Multiple wildfires have broken out across Southern California this week and over 30,000 residents have been forced to evacuate. Here’s what meeting and event planners in the area need to know about the fires and how they could impact current and future events in Southern California.
The largest and most destructive of the fires began in Palisades on Tuesday, with the Los Angeles County fire chief saying January 8 the blaze has only continued to grow with little containment and has destroyed over 1,000 structures and burned over 5,000 acres, with threats to more than 28,000 structures in the area.
Other fires have also broken out across Southern California, including the Eaton and Hurst fires, which have burned more than 1,000 and 500 acres, respectively. Officials say the fires have been difficult to contain due to high Santa Ana winds that have reached speeds of up to 100 mph in some areas, causing the delayed takeoff of firefighting aircraft. The Eaton fire has also been linked to at least two deaths in the area and multiple injuries, including burns, smoke inhalation and eye injuries.
At least 245,000 residents are also without power in Los Angeles County as the fires continue to spread with little containment. Officials are urging residents to follow evacuation orders, with the fires’ destruction only expected to increase due to the difficulty of containing the destruction.
Air and Ground Travel Delays
As of January 8, there have been over 90 flight cancellations and over 80 delays from LAX as the fires make air travel conditions next to impossible.
United Airlines issued travel waivers to passengers booked on flights departing Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) between January 7 and 9. The waivers will allow passengers to reschedule their flights with no fees or price differences as some flights coming into Burbank were forced to divert to LAX due to smoke from the fires.
Other flights have been impacted, too, including a Southwest Airlines flight that was diverted to Las Vegas, along with reports of increased turbulence due to high wind speeds.
There have also been major traffic jams and ground travel delays, including a traffic jam on Palisades Drive that prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and the Pacific Coast Highway being completely shut down, according to a post on X by the California Department of Transportation. There are also numerous other road closures across Los Angeles County as people abandon their cars amid evacuation orders and high winds.
Closures and Evacuations
Universal Studios announced that its locations in California, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk, would be closed on Wednesday, January 8 due to the fires. Additionally, many other buildings that are typically used for meetings and events have been transformed into evacuation centers, the most notable being the Pasadena Convention Center being converted into an evacuation shelter.
You can find a full list of all of the current mandatory and recommended evacuation orders here.
Resources for Meeting Planners
Wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters can majorly impact meetings and events, especially in hubs like Los Angeles. If your event might be impacted by this event, or you want to stay prepared for future events, take note of the following resources:
- Follow CAL FIRE and the Los Angeles Fire Department for evacuation updates and fire incident data.
- Brush up on risk management tips and strategies.
- Review important contract clauses and considerations like force majeure and others in our recent webinar.
- Check Discover Los Angeles’ website for venue closures, emergency numbers and additional resources.
