Firefighters are scrambling to contain wildfires in LA as winds are expected to strengthen | Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi News
Evacuation orders across the Los Angeles area include 153,000 residents, with 57,000 buildings at risk.
Firefighters are racing to contain wildfires spreading around Los Angeles before potentially strong winds return, while new evacuation warnings have left more homeowners on edge.
Intensive efforts were underway Saturday in Los Angeles’ upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood after a wildfire there spread to additional areas overnight.
Residents are warned of a possible worsening of weather conditions over the coming days, which could fuel the fire further.
Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins told reporters at a news conference that the Palisades fire has spread into the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and is threatening to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood.
California Fire Operations Chief Christian Litz said the main focus Saturday will be the Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.
“We have to be aggressive out there,” Litz said.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders across the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents, with 57,000 structures at risk.
Another 166,000 residents were warned they may have to evacuate, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Luna added that his agency has sent 40 search and rescue team members to work with other agencies, including using cadaver dogs to search for victims’ remains and help reunite separated families.
At least 11 killed
Six simultaneous fires that have ripped through Los Angeles County neighborhoods since Tuesday have killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures — a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
At least 13 people are still considered missing. The death toll is expected to rise as firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches.
Santa Ana’s fierce, inferno-fueled winds subsided Friday night. But the Palisades Fire on the city’s western edge took a new direction as winds blew in from the Pacific Ocean and threatened the densely populated foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
The fire, the most devastating in the history of Los Angeles, razed entire neighborhoods to the ground, leaving only the smoldering ruins of what were once people’s homes and possessions.
Before the latest blaze, firefighters reported progress on the Palisades and Eaton Fires in the foothills east of the metropolis after burning out of control for days.
As of Saturday, the Palisades Fire is 11 percent contained, and the Eaton Fire to the east is 15 percent contained, the state Cal Fire Agency announced.
The two large fires combined consumed more than 36,000 hectares (14,500 acres) or 56 square miles (145.6 square kilometers) – 2.5 times the area of Manhattan.
Seven neighboring states, the federal government and Canada rushed to aid California, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardants on the burning hills and ground crews attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
Winds are expected to slow down
The National Weather Service said conditions in the Los Angeles area will improve over the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 20 mph (32 km/h), with gusts between 35 mph and 50 mph (56-80 km/h). .
“It’s not as blustery, so that should help the firefighters,” said NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli, adding that conditions remain critical with low humidity and dry vegetation.
Officials declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, hinting at a laborious recovery and a spike in homeowners’ insurance costs.
President Joe Biden declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would reimburse 100 percent of recovery costs over the next six months.
