Far from wildfire flames, residents of sunny Los Angeles go about their lives in disquiet and fear

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pedestrians shuffled by the famed Chateau Marmont hotel, customers queued up at Starbucks on Sunset Boulevard and car horns bleated at gridlocked intersections. But overhead, shadowing the usual bustling Los Angeles scene, a blackish dome of wildfire smoke turned daybreak into an eerie twilight.

Even beyond the reach of the flames from five wildfires, Los Angeles residents accustomed to radiant sunshine and balmy weather are living with disquiet and even fear. Across the city are reminders of nearby danger: Thumping helicopters overhead. Wildfire ash tumbling like snowflakes. A lingering whiff of smoke just about everywhere. The familiar crystalline sky turned ashen gray.

“It is otherworldly,” said Lydia Thelwell, a bartender visiting a hair salon where wildfire smoke could be seen from the front window. “You know it’s happening, but we just go on with our day."

The sprawling, congested city of nearly 4 million has always been disjointed, what's been called dozens of separate cities in search of a unified whole. It's not uncommon for temperatures in different neighborhoods to vary by as much as 30 degrees, with cooler days at the beach and desert-like communities in the San Fernando Valley.

But nearly everywhere now is the sense of nearby danger from the fires, with smoke coiling for miles across the sky. L.A. hasn't seen fires like these, especially in winter months, any time in recent memory.

For coffee shop manager Pascal Loza, it was business as usual, with long lines of customers waiting for lattes and paninis in the Studio City business.

“It's hard to feel scared when it's so far” in a distant neighborhood, he said. “It's something you learn to live with.”

Indeed, wildfires have long been part of living in L.A., where residents enjoy arguably the nation’s finest climate but accept the tradeoff of wildfires, earthquakes, and drought — and the uncertainty that comes with them.

“You’re in this disaster, and it’s nature. There’s no controlling what’s happening,” said Teddy Leonard, who with her husband Andy owns the landmark Reel Inn in Malibu, which was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire. Actor Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of 45 years in the same blaze.

Thousands of homes and a long list of iconic sites were destroyed. Will Rogers’ ranch house, which the movie star owned until his death in 1935, was destroyed, park officials said. Also lost, the historic Topanga Ranch Motel, built in 1929 and once owned by William Randolph Hearst. Another loss: popular film spot Palisades Charter High School, where the list of credits includes Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of “Carrie.”

In the hazy morning light at Runyon Canyon Park, scorched hillsides could be seen through the steel gates that mark the trailhead of the popular hiking spot. A red and yellow fire truck inched slowly up the denuded grade as sprinkles of wildfire ash floated to the ground.

This once-serene corner of Los Angeles is a playground for John Klay, a broad-shouldered local who works in private security and walks here daily. But like many, his sense of place has been badly shaken by days of wildfire that indiscriminately gutted neighborhoods of the wealthy and not, this time nearly at his doorstep.

“You watch disasters on TV — hurricanes, tsunamis, tornados,” he said. “You never consider that it will ever happen to you.”

“Yesterday was that wake-up call,” he said, referring to the Sunset Fire that burned across the park and the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening. “All the sudden, instantly, it happened.”

Klay didn’t think the fire could reach his apartment, but the traffic, panic and congestion of evacuating residents in his neighborhood “stressed me more.”

“There was so much chaos,” he said. “We didn’t know where to go.”

Smoke fills the sky from the Palisades Fire above the Chateau Marmont hotel near the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Crescent Heights Blvd. Wednesday morning, Jan. 8, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Michael Blood)

The Palisades Fire burns behind a sign for Will Rogers State Beach in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A person walks past a fire-ravaged property after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Thick heavy black smoke from wildfires shrouds buildings in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Topanga Canyon inhabitants look on as the Palisades Fire burns in the hills between Pacific Palisades and Malibu Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Topanga, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A resident hoses down hot spots in a fire-ravaged property after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

The sky is filled with smoke from multiple wildfires around the city skyline Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Visitors to the Santa Monica pier look out at smoke from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades blows over the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NBA postponed the Los Angeles Lakers’ home game against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area.

