Northern Ireland man reflects on how he watched the 'heartbreaking' destruction of part of Los Angeles by wildfire

​David Morrow had, coincidentally, been speaking to the News Letter (see page 11 or click here to read it) about the fire risk on Tuesday morning California time (early afternoon in Northern Ireland).

At that point the state was under warning of the dangers caused by the hottest and most fierce so-called Santa Ana winds in more than a decade.

Then Mr Morrow saw one of the worst blazes begin, from his apartment in Marina Del Rey on the Los Angeles coast, by looking five miles to the northwest, towards the Pacific Palisades hills.

It is one of the most exclusive residential neighbourhoods in America and thus the world, and is only a few miles west of the Hollywood Hills.

The wider Los Angeles area is huge, about the same area as Northern Ireland (in fact some assessments of the metropolitan area put it the size of the island of Ireland), so a fire could have begun in multiple locations but in fact this – perhaps the most destructive of the wildfires – was at a point which Mr Morrow could see clearly from his residence, from where he often works, running sales and marketing for tech company.

Mr Morrow said almost as soon as the blaze began: “This fire could pose a significant threat. It is very close to a lot of homes and built up areas.”

Speaking before nightfall on Tuesday (California is eight hours behind Northern Ireland) Mr Morrow had said that even where he was, several miles to the southeast of Pacific Palisades, he was “packing a go bag in case it gets bad tonight”. Californians are expected to have such an escape and survival kit.

A few hours later Mr Morrow then saw from his apartment the huge blaze begin in the Pacific Palisades hills at around 1115am California time, 715pm UK. The picture is above on this page, a mere 15 minutes after the huge fire began (click here to read the story we wrote about it, one of the earliest reports from Europe with an eye witness account).

The smoke became so encompassing over Pacific Palisades, where the famous director Stephen Spielberg and other celebrities live, he could no longer see the hills. Another pic shows the view he had that night.

David said yesterday, three days after the fires began: “Its been a tiring and emotional few days, first seeing from my apartment the fire erupt over Pacific Palisades, then monitoring the Watch Duty app for the progress of the fires and moving evacuation zones, checking in on friends and watching in horror when new fires start and as the devastation of existing fires is revealed.

"The magnitude of this event is only just coming into focus and the catastrophic damage is truly heartbreaking but the city is coming together and supporting each other. The air is bad and the smell of burning pervasive across the city but it will pass and the rebuilding will start. Thank you to all the firefighters who are putting their lives at risk 24/7.”

He added: “I am wishing for some rain, something I thought I would never say.”

Meanwhile firefighters are hoping for a break from fierce winds that have fuelled the massive blazes that have so far killed 10 people.

The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday.

Meteorologist Rich Thompson said he was expecting “a little respite on Saturday from the Santa Ana winds” but he added “then they’re going to pick up again Sunday through most of next week”.

Meanwhile Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said he would prosecute anyone looting, those flying drones in the wildfire zones, and those breaking the curfew “to the full extent of the law”.

“Looting is a despicable crime,” he said. “For the people who have already been arrested, please know this is not going to end well.”

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-150bn.

California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. Several weather monitoring agencies announced on Friday that Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024.

See Ben Lowry p11