ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly this week passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the victims of the raging Los Angeles wildfires, where the death toll has climbed to 24 in the last seven days, state-run media reported.
The blazes in Los Angeles burned for a seventh straight day on Monday, reducing whole neighborhoods to ruins and levelling homes as firefighters continue to battle the flames. More than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from Los Angeles, while 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed as per official estimates.
Pakistani lawmaker Naveed Jeeva moved the resolution in the National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house of parliament, on Monday to extend his deepest condolences to families of the Los Angeles fire victims.
“The National Assembly today passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the victims of Los Angeles fire,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. “It called upon local and global organizations to come together in the spirit of humanity to aid in recovery and rehabilitation of Los Angeles.”
The wildfires have also dealt a huge economic loss to the city, with private forecaster AccuWeather estimating the damage and economic loss from the blaze at $135bn to $150bn.
Firefighters got a temporary break from the weather this weekend as the Santa Ana winds finally eased. However, weather experts on Monday forecast that the fierce winds are likely to return and threaten the progress made so far on the two massive infernos.
Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump criticized local officials, saying that they had not dealt with the situation properly.
“The fires are still raging in LA. The incompetent [politicians] have no idea how to put them out,” he wrote on his Truth Social media feed. “Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place … they just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?“
Several celebrities residing in Los Angeles have said they lost their homes to the blaze. These include Leighton Meester, Adam Brody, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Joshua Jackson, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes, Cameron Mathison, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
Many others, including Tara Lipinski, Chrissy Teigen, Britney Spears and more said they have evacuated as the fire continues to spread.
