Air Traffic Disrupted as Wildfires Continue to Rage in Southern California

FAA has established several temporary flight restrictions in the region to protect aircraft involved in the firefighting operations.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, January 09, 2025 at 02:48 PM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

[Courtesy: Los Angeles County Fire Department]

Key Takeaways:

Extensive aerial and ground firefighting efforts are underway in Southern California, aided by calmer winds, with over 7,500 personnel and numerous aircraft deployed.
Future high winds up to 60 mph pose a significant threat to containment efforts, as major fires like the Palisades and Eaton fires remain largely uncontained.
The wildfires have severely impacted aviation, leading to FAA temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) and disruptions at multiple commercial airports, resulting in flight waivers and canceled in-flight services.
The fires have caused massive evacuations (180,000 people), destroyed over 1,000 structures, and resulted in at least five confirmed deaths, with concerns for more.

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Calming winds allowed aerial firefighters to deploy in Southern California late Wednesday as wildfires continued to plague the region.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the agency was able to utilize 12 helicopters and six airplanes to support the more than 1,100 firefighters assigned to the containment efforts. Several western states are also sending fire personnel, trucks, and aircraft to help combat the fires, officials said.