Cheaper labour and better tax breaks have lured producers away from the City of Angels for years. The wildfires, which killed at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes, have only added to this existential crisis.

Now, many here are calling on the state – and studios and streaming services – to boost local production.

“The best thing the studios could do for fire relief is to bring work back for the rank and file LA film workers,” says Mark Worthington, a production designer whose home burned down in Altadena.

“That’s what we want.”

Mr Worthington had already been struggling to cope with the city’s downturn, noting he hadn’t set foot on an LA set in two years. Covid, labour strikes, and the inevitable end of the streaming boom had led many producers to try and save costs by skipping town – sometimes leaving the country altogether.

Productions in the US decreased 26% last year compared to pre-strike levels in 2022, according to ProdPro, which tracks global production. In Australia and New Zealand, production was up 14% and in the UK it was up nearly 1%, with Canada up 2.8%.

The loss clearly stings. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band synonymous with Los Angeles, with many love songs to the City of Angels. But a biopic about the band is being filmed in Atlanta, Georgia – which has become a major production hub due to its lucrative tax breaks – not LA.

Before the fires, “Survive until ’25” had become a kind of mantra for Mr Worthington and other filmmakers who hoped for a turnaround of fortune. Instead, their city went up in flames.

“It’s crushing in terms of how you see yourself as a creative individual and just as a person, and then on top of that to have these fires,” Mr Worthington says. “This is adding a horrible other thing to pile on top of all the other difficulties and our own work situation over the last couple years.”

Hollywood’s studios and streaming services have donated more than $70m (£56m) to fire relief efforts and have turned the glitzy awards season parties and red carpets typical this time of year into major fundraisers.

Many say these efforts are not enough and that Hollywood’s biggest companies need to commit to filming in LA.

But studios don’t often make business decisions based on the greater good of workers in one city – ultimately, they care about the bottom line. The reality is LA is expensive and the vast majority of industry jobs here are union protected – so they come with high salaries and expensive health care and pensions.

Studios are, however, very responsive to A-list actors.

Megastar Vin Diesel helped ensure Universal Pictures would finish filming the latest Fast and Furious movie in Los Angeles.

“LA really, really, really needs production to help rebuild,” Diesel said in an Instagram post.

“Los Angeles is where Fast and Furious started filming 25 years ago… and now Fast will finally return home.”

Nearly 20,000 people – including actors Keanu Reeves, Zooey Deschanel and Kevin Bacon – have signed a “Stay in LA” petition urging the state’s leaders to temporarily remove caps on production tax incentives for LA County.

It’s part of a grassroots campaign started by director Sarah Adina Smith and other filmmakers who want California to use its emergency powers to boost tax incentives for the next three years to make filming in LA more affordable and help heal Los Angeles. They also want studios to commit to making 10% more productions in Los Angeles.

“We need to bring production back to LA and get LA working again if we want to rebuild,” says Ms Smith.

Before the fires, California Gov Newsom had already proposed to more than double the tax credit the state offers to producers of films and TV shows that shoot in California – changing the annual credit from $330m to $750m, but that must be approved by the state legislature and might not come into effect until the summer.

He says the incentives are good for the economy and that California’s programme has generated more than $26bn in economic activity and supported more than 197,000 cast and crew jobs across the state.

If passed, the subsidy would be the most generous offered by any US state except Georgia, which doesn’t have a cap on the amount it gives to productions per year. Stay in LA wants the cap lifted now.

President Donald Trump has also said he plans to make Hollywood great again with the help of actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, who have been tapped to be “special ambassadors” for “troubled Hollywood”.

It’s not yet clear what they have in mind – they did not agree to an interview – but several executives said the instability caused by the Trump administration’s trade wars make risk-averse Hollywood studios nervous. The Canadian dollar recently hit 22-year lows making Canada even more attractive to Hollywood.

On a rainy day more than a month after the fires, Mr Worthington, the production designer, and his partner Mindy Elliott, a film editor, inspected the remains of their home, wishing they’d taken some of their art when they evacuated. They marvelled that a cactus was regrowing next to where their SUV had melted.

“If only we’d had this rain in January,” says Ms Elliott.

Although he is critical that the tax breaks amount to “corporate welfare” for behemoth companies, Mr Worthington says they are a necessary evil if LA wants to compete – both Australia and the UK now have more lucrative tax breaks than California.

Ms Smith, the co-founder of Stay in LA, likens the decline of Hollywood productions to the fall of Detroit, whose once formidable automotive industry collapsed, leaving much of the city desolate and impoverished.