It was the second straight day a game slated to be played in downtown Los Angeles was postponed. The NHL's Los Angeles Kings were scheduled to host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

The dates for the rescheduled games have not been announced. The Kings said tickets for their postponed game against Calgary will be good for the rescheduled date.

Several major fires were burning in areas of the vast Los Angeles metroplex following two days of extraordinary winds. A major threat broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, close to the heart of the entertainment industry, but had been contained by Thursday morning.

Roughly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

The Los Angeles Rams sent out a statement to season ticket holders and fans Thursday morning reiterating that Monday night's NFC wild-card round postseason game against the Minnesota Vikings remains set to be played as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The NFL said Wednesday evening if the game had to be moved, it would take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the home of the Arizona Cardinals.

In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular-season game between the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, due to wildfires.

The Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers both train in areas not threatened by fires, but both teams are monitoring the air quality and its potential impact on their workouts.

The Chargers changed their practice schedule Wednesday to minimize their players’ outdoor time in coastal El Segundo. The Chargers are leaving after practice on Thursday for Houston and their AFC wild-card matchup against the Texans on Saturday.

Coach Jim Harbaugh had the Chargers’ offensive and defensive units practice separately to limit their time on the field. The air quality at the team’s complex was 185 on Wednesday. Anything above 150 is considered unhealthy.

The Rams held their first practice on Thursday but canceled their player media availability so everybody could go home quickly. Their headquarters are in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood located about 13 miles north of fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades but separated by the Santa Monica Mountains.

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard abruptly left the team before its game at Denver on Wednesday because of what the team described as personal reasons. Leonard bought a house in Pacific Palisades in 2021.

“You definitely have to take care of home. ... Totally had my support 100 percent,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Going back, checking on his family and kids, making sure they’re well. And he got back, and they’re doing OK, so just happy and thankful for that.”

The West Coast Conference postponed women's basketball games scheduled for Thursday night at Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Pepperdine was scheduled to face Portland at Firestone Field House on the school’s Malibu campus. Pepperdine canceled classes Wednesday, and access to its coastal campus was restricted.

Loyola Marymount had its game against San Diego postponed as a precautionary measure due to air quality concerns inside Gersten Pavilion while the facility is being renovated.

Santa Anita Park postponed Friday's racing program until Jan. 16 because of poor air quality forecast in Arcadia, near the Eaton Fire.

The California Horse Racing Board approved the rescheduling of the 10-race card, which will be run with the horses previously entered.

“While Santa Anita continues to remain well outside of any active fire area, the smoke from the wildfires is affecting all of Los Angeles County,” track general manager Nate Newby said. “We also want to respect the impact that this tragedy has had on many of our community, including our horsemen and women and our own Santa Anita team, who have been devastated by these fires.”

A decision on Saturday and Sunday's racing will be made Friday.

The track was handing out N-95 masks to all backstretch and frontside workers as well as protective eyewear because of the smoke.

The PGA Tour has not decided whether to play the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, scheduled for Feb. 13-16.

Riviera, which will host golf in the 2028 Olympics, is in the Pacific Palisades community and was part of the evacuation order. In a memo to players Thursday, the tour said the course was not directly affected by the fire. Golf tournaments require building hospitality tents around the course.

Tiger Woods is the host of the tournament, a signature event with a $20 million purse.

Ali Riley, a defender for Angel City in the National Women's Soccer League who also plays for the New Zealand national team, said her family's home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

Riley posted a photo on Instagram of the devastated neighborhood with an arrow pointing to where the house once stood.

"I was there Monday night eating dinner. Hanging with mom and dad. Watched the sunset," she wrote. “And now it's gone forever.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, left, walks on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dribbles during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A structure is burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A beach front property is damaged by the Palisades Fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)