More homeowners are being kept afloat by new evacuation warnings, which means firefighters are racing to stop spreading wildfires around Los Angeles before potential strong winds come back.
After the wildfire in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades grew to additional areas overnight, a massive effort was underway on Saturday.
Residents were warned of potential worsening weather conditions that could increase the flame’s spread over the upcoming days.
At a press conference, Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins threatened to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood, after claiming the Palisades Fire had spread to the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood.
The Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, close to the UCLA campus, will be the main focus on Saturday, according to Cal Fire Operations Chief Christian Litz.
“We need to be aggressive out there”, Litz said.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders throughout the Los Angeles area now cover 153, 000 residents, with 57, 000 structures at risk.
Another 166, 000 residents have been warned that they may have to evacuate, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Luna added that his organization has sent 40 members of its search-and-rescue team to collaborate with other agencies, including using cadaver dogs to search for victims’ remains and bringing together separated families.
At least 11 killed
Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County neighbourhoods 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.
So far, it is thought that at least 13 people have disappeared. When firefighters can conduct house-to-house searches, the death toll is anticipated to rise.
On Friday night, the fierce Santa Ana winds that sprayed the infernos dissipated. However, as winds from the Pacific Ocean blew off the city’s western boundary, the Palisades Fire was risking the densely populated San Fernando Valley foothills.
The fire, the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles, has razed whole neighbourhoods to the ground, leaving just the smouldering ruins of what had been people’s homes and possessions.
Before the most recent flare-up, firefighters had reported progress in halting the Eaton and Palisades Fires in the foothills east of the city after it remained in the dead for days.
On Saturday, the Palisades Fire was 11 percent contained and the Eaton Fire in the east was 15 percent contained, state agency Cal Fire said.
The two big fires combined had consumed more than 36, 000 acres (14, 500 hectares), or 56 square miles (145.6sq km) – 2.5 times the land area of Manhattan.
California has received immediate aid from seven neighboring states, the federal government, and Canada, including by bolstering aerial teams that drop fire retardant and water and fire retardant on the flaming hills and by using hand tools and hoses to attack fire lines on the ground.
Winds predicted to slow
The Los Angeles area’s weather was predicted to improve over the weekend, with sustained winds sluggishing to 20 mph (32 km/h) and gusting to 35 mph (56 80 km/h) in the area.
“It’s not as gusty, so that should help firefighters”, NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli said, adding that conditions were still critical with low humidity and dry vegetation.
Due to the thick, toxic smoke, authorities have declared a public health emergency.
According to private forecaster AccuWeather, the damage and economic loss totaled $135 billion, which suggests a difficult recovery and rising homeowner’s insurance premiums.
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