LONDON (AP) — Serious flooding swamped parts of England and snow forced three airports to close temporarily Tuesday as wet and icy weather that was expected to last another day combined to extend travel chaos that has plagued the U.K. since the start of the year.
Swaths of the Midlands in England were under water and more than 200 flood warnings were in place at one point as rivers overflowed and continued to inundate villages and drown farmland.
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A car sits in the floods of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
Flooded fields are seen in Glen Parva, Leicester, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
A tent sits in the floods of the river Soar at the caravan parks in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
The Little Venice caravan park is seen surrounded by rising flood water in Yalding, Kent, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
A man wearing waders carries a dog at The Little Venice caravan park, surrounded by rising flood water, in Yalding, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, as weather warnings were issued across much of the UK. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Flooded fields are seen in Glen Parva, Leicester, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Firemen help residents in the flooded area of Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
A view of flooding around Pulborough in West Sussex, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Flooded banks of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
A car sits in the floods of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
Caravans and cars sit in the floods of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
A severe flood warning indicating life-threatening conditions was issued for the River Soar in Leicestershire where several trailer parks sit on the flood plain. Aerial photos showed mobile homes in Barrow Upon Soar surrounded by muddy waters and a car sunken up to its windows.
Several train lines and major roads were also closed because of wet and icy conditions as snow and ice caused disruptions in northern England and Scotland.
Airport runways in Manchester and Liverpool in northwest England, and Aberdeen in northeast Scotland, had to close for part of the morning while crews cleared snow.
Since Monday, dozens of people have been rescued from flooded homes and stranded cars in the Midlands, and hundreds of schools were closed for the first days of classes this year in northern areas of the U.K.
Duaa Abdulal said she was stuck upstairs with her mother and sister in Loughborough, Leicestershire after a repeat event of flooding that damaged the home a year ago.
“Thankfully, today we managed to get everything upstairs when we got the flood warning," Abdulal said. “We’re still recovering from last year, actually, we haven’t finished refurbishing the house, so it’s stressful.”
Much of Britain has been hit by strong winds and periods of precipitation that struck before New Year's Day and snuffed out several fireworks displays and other celebrations. Several communities have faced significant flooding since the start of the year.
The body of a man found in a flooded area near the River Aire in northern England was informally identified and North Yorkshire police said they were seeking his family.
A car sits in the floods of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
Flooded fields are seen in Glen Parva, Leicester, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
A tent sits in the floods of the river Soar at the caravan parks in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
The Little Venice caravan park is seen surrounded by rising flood water in Yalding, Kent, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
A man wearing waders carries a dog at The Little Venice caravan park, surrounded by rising flood water, in Yalding, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, as weather warnings were issued across much of the UK. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Flooded fields are seen in Glen Parva, Leicester, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Firemen help residents in the flooded area of Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
A view of flooding around Pulborough in West Sussex, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Flooded banks of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
A car sits in the floods of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
Caravans and cars sit in the floods of the river Soar in Barrow Upon Soar, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Darren Staples)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as the fires burned uncontained early Wednesday.
The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents — one as old as 102 — waited there in their bedclothes as the night sky glowed red from flames and embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.
Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin' USA.” In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.
The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.
Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.
“We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” Trainor said. “People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming."
A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation.
Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph (97 kph) in some places Tuesday, increasing to 70 miles an hour (112 kph) by early Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. They could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.
The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.
Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X early Wednesday that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. “Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives,” Newsom said.
The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help reimburse California for the firefighting cost.
Officials didn't give an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but they said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned.
The fire burned down Temescal Canyon, a popular hiking area surrounded by dense neighborhoods of multimillion-dollar homes. Flames jumped famous Sunset Boulevard and burned parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie,” the 2003 remake of “Freaky Friday” and the TV series “Teen Wolf.”
By evening the flames had spread into neighboring Malibu and several people there were being treated for burn injuries and a firefighter had a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.
By early Wednesday, the Eaton fire, which started around 6:30 p.m. the day before, had quickly burned 1.6 square miles (4 square kilometers), according to fire officials. The Hurst fire jumped to 500 acres (202 hectares) and the Palisades fire, which started around around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and sent up a dramatic plume of smoke visible across Los Angeles, had destroyed 4.5 square miles (11.6 square kilometers) according to Angeles National Forest. The fires were at 0% containment as of early Wednesday.
“By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” Newsom warned residents, saying the worst of the winds were expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday. He declared a state of emergency.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 200,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us, due to the strong winds.
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May.
The neighborhood, which borders Malibu about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown LA, includes hillside streets of tightly packed homes along winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretches down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
Long-time Palisades resident Will Adams said he immediately went to pick his two kids up from St. Matthews Parish School when he heard the fire was nearby. Meanwhile, he said embers flew into his wife's car as she tried to evacuate.
“She vacated her car and left it running,” Adams said. She and many other residents walked down toward the ocean until it was safe.
Adams said he had never witnessed anything like this in the 56 years he’s lived there. He watched as the sky turned brown and then black as homes started burning. He could hear loud popping and bangs “like small explosions,” which he said he believes were the transformers exploding.
“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” Adams said.
Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the homes.
“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.
Some trees and vegetation on the grounds of the Getty Villa were burned by late Tuesday, but staff and the museum collection remain safe, Getty President Katherine Fleming said in a statement. The museum located on the eastern end of the Pacific Palisades is a separate campus of the world-famous Getty Museum that focuses on the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The fire also burned Palisades Charter High School.
Film studios canceled two movie premieres due to the fire and windy weather, and the Los Angeles Unified School District said it temporarily relocated students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area.
Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers Janie Har in San Francisco, Hallie Golden in Seattle, video journalist Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles, Ethan Swope in Pasadena and Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.
Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Eaton Fire burns a structure Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Eaton Fire burns the AltaMed Medical building Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter is silhouetted in front of a burning structure as the Palisades Fire sweeps through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Eaton Fire burns vehicles and structures Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Eaton Fire burns a residence Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A swimmer watches as a large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A surfer takes off on a wave in Santa Monica, Calif., during sunset under a blackened sky from the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Surfers Shaun Rosenberg, right, and Teal Greene take to the waves under a blackened sky from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades, during the sunset in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighters make a stand in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Will Adams uses a garden hose to keep flames from damaging his home as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A person flees from an advancing wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A vehicle burns as the Palisades Fire sweeps through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
People wait with some belongings while fleeing the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Palisades Fire burns trees and homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A person tries to hose down embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE - The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter hoses down flames from the Palisades Fire in front of a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter protects a structure from the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Will Adams watches as flames from the Palisades Fire close in on his property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Fire crews battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE - The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A residence burns as a firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Firefighters hose down flames as the Palisades Fire destroys a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Vehicles are left stranded off the side of the road after residents tried to flee from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A resident stands in front of a garage as fire crews fight the Palisades Fire nearby in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