“Once you ruin that infrastructure and that legacy, it’s not so easy to build it back again,” she says. “If we let Hollywood die, it could be for good.”

Others think it’s naïve to think that any incentives will usher in a new Golden Age of Hollywood.

Pointing out the melted remains of what used to be his piano and his drum set in the music studio of his incinerated Topanga Canyon home, composer Matthew Ferraro wipes away tears for what he and his wife have lost.

His once spectacular hilltop home is now rubble and ash and Ferraro says he’s still in shock, consumed with thoughts of where he will sleep on Tuesday, rather than his future in LA.

“I think it’s wishful thinking for people who are still in love with, like yesteryear’s dream of Hollywood, but that’s just not how it works anymore,” says Ferraro, who composed music for The Incredibles and The Minority Report among others.

About a mile away, Jamie Morse’s home also burned. Topanga Canyon has always attracted artists, musicians and dreamers – and Morse had just quit her sensible day job to devote 2025 to making it in Hollywood, working fulltime on her comedic writing and performing.

She laughs when asked about the terrible timing – and says she’s grieving along with everyone else in LA, but remains hopeful.

“Whether they’re performers or studio execs – people love this city,” says Ms Morse, who now sleeps at friends’ homes or in her car with her dog between comedy gigs or classes with her improv troupe, The Groundlings.

Ms Morse wishes she’d taken more sentimental things when she evacuated with her dog, like a Toronto Blue Jays T-shirt which reminded her of her grandfather and her native Canada. But she’s astonished that some of her notebooks and journals survived with some of her comedy writing intact.

“Where an entire stone table is, is in pieces, is like, absolutely decimated, melted,” she said. “But pieces of paper survived… It’s truly unbelievable.”

Does she think it’s fate? A sign that she is meant to make it in Hollywood?

“I’m choosing to believe that this is a sign,” she says, adding that there will be “beautiful, creative things to come out of this very, very crappy time.”

The blazes – named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 – flared up on Thursday in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside.

Firefighters have made progress in bringing the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles under control, containing it by 36% since it broke out on Wednesday.

Fires have devastated the US state over the last few weeks, with the Palisades and Eaton fires scorching a combined total of more than 37,000 acres and killing at least 28 people.

This is the current state of the fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire):

• The Border 2 fire in San Diego spans 800 acres. Evacuation orders are currently in place
• The Laguna blaze in Ventura covers 94 acres and 70% of it has been brought under control
• The Sepulveda fire in Los Angeles spans 45 acres and is 60% contained. In an update posted on X, the Los Angeles Fire Department said they had stopped the blaze from spreading and evacuation orders had been lifted
• The Gibbel fire erupted in Riverside County, covering 15 acres. Fire crews have managed to stop the fire from progressing
• A bush fire dubbed Gilman in San Diego covers two acres, but the blaze’s progress has been stopped

Trump is set to visit Los Angeles on Friday to examine the wildfire damage, days after his inauguration.

He has been critical of the response to the fires, threatening to withhold federal assistance if California fails to alter the way it manages water supplies.

Trump has pointed the finger of blame at California Governor Gavin Newsom and repeatedly made claims that the state had water issues because it diverted supplies to save a small fish called a smelt.

When asked by US media if he would cut off funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Trump said: “I might have to do that. Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do. California’s a great example of it.

“If you actually poll the people, they don’t want sanctuary cities, but Gavin Newsom does. And these radical left politicians do.”

Brian Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hopes Trump does not deny the state federal aid.

“The most important focus we have is getting federal aid into California, into these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes,” he said.

“In the history of this country, federal disaster aid has never been tied to if you do this, you get that. This is the discussion that’s going on, it’s never happened.”

Governor Newsom on Thursday announced a $2.5bn (£2bn) state-level aid package to deal with the fire damage.

The Hughes fire – the third largest blaze in the state after the Palisades and Eaton fires – forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate after it broke out on Wednesday.

According to Cal Fire, crews managed to make progress in containing the fast-moving blaze on Thursday.

Los Angeles is under an elevated fire risk area today with brisk winds, according to BBC Weather.

Rain is expected over the weekend in the county, as well as snow up in the mountains of southern California.

However, while this will aid firefighting efforts, there are concerns that it could also cause flooding and dislodge debris from the fires, creating mudslides.

Specialist crews have been working to try and secure burned areas, while sandbags and other flood prevention supplies have been handed out to locals so that they can protect their properties.

Twenty-three people died in 2018 when mudslides hit the California town of Montecito, one of the areas that had recently been affected by the Thomas Fire.

