacherous. Wintry travel conditions are likely to affect other metro areas on Friday too, including Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Huntsville, Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville. Saturday is likely to see less snowfall, yet travel may still be challenging from snow on the ground and ice, from northern Georgia to parts of South Carolina and North Carolina. While some snow amounts remain uncertain, forecasters at the Weather Service said major impacts from the winter storm were likely to be greatest from portions of North Texas into southeastern Oklahoma,central Arkansas and into northern Mississippi and southern Tennessee. “With the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex averaging just 1.8 inches of snow per season, this storm could be a rare and disruptive event,” Mr. Mullinax said. It is likely that other places recently hit by this weekend’s snowstorm could face the potential for another round of winter weather in the Mid-Atlantic. Forecasters said they had increasing confidence that a light snowfall accumulations across the Mid-Atlantic, leading to light accumulations for areas.

Southern California is extremely dry right now, with huge portions of the region having seen less than a quarter-inch of rain in the last eight months. The landscape is parched and vegetation is withered, making the area dangerously susceptible to burning, an unusual situation for January. “The sort of dryness we’re seeing in a lot of the plant species right now mirrors what you would typically expect in October or early November, when the rainy season starts,” said Jonathan O’Brien, a meteorologist with the U.S. Forest Service. Wildfires are a year-round threat in California. But a good soaking of rain in fall or at the start of winter usually puts an end to the peak part of wildfire season, when the most destructive wildfires typically occur. About two inches of rain is required to saturate the ground and vegetation and significantly lower the wildfire risk. Northern California has received that much and a lot more recently, thanks to a series of powerful storms in November and December. Southern California generally trends drier than in the north, but the region has usually received a shot or two of rain by the end of December, and certainly by early January. Not this year. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The region’s dry start to winter comes after a summer marked by prolonged, record-breaking heat that baked the landscape and cooked the trees and brush. The National Weather Service gauge in downtown Los Angeles, a good indicator for rainfall in Southern California, has recorded only 0.29 inches of rain since May 1, 2024. This is the second-least amount of rain ever measured in this roughly eight-month time period, with records going back to 1877.

As strong winds spread the Pacific Palisades fire on Tuesday afternoon, the residents of some of the region’s mansions and desirable homes were forced to evacuate, including some well-known actors and people who work in the entertainment industry. Among the celebrities forced to react quickly was the actor James Woods, who shared videos on social media showing the billowing smoke and flames in the hills behind his home. “We are safe and out,” Mr. Woods said in a post on X. “There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely.” In one video, Mr. Woods said that he was standing in his driveway preparing to evacuate and that there were planes flying over the area dropping water. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Steve Guttenberg, the actor known for his work in “Police Academy” and other films and who lives in the area, was among the people helping local officials respond to the fire. Mr. Guttenberg briefly appeared on KTLA 5, a local news station, urging residents who were fleeing to leave the keys to their cars in their vehicles so he and others could move them and make space for the fire engines that needed to reach the area. “People take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot,” Mr. Guttenberg said. “We really need people to move their cars.” Mr. Guttenberg explained that he had friends who were unable to evacuate because of increasing traffic on Palisades Drive. “There are families up there, there are pets up there,” he said. “There are people who really need help.”