Deadly fires in LA lead to office closures for major game studios as tens of thousands evacuate

Los Angeles-based game developers are reacting to multiple severe wildfires that overwhelmed LA County firefighters on Tuesday and spread across thousands of acres in the most populous county in the United States, including the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near Santa Monica where Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, and other studios have offices.

"Employee safety and well-being is our top priority," an Activision spokesperson told PC Gamer on Wednesday morning. "We're actively monitoring the situation as it is quickly evolving. We've been in contact with the employees closest to the impacted areas to confirm their safety and provide resources."

Along with the 15,000+ acre Palisades Fire, the Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley spread across more than 500 acres, and the Eaton Fire encompasses another 10,000+ acres to the east of Burbank, where Insomniac Games is based. On Wednesday evening, a new brush fire started in the Hollywood Hills.

"Sitting at my office desk in Burbank, which is right next to a balcony, and the wind outside sounds like when you're near the ocean and hear waves crashing against the beach," said Insomniac Games senior writer Nick Folkman in a Bluesky post on Tuesday.

The LA Times reports that at least two people have been killed and over 1,000 buildings destroyed by the fires, which have spread rapidly and erratically due to wind gusts of up to 100 mph.

"We're doing the very best we can," LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told the paper on Wednesday morning. "But no, we don't have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this." Support from outside of LA is on the way, Marrone said at the time.

A map of the fires and evacuation orders can be found on the Cal Fire website and Watch Duty.