7,500 firefighters now deployed to battle fires, Newsom says

More than 7,500 firefighters had been deployed to battle the series of wildfires in California as of Wednesday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post to X.

Firefighters operate as smoke and flames rise from the Sunset Fire in the hills overlooking the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 8, 2025.
David Swanson/Reuters

Firefighting personnel are “working with local and federal partners to respond to California’s ongoing historic wildfires,” he said.

“Southern California residents — please remain vigilant tonight,” Newsom added. “Listen to local officials and be ready to evacuate if you’re near impacted areas.

373,000 without power in California

At least 373,472 customers were without power across California on Wednesday night as emergency services battled major wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Water is dropped by helicopter on the burning Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, on Jan. 8, 2025.
Ethan Swope/AP

Los Angeles County is the worst affected, with 207,857 customers disconnected as of 11:15 p.m. PT, according to poweroutage.us.

Another 65,186 customers were without power in Ventura County, 45,664 in Riverside County and 32,826 in San Bernardino County.

Orange County had 7,358 customers without power as of Wednesday night, while 10,805 were disconnected in San Diego County.