LOS ANGELES: Wildfires menacing Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people and devoured nearly 10,000 structures, with five fires burning into a third night on Thursday as dry desert winds fanning the flames again gathered strength.
The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming more than 34,000 acres (13,750 hectares) — or some 53 square miles — turning entire neighborhoods to ash.
The death toll from the blazes rose to 10, Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner said in an update late on Thursday, without providing identities or other details.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told an earlier press conference he expected the number to grow.
“It looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don’t expect good news, and we’re not looking forward to those numbers,” Luna said.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners’ insurance costs.
“We’re already looking ahead to aggressively rebuild the city of Los Angeles,” said Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, who faced criticism from President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans over her handling of the disaster.
President Joe Biden, who declared a major disaster on Tuesday, promised on Thursday that the federal government would reimburse 100 percent of the recovery for the next 180 days to pay for debris and hazard material removal, temporary shelters and first responder salaries.
“I told the governor, local officials, spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires,” Biden said after meeting with senior advisers at the White House.
In all, five wildfires burned in Los Angeles County, with the largest Palisades fire just 6 percent contained and the Eaton fire 0 percent contained. Skies buzzed with aircraft dropping retardant and water on the flaming hills.
A large Super Scooper aircraft on loan from Canada was damaged and grounded after hitting an unauthorized civilian drone near the Palisades fire, the L.A. County Fire Department said. There were no injuries.
One rapidly growing blaze broke out on Thursday near Calabasas, one of the wealthiest cities in the US and home to numerous celebrities and gated communities. The so-called Kenneth Fire expanded to 960 acres (388 hectares) in a matter of hours.
With nerves on edge, Los Angeles County mistakenly sent an evacuation notice countywide to a population of 9.6 million, even though it had been meant only for the area of the Kenneth Fire, officials said. A correction was quickly sent.
‘WE ARE ALIVE’
Officials said the Eaton Fire had damaged or destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures while the Palisades Fire destroyed or damaged another 5,300 structures.
Some Pacific Palisades residents ventured back to areas the fire had already swept through, where brick chimneys were left looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles.
“We are alive. That’s all that matters,” private security guard Bilal Tukhi said while standing watch outside his employer’s damaged home, saying the scene reminded him of his native, war-torn Afghanistan.
School was canceled for a second day on Friday due to the contaminated air, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
Winds dropped on Thursday from the 100-mile-per-hour (160-kph) gusts seen earlier in the week, permitting crucial aerial support for crews on the ground.
But officials said winds intensified again overnight, and red flag conditions were expected until Friday afternoon.
The Eaton Fire reached the grounds of the Mount Wilson Observatory, the place where a century ago Edwin Hubble discovered the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way and that the universe is expanding. The Observatory later said the flare-up appeared under control.
In Altadena, a racially and economically diverse community nearby, many residents told Reuters they were concerned government resources would be channeled toward high-profile areas popular with A-Listers, while insurance companies might shortchange less affluent households that don’t have the financial means to contest fire claims.
“They’re not going to give you the value of your house ... if they do you really have to fight for it,” said Kay Young, 63, her eyes welling up with tears as she stared at a sprawl of smoking rubble, the remnants of a home that had been in her family for generations.
HOLLYWOOD FIRE CONTAINED
Firefighting crews managed to fully control the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills, after flames had raged atop the ridge overlooking Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame on Wednesday night.
In Pacific Palisades, once-palatial homes stood in ruins, while downed power lines and abandoned cars littered the roadways.
One resident, John Carr, 65, said he defied evacuation orders and stayed to successfully protect his home.
“The house was built by my mother and father in 1960 and I lived here my whole life so there’s a lot of memories here. And I think I owed it to them as well to try my best to save it.”
Carr said there were no fire crews to help him try to save his neighbors’ homes.
“If they had had some fire trucks and just put a squirt here, a squirt there and kept an eye on things, all these houses would be here now.”
Officials said they were working to establish curfews for areas affected by mandatory evacuation orders.
Aerial video showed block after block of leveled homes, while satellite images showed the two largest fires forming a pincer around the city and thick plumes of smoke from the fires being blown out over the Pacific Ocean.
The homes of movie stars and celebrities were among those consumed by flames.
Chef Jose Andres, the Spaniard known for providing free food to disaster victims around the world, set up a food truck near the Palisades Fire on Pacific Coast Highway.
“Everybody needs support and love in these moments, wealthy or not, poor or not,” he said.
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis said on Thursday her family would donate $1 million to relief efforts.
Firefighters from half a dozen other US states and Canada were being rushed to California, in addition to US federal personnel and materiel.
“To our American neighbors: Canada’s here to help,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country has experienced its own severe wildfires.
Los Angeles wildfires devour thousands of homes, death toll rises to 10
https://arab.news/bxqgw
Los Angeles wildfires devour thousands of homes, death toll rises to 10
- Firefighting crews have managed to fully control the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills
- In Pacific Palisades, once-palatial homes stood in ruins as abandoned cars littered roads
South Sudan orders UN personnel to leave parts of Jonglei state
- The military said all civilians living in Nyirol, Uror, and Akobo counties in Jonglei were “directed to immediately evacuate for safety to government-controlled areas as soon as possible”
JUBA: South Sudan’s military has ordered all civilians and personnel from the UN mission and all other charities to evacuate three counties in Jonglei state ahead of an operation there against opposition forces.
Clashes that the UN says are occurring at a scale not seen since 2017 have been convulsing South Sudan, Africa’s youngest country, for months.
Some of the fiercest fighting has taken place in Jonglei, located in the country’s east on the border with Ethiopia, where the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, or SSPDF, is seeking to halt an offensive by fighters loyal to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition, or SPLA-IO.
An operation code-named “Operation Enduring Peace” was “imminent,” the SSPDF said in a statement.
The military said all civilians living in Nyirol, Uror, and Akobo counties in Jonglei were “directed to immediately evacuate for safety to government-controlled areas as soon as possible.”
All personnel from the UN Mission in South Sudan and those working for nongovernmental organizations were also ordered to evacuate the three counties within 48 hours.
“Our peacekeepers in Akobo remain in place, carrying out all efforts under our mandate to help de-escalate tensions and prevent conflict,” a UNMISS spokesperson said.
She did not say whether UN staff also remained in the other countries.
Last week, SPLA-IO called on its forces to march on South Sudan’s capital, Juba, signalling a major escalation. Earlier this month, SPLA-IO forces seized the town of Pajut in heavy fighting in the north of Jonglei, and the town’s capture was seen as putting the state capital of Bor at risk.
In a statement, UNMISS said 180,000 people in the state had already been displaced by the conflict and urged South Sudan’s leaders “to put the interests of their people first by stopping the fighting.”
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said in a statement on Sunday it had evacuated key staff from Akobo county after “clear instruction from the relevant authorities, and in response to the deteriorating security situation in the area.”
SPLA-IO forces led by South Sudan’s vice president Riek Machar battled the military in the 2013-18 civil war, which was fought along largely ethnic lines and killed about 400,000 people.
A peace deal in 2018 quieted the conflict, although localized clashes have persisted.
