Sunset fire burning in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon

Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times on Jan 8, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LOS ANGELES — Weary Los Angeles firefighters are dealing with a new fire that broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills.

The fire is near Runyon Canyon, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley said.

“I don’t have a lot of information,” Crowley said at a Wednesday news conference that had been called to relay information on several other fires burning in the area.

“I can tell you, we’re throwing all of our available resources at it as we speak,” the chief said before excusing herself.

The blaze, dubbed the Sunset fire, exploded around 5:45 p.m. and appeared to be burning south toward Hollywood Boulevard.

An evacuation zone was established between the 101 Freeway and Laurel Canyon and between Mulholland Drive and Hollywood Boulevard, according to the LAFD.

Runyon Canyon was closed to the public Wednesday as a fierce windstorm tore through the region bringing with it extreme fire danger.

More than 1,100 buildings have burned and at least five people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.

Fire officials have admitted they were overwhelmed by the size and speed of the fire.

Winds that drove the flres Tuesday have slowed somewhat but official said the danger is still high.