The visit, coming at the end of Trump’s first week back in office, is taking place as he continues to denounce the state emergency response being led by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom – one of Trump’s fiercest critics.

Despite their political rivalry, Newsom greeted Trump on the tarmac as he emerged from Air Force One, arriving from North Carolina where he toured damage from Hurricane Helene, which rocked the western part of the state in September.

Trump’s visit comes as new fires erupt in southern California, and local officials continue to contend with dry and windy weather conditions that favour fire growth.

Speaking to reporters after shaking hands with Newsom, Trump said: “I appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me”.

“We want to get it fixed,” he continued, telling Newsom that aftermath looks “like you got hit by a bomb”.

Newsom, who Trump has nicknamed “Newscum”, then thanked Trump for coming to visit, telling him: “We’re going to need your support, we’re going to need your help”.

The new blazes – named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 – flared up on Thursday in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside – all in southern California.

Firefighters have made progress in bringing the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles under control, containing it by 56% since it broke out on Wednesday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

Fires have devastated the US state over the last few weeks, with the Palisades and Eaton fires scorching a combined total of more than 37,000 acres and killing at least 28 people. Multiple neighbourhoods have been levelled, leaving more than 10,000 homes and businesses in ashes.

Governor Newsom on Thursday announced a $2.5bn (£2bn) state-level aid package to deal with the fire damage.

Trump has been critical of the response to the California fires, threatening to withhold federal assistance unless the state does not change its water laws and implement laws requiring an ID to vote in elections.

“After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen,” Trump said.

California does not usually require ID to vote but does to register to vote.

Newsom’s office said in a statement on social media that: “Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong”.

Brian Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hopes Trump does not deny the state federal aid.

“The most important focus we have is getting federal aid into California, into these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes,” he said.

The city is set to host both the 2028 Summer Olympics and Fifa World Cup matches in 2026 – two global events that will thrust the Los Angeles region into the spotlight.

Trump has also been critical of the work done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) – which is tasked with responding to such disasters – under the Biden administration.

He has suggested getting rid of the agency and letting US states manage disasters in their jurisdictions.

During his remarks to reporters on Friday in North Carolina, he said “Fema was not doing their jobs” in that state.

He noted that some residents still don’t have power or hot water and it was “totally unacceptable”.

Los Angeles is under an elevated fire risk area today with brisk winds, according to BBC Weather.

Rain is expected over the weekend in the county, as well as snow up in the mountains of southern California.

However, while this will aid firefighting efforts, there are concerns that it could also cause flooding and dislodge debris from the fires, creating mudslides.

Specialist crews have been working to try and secure burned areas, while sandbags and other flood prevention supplies have been handed out to locals so that they can protect their properties.

Twenty-three people died in 2018 when mudslides hit the California town of Montecito, one of the areas that had recently been affected by the Thomas Fire.

Fire crews have reported an increase in the public sharing images of fires before they are aware of them.

Members of the public were posting on local Facebook groups asking about “alarms sounding, smoke in an area or even small fires”, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said.

A station manager at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue described it as a “worrying” trend.

Dave Andrews, station manager for fire control at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “The concern is that if an incident isn’t reported to us it could escalate into something worse.”

But Mr Andrews said he thought the behaviour was because the public did not want to put extra strain on emergency services.

“You see reports in the news about everyone being stretched, however I’d like to instil the message that we are there for you.

He added it had been “slightly worrying” to see potential incidents on Facebook before the service had been alerted.

“If you do see a fire, hear an alarm sounding, just give us a call on 999 and we will respond. We’re there for you 24/7.

“They may think ‘Oh it’s just a bonfire we don’t want to bother anyone’, however we’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Thea Creasy, originally from Southwold, in Suffolk, has worked with horses for the past 30 years.

She moved to LA two decades ago and found herself caught up in the recent wildfires that have so far left 27 people dead and have destroyed more than 10,000 homes and properties.

Ms Creasy feared many of the rescued horses were now left without homes and faced long waits in evacuation centres.

Last Wednesday, Ms Creasy worked to rescue a friend’s horses near the Palisades area that had been blocked off for safety reasons.

While they had requested for permission from officials, they were denied access which Ms Creasy said was “very distressing”.

They took matters into their own hands finding other routes around the area and, despite being first mistaken for looters, they got to the horses and got them out as they watched smoke rise above a nearby hillside, Ms Creasy said.

They reached an evacuation centre in the Valley area, but it did not have space for the horses, as first reported by The Telegraph.

