The death toll from the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area rose to 16 as crews struggled to extinguish the flames before the return of potentially strong winds that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks. city.
Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 to the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said in a statement Saturday evening.
The previous number of confirmed deaths before Saturday was 11, but authorities said they expected that figure to rise as cadaver dog teams conduct systematic searches in leveled neighborhoods. Authorities have created a center where people can report disappearances.
Joseph Everett, deputy chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s West Bureau, said it was difficult to see such destruction in an area where he, his father and grandfather all worked as firefighters.
“It means a lot to me,” he said at a community meeting Saturday evening. “Please be patient as we are up there…still aggressively fighting fires.”
There were fears that winds could move the fires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
As of Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported that the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 62 square miles (160 square kilometers), an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades and Eaton fires comprised 59 square miles (nearly 153 square kilometers).
In a press briefing posted online Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, and more than 700 people were sheltering in nine shelters.
Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire vehicles, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.
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With Cal Fire reporting containment of the Palisades Fire at 11% and the Eaton Fire at 15% Saturday evening, the fight is expected to continue.
“Weather conditions are still critical and a new round of strong winds is expected starting Monday,” Traum said.
Fighting to save public and private spaces
A violent battle took place Saturday in Mandeville Canyon, home of Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities near the Pacific coast, where helicopters dumped water as the fire charged down the hill. Firefighters on the ground used fire hoses to try to push back the flames as thick smoke covered the chaparral-covered hillside.
The National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could return soon. Those winds have been widely blamed for turning wildfires into infernos that razed entire neighborhoods around the city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
The fire also threatened to cross Interstate 405 and spread into densely populated areas of the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
Historical cost
The fires that started Tuesday just north of downtown Los Angeles have burned more than 12,000 structures.
Firefighters made their first progress Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the area have been lifted, officials said.
No cause has been determined for the larger fires and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the nation’s costliest on record. A preliminary estimate from AccuWeather so far puts the damage and economic losses at $135 billion to $150 billion.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on NBC, Governor Gavin Newsom said the fires could become the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
“I think it will be just in terms of the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” he said.
Overflowing kindness
Volunteers flooded donation centers and some had to be turned away at places such as the Santa Anita Park racetrack, where people who lost their homes sifted through piles of shirts, blankets and other donated household items.
José Luis Godinez, an Altadena resident, said three homes occupied by more than a dozen members of his family were destroyed.
“Everything is gone,” he said in Spanish. “My whole family lived in these three houses and now we have nothing. »
Authorities warn against return
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents against venturing into destroyed homes to sift through the rubble for souvenirs.
“We have people who come and try to get in just to look. Stay away,” Luna said, urging people to respect curfews.
Authorities warned Saturday that the ashes could contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
“If you throw this stuff, you breathe it in,” said Chris Thomas, a spokesman for Palisades Fire’s Unified Incident Command, who warned the material was “toxic.”
Residents will be allowed to return with protective gear after damage crews assess their properties, Thomas said.
Reconstruction will be a challenge
The level of devastation is shocking, even in a state that regularly faces massive wildfires. Traum, of the state Office of Emergency Services, said people affected by the fires can apply online for immediate government assistance.
Newsom issued an executive order Sunday aimed at speeding the rebuilding of destroyed properties by suspending some environmental regulations and ensuring that property tax assessments are not increased.
“California leads the nation in environmental management. I’m not going to give it up. But one thing I will not give in to is delay,” he said. “Any delay is a denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn apart, torn apart. »
“We need to let people know we support them,” he said. “Don’t leave, because we want you to come back, rebuild and rebuild with better building standards and more modern standards. We want to make sure that the costs associated with this are not disproportionate, especially in a middle-class community like this.
Leaders accused of skimping
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces a critical test of her leadership during the city’s biggest crisis in decades, but allegations of leadership failures, political blame and investigations have started.
Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million gallon (440 million liters) reservoir was out of service and some fire hydrants were dry.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said city leaders have failed their department by not providing enough money to fight the fires. She also criticized the lack of water.
“When a firefighter approaches a fire hydrant, we expect there to be water,” Crowley said.