Death Toll In Los Angeles Fires Rises To 16

As the winds raged up, firefighters battled into the night on Saturday to contain the devastating wildfires that had already spread to previously uninhabited areas of Los Angeles.

At least 16 people have died as a result of fires that have destroyed neighborhoods in the city, putting thousands of firefighters and Californians to the test.

The Palisades Fire continued to grow Saturday despite heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, pushing northward toward the Getty Center’s art collection’s priceless collections and eastward to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.

Sarah Cohen described the threat to her Tarzana home as “we’re a nervous wreck” for the Los Angeles Times.

“Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again”.

READ ALSO: Los Angeles Investigates Fire Blame As Curfew Enforced

One home was burned down while another was filmed in the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood, with a wall of flames threatening other properties.

Forecasters predicted that gusts would quickly cause the blazes for days to come due to a temporary lull in the wind.

The National Weather Service predicted that southern California’s critical fire-weather conditions would “unfortunately ramp up again today and last through at least the first week of next week.”

“This may cause existing fires to spread as well as to start new ones,” he said.

Row

The Palisades fire was 11 percent contained Saturday but had grown to 23, 600 acres (9, 500 hectares), while the Eaton Fire was at 14, 000 acres and 15 percent contained.

Official figures show more than 12, 000 structures burned, but Cal Fire’s Todd Hopkins said not all were homes, and the number would also include outbuildings, recreational vehicles and sheds.

The city’s already struggling renters in the coming months may find it difficult to find a new home due to the sudden influx of people in the months ahead.

“I’m back on the market with tens of thousands of people”, said a man who gave his name as Brian, whose rent-controlled apartment has burned.

“That doesn’t bode well”.

Police and the National Guard have set up checkpoints to stop people entering the disaster zones in response to reports of looting and a nighttime curfew.

Residents have waited for up to 10 hours to check out their homes and see what remains, if anything, because of this.

One woman, who gave her name as Janelle, told broadcaster KTLA she knew her house was gone, but she needed “closure”.

“I see the photos, I see the videos, and I just want to see it with my own eyes”, she said, her voice breaking.

Some people were enraged by poor management as a result of the long lines, which is the most recent pity for a population already furious about the dryness of the initial firefight.

Following reports of a behind-the-scenes row and suggestions that Mayor Karen Bass had fired her fire chief, city officials on Saturday put on a united front.

“As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency”, Bass told reporters.

After Chief Kristin Crowley complained that her fire department was short of money, there was a sometimes tense joint press conference.

Among those known to have died in the tragedy was former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who appeared in British TV show&nbsp, “Kiddy Kapers” in the 1990s.

“It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that my gorgeous son, @Rorysykes, passed away yesterday in the Malibu fires. I’m totally heart broken”, his mother Shelley Sykes wrote on social media.

Teams using cadaver dogs were comb through the rubble, with several missing and concerns that the death toll will rise.

Investigation

A huge investigation was underway to determine what caused the blazes, involving the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with local authorities, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

“We are not going to leave any rock unturned”, he said.

“If this is a criminal act — I’m not saying it’s going to be — if it is, we need to hold whoever did this, or groups responsible”, Luna added, appealing for anyone who had information to come forward.

While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are often natural, and a vital part of an environment’s life cycle.

However, urban sprawl makes people more frequently vulnerable, and the changing climate, which is being exacerbated by humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels, is worsening the conditions that cause destructive blazes.

Source: Channels TV