Is It Safe To Travel To LA Right Now? Latest Advice Following Wildfires, Canada Reviews

The sprawling metropolis which is Los Angeles has bags of variety packed in, whether you’re hiking up to the Griffith Observatory or having a gander along Sunset Boulevard, gorging on food at Grand Central Market or taking a trip back to the silver screen era at the Academy Museum. 

However, parts of California’s largest city are being scorched by wildfires right now, which have raged through western LA due to strong winds. Tens of thousands have been evacuated, but flights to LAX remain unaffected, so here is everything you need to know if you have a trip booked.  

Is it safe to travel to Los Angeles?  

Most of LA’s most popular tourist destinations, including Beverly Hills and Downtown LA, have not been affected. But wildfires are rapidly spreading through other areas of northwest LA, fuelled by powerful, 60mph Santa Ana winds, low humidity and extremely dry vegetation. The original cause is still under investigation, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

As of lunchtime on Wednesday, January 8, 30,000 people have been evacuated and 300,000 energy customers are currently left without power. 1,400 firefighting personnel have been deployed, and 19 school districts, plus the Malibu campus of Pepperdine University, are closed. 

‘By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,’ governor Gavin Newsom said on January 7, according to the Independent. ‘I saw first-hand the impact of these swirling winds and the embers and the number of structures that were destroyed.’

Which areas are affected by the wildfires in LA? 

There are several wildfires that emergency services are trying to contain right now, the first of which was in the Pacific Palisades. The Eaton fire (which increased from 400 acres to over 1000 in less than 24 hours) is scorching Altadena, Pasadena, Arcadia and Sierra Madre, whereas the Hurst Fire (roughly 500 acres) is spreading through Sylmar, a suburban neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley. 

A mandatory evacuation order was put in place for the area between Piedra Morada Drive and the Pacific Coast Highway due to the conditions, and parts of Santa Monica are now being evacuated too. 

The other issue is smoke. The New York Times has a page with several live maps of the fires, and smoke is predicted to spread all the way to southern LA. 

Have flights been cancelled? 

LAS is around 30 km south of Pacific Palisades, and though lots of highways and other major roads have been closed (there’s more info about these below), including the Pacific Coast Highway between the McClure Tunnel and the Topanga Canyon, the majority of arriving and departing flights have continued as normal, according to FlightRadar24. 

What is the UK Foreign Office saying? 

The FCDO has updated its travel advice page for the USA with the following message: ‘Fast-spreading wildfires are currently active within Los Angeles County. You should monitor local media and follow the advice of the local authorities. More detailed information can be found on CAL FIRE. If you are in need of consular assistance, you should call +1 310 789 0031 or visit Emergency help.  In the UK, call +44 (0) 20 7008 5000.’

What are your rights if you’ve booked a trip to LA? 

If you’re looking to cancel or reschedule your trip, you will need to contact your travel insurance provider directly to see what can be done – but it’s unlikely you’ll be eligible to get your money back, as travelling to LA has not been advised against by the government. 

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