Deadly wildfires continue to rage in California as strong winds are expected to return
The death toll from wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area rose to 16 as crews battled to contain the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push flames toward some of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
The fire threat in the area this week will be “very high” due to Santa Ana winds and dry conditions, Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a briefing Sunday, adding that “elevated, critical fire weather conditions will continue until Wednesday.”
Five deaths were attributed to the Palisades fire and 11 were the result of the Eaton fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a statement Saturday night.
The total number of previously confirmed deaths before Saturday was 11, but officials said they expected the number to rise as cadaver dog teams conducted systematic searches of the immediate neighborhoods. Authorities have set up a center where people can report missing persons.
Joseph Everett, assistant chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s western office, said it was difficult to see such destruction in an area where he, his father and grandfather all worked as firefighters.
“I really like that,” he said at a community meeting Saturday night. “Please bear with us while we’re up there … we’re still aggressively fighting the fire.”
There were fears that winds could push the fires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and UCLA, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
Devastating wildfires continue to burn across Los Angeles and Southern California. Almost 10,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and more than 180,000 people were displaced. Andrew Chang explains how dry conditions and Santa Ana winds contributed to the largest fire, the Palisades Fire in LA County, and why firefighters are struggling to contain it. Images collected from Reuters, Getty Images and The Canadian Press.
By Saturday night, Cal Fire reported that the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 100 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades and Eaton fires burned nearly 153 square kilometers.
In a briefing posted online Saturday night, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Management said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders and more than 700 people were sheltering in nine shelters.
A series of images from Google and Reuters show some of the devastation in Los Angeles, where wildfires have destroyed at least 10,000 structures. (Photo: Google/Reuters)
Crews from California and nine other states are part of an ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 people, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.
Alberta confirmed on Saturday that it will send 40 wildland firefighters early this week to help fight wildfires in California.
On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his province would send two water bombers, along with 165 urban firefighters and equipment to assist in the fight. Two water bombers from Quebec have been fighting the fire since Tuesday.
“Our American friends have asked for help fighting the wildfires in California and the Canadian team is responding,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said on social media.
With Cal Fire reporting the Palisades fire at 11 percent containment Sunday, the same as the previous day, and the Eaton fire at 27 percent, up from 15 percent Saturday, the fight continues.
Limited rainfall for more than 8 months
A fierce battle erupted Saturday in Mandeville Canyon, the home of Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities just off the Pacific coast, where flying helicopters dropped water as the flames raced downhill.
Firefighters on the ground used hoses to try to contain the leaping flames as thick smoke blanketed the chaparral-covered hillside.
Santa Ana’s strong winds were largely blamed for turning the wildfires into an inferno that flattened entire neighborhoods in a city that hadn’t seen significant precipitation in more than eight months.
More than 200 American Red Cross workers are helping residents of Southern California, according to a press release issued Friday. Nicole Maul, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, says they have shelters for evacuees, which are continuing to operate as new evacuation orders came in Saturday. Maul says ‘disasters don’t make a difference’, referring to evacuees from all walks of life. Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/1.7429025
The fire also threatened to jump Interstate 405 and engulf densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
Historical cost
More than 12,000 structures have burned in the fires that began Tuesday north of downtown Los Angeles.
Firefighters made their first progress Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures, including homes, apartments, commercial buildings, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the area have been lifted, officials said.
The cause of the biggest fires has not been determined, and the first estimates show that forest fires could be the most expensive in the country. According to AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate, the damage and economic losses so far are between 135 and 150 billion dollars.
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the fires could end up being the worst natural disaster in US history.
“I think it’s just going to be in terms of the cost associated with it, in terms of scale and scope,” he said.
Volunteers flooded donation centers and some had to be turned away at locations including the Santa Anita Park racetrack, where people who lost their homes were sorting through piles of donated shirts, blankets and other household items.
Canadian media personality George Stroumboulopoulos talks to The National about opening his home in Los Angeles to friends displaced by the wildfires and how the city is coming together to support each other during the crisis.
Altadena resident Jose Luis Godinez said three houses where more than a dozen members of his family lived were destroyed.
“Everything is gone,” he said, speaking in Spanish. – My whole family lived in those three houses and now we have nothing.
Officials warn against returning
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents not to venture back into destroyed homes to search the rubble for souvenirs.
“We have people driving by and trying to get in just to look. Stay away,” Luna said, urging people to obey the curfew.
Officials warned Saturday that the ash may contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
“If you pick that stuff up, you inhale it,” said Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the Palisades Fire Unified Incident Command who warned the material was “toxic.”
Residents will be allowed to return with protective gear after damage teams assess their property, Thomas said.
According to reports, nearly 1,000 inmate firefighters in California are currently battling wildfires in the state. Some have criticized the practice because of the low pay for firefighters, but Royal Ramey, a former inmate and co-founder of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, says the program helps create career opportunities for inmates after release.
