Nearly 7,000 Angelenos Evacuated As Canyon Fire Grows; Another 14,000 Warned To Be Ready To Leave

Thousands are being forced to evacuate in Southern California as an explosive wildfire grows rapidly, fueled by extreme heat and dry conditions. The Canyon Fire started Thursday afternoon and has spread quickly across more than 5,000 acres. It’s now moving east in Los Angeles County. Evacuation orders in northern Los Angeles County and Ventura County affected more than 4,000 people on Thursday and 2,700 on Friday, and an additional 14,000 residents have been warned to prepare to evacuate, according to officials. The fire was 25 percent contained as of Friday morning.

“The #CanyonFire is spreading fast,” wrote LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on X on Thursday. She added that residents should “take evacuation orders seriously — when first responders say GO, leave immediately.” This wildfire is the latest in a string in recent weeks that have blazed across North America and Europe, causing destruction and sending toxic smoke hundreds of miles afield. Climate change, largely caused by the continued burning of fossil fuels, is spawning more severe and deadly wildfires because heat and swings between rain and drought create dangerous conditions.

More than 5,120 wildfires have burned through the state this year, causing 31 direct fatalities, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. That includes the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires in January, and a study released this week found that they likely contributed to more than 400 deaths. The Gifford Fire, the state’s largest fire this year, is still burning in Central California with nearly 100,000 acres scorched and ongoing evacuation orders.

Nationwide, more than 42,000 wildfires have cut a swath through 3.6 million acres across the country since the start of 2025. Thirty-nine large fires are currently blazing, including the Dragon Bravo fire in the Grand Canyon, which has been burning for more than a month and has spread over more than 126,000 acres—the equivalent of Washington, D.C., three times over.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08082025/los-angeles-canyon-wildfire/