Eaton fire, Palisades fire as seen from space: Satellite images

The wind-blown fires sweeping over large swaths of Los Angeles County have destroyed at least 1,000 structures and caused thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Two people have been confirmed dead.

New satellite images help to form a clearer timeline of the chaos as three major blazes erupted: the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires.

11 a.m. Tuesday — Palisades fire is visible from space

(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Los Angeles Fire Department officials first put out word of a brush fire in Pacific Palisades on X at 10:41 a.m. A little more than two hours later, the fire had ballooned in size and was visible from space.

The video below from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (CIRRA and NOAA) shows the fire growing and sending a plume of smoke out over the Pacific Ocean.

4 p.m. Tuesday — Palisades fire expands as the sun sets

(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

As the sun began to set over Los Angeles on Tuesday, a trail of smoke from the Palisades fire was visible over the Pacific.

Evacuation orders throughout the Palisades had been in effect for several hours.

7 p.m. Tuesday — Eaton fire is visible from space

The Palisades and Eaton fires are shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Angeles National Forest officials announced that the service’s firefighters were responding along with Los Angeles County Fire to a brush fire near Eaton Canyon in Altadena at 6:38 p.m.

The outbreak of multiple major fires would stretch first responders: At 6:26 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department announced that all off-duty members should call in with their availability to be recalled.

By 7 p.m., the Eaton fire was visible from space. At 7:25, evacuation orders went out on X.

As the night continued, CIRA video showed the two fires expanding.

11 p.m. Tuesday — Hurst fire becomes visible

(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

With officials already scrambling to handle two major fires, a third blaze erupted near Sylmar as winds howled.

The Los Angeles Fire Department sent out an alert at 10:31 p.m. about a brush fire in Sylmar. It would be renamed the Hurst fire shortly thereafter.

The three fires were first seen from space at 11 Tuesday night, and would all be visible until morning.

9 a.m. Wednesday — Palisades and Eaton fires rage on in daylight

(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

By daybreak, the two bigger fires — Palisades and Eaton — had grown significantly, fueled by high wind gusts throughout the night.

They cast smoke over much of Los Angeles, worsening air quality across a broad swath of the city, and the smoke trail could be seen out over the Pacific Ocean.

1 p.m. Wednesday — Smoke blows out over the Pacific

Satellite image shows smoke from fires in Los Angeles blowing out over the Pacific Ocean at 1 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2025

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Hurst fire had burned 505 acres, the Eaton fire 10,600 acres and the Palisades fire 15,832 acres.

With high winds expected to continue into the evening, officials warned that the emergency was not yet under control.