As they discussed where to go next, Ms Creasy said her “phone started going crazy”.

“I got all these texts and calls and another fire had started, this was the Kenneth fire which was affecting Calabasas,” she said.

“This was directly next to a street that I work on as a horse trainer that had several of my clients on.”

Ms Creasy believed there were about 100 horses that needed to be rescued here and she used social media to request help from others with trailers.

“The horse community in California is unbelievable, people just show up, everyone steps up,” she continued.

“It’s not just me doing this, I didn’t single handedly do this. It’s an incredible community of people.”

“As we got on to the freeway we could just see this massive cloud of black smoke and that’s when I really started to panic,” she continued.

“We had to get there as quickly as we could, sometimes these fires move so incredibly fast with these wind speeds.

“You really don’t have that much time.”

Ms Creasy said when they got to the street she found horse owners who “looked completely panicked” and were unsure if their horses had been saved.

However, they had no issues with any of the horses and none “caused a fuss” meaning they were able to evacuate them all.

Ms Creasy said there were now hundreds of horses and thousands of other animals without homes.

She added she would be volunteering at some of the centres to help support these animals.

The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles north-west of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The blaze grew to more than 9,200 acres in several hours on Wednesday, fuelled by winds and dry brush. No homes or businesses have been damaged, and fire officials expressed confidence about getting the blaze under control.

The new fire is located north of the two mammoth blazes – which are still burning – that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.

Local news showed residents near the Hughes fire hosing down their homes and gardens with water and others rushing to evacuate neighbourhoods.

Orange flames lined the mountains as aircraft dropped water and flame retardant.

The region is once again under a red flag warning, which cautions of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low-humid conditions.

Winds in the area were blowing around 20 to 30mph (32 to 48km), but could pick up, which would fan the blaze and make it harder for air crews to operate.

About 31,000 people in the area are under a mandatory evacuation order and another 23,000 have been warned they may have to flee, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. A jail in the area was evacuating nearly 500 inmates at the facility, he added.

The fire continued to grow as the sun set, but Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said he believed crews were making progress.

“The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” he said.

Chief Marrone explained how different this fire is compared to the Palisades and Eaton fires, which killed at least 28 people and decimated more than 10,000 homes and businesses earlier this month.

He said it was a mix of lower winds – unlike the 70 to 90mph winds seen during the previous fires – and having so many helicopters and planes able to fight the blaze from above.

“I think that we’ve all been on edge over the last 16 days,” he said. “We were able to amass a lot of fire resources early on to change what this fire looks like.”

Ed Fletcher, who works for Cal Fire – California’s statewide fire agency – told the BBC that this fire was different than those earlier this month. The winds are not as strong yet, he said, and there are a lot of crews trying to tame the flames.

“It’s super dry and we know it will be increasingly windy later,” he said. “We’ll know more in a few hours.”

Mr Fletcher noted the area is not highly populated and current winds are blowing the fire toward Castaic Lake, which is acting as a buffer between the Castaic area – home to about 20,000 residents.

“If it jumps the lake,” he said, “it becomes a much more dynamic situation.”

One woman who evacuated her home told NBC 4 that she was stuck on Interstate 5, California’s primary transportation highway that runs through the state. Parts of the interstate in the area had been closed due to the fire.

“It looked like a cloud, but as you got close, it looked like we were driving into hell,” she said of the dark smoke and red flames she saw. “It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you.”

She acknowledged being on edge after watching the Palisades and Eaton fires burn nearby.

“I don’t know why they keep popping up,” she said. “It’s definitely a scary time in this area.”

Two other fires ignited Wednesday farther south near San Diego and Oceanside, officials said.

They are both smaller – 85 acres for the Lilac fire near Oceanside and 3.9 acres for the Center fire – but were burning in populated areas. Fire crews appeared to have a handle on both of the blazes and evacuation orders had been mostly lifted.

Dana Dierkes, a spokesperson for the Angeles National Forest, noted the winds and dry brush have made these recent fires much harder to fight.

“We don’t have a fire season in California. We have a fire year,” she said. “We’ve had wildfires in January before, but it’s exacerbated by the Santa Ana winds. The wind is a huge factor when we’ve had such a dry year.”

Rain is in the weekend forecast in the region, a welcome bit of news to douse the fire threat. But the rainfall is bringing new fears in the form of mudslides, flooding and landslides.

Areas touched by the recent fires are particularly at risk because torched grounds aren’t as absorbent.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday to help free up resources for flood and landslide preparation after the fires.

Crews have been filling thousands of sandbags for danger areas.