Los Angeles surrounded by wildfires out of control; at least 5 dead

Devastating wildfires surrounded Los Angeles on Wednesday, killing at least five people, destroying hundreds of homes and straining firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit, while more than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate.

Strong winds hampered firefighting operations and fueled the fires, which have burned unhindered since they began Tuesday.
Five separate fires burned in Los Angeles County, all of them 0% contained according to state officials, including a pair of conflagrations that kept the city in a pincer movement.

On the west side, the Palisades Fire consumed 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares) and 1,000 structures in the foothills between Santa Monica and Malibu, down the Topanga Canyon until reaching the natural firebreak of the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. It was already one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.

To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire claimed another 10,600 acres (4,289 hectares) and killed at least five people, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told KNX radio. . Private meteorologist AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic losses at more than $50 billion.

“We are facing a historic natural disaster. And I don't think there are enough words to express it,” Kevin McGowan, Los Angeles County's emergency management director, said at a news conference.

The skies over Los Angeles glowed red in some areas and were covered in thick smoke. Nearly 1 million homes and businesses were without power in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us.

“The wind picked up, the flames were 30 to 40 feet high, and you could hear 'pop, pop, pop.' It sounded like a war zone,” said Kevin Williams, an Eaton Fire evacuee. Reuters at an evacuation center in Pasadena, describing gas canisters in their neighbors' homes that began to explode under the heat of the flames.

Three smaller fires in the county also strained already depleted firefighting resources, and water shortages hit Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire consumed 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares).
“There are not enough firefighters in Los Angeles County to tackle four separate fires of this magnitude,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

The demand for water also caused some hydrants to run dry in Pacific Palisades after the last of three large water tanks in the area emptied, officials said.

“We took the system to the extreme. We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that's really challenging,” Janisse Quiñones, executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a news conference.

Pacific Palisades relies on three tanks that hold about a million gallons (3.78 million liters) each, and the demand for water to fight fires at lower elevations made it difficult to refill water tanks at higher elevations, he said.

Some hydrants ran dry around 3 a.m. Winds and smoke limited the ability to provide air support and firefighters were left without enough water to fight the flames.

Located in the hills with spectacular ocean views, Pacific Palisades is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country with the typical home valued at $3.7 million at the end of 2023, according to Zillow, more than all but four ZIP codes in the country . USA.

It is also home to many film, television and music stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore and Mark Hamill, all of whom forced to flee their homes.

The fires came at an especially vulnerable time for Southern California, which has yet to see significant rain since the start of the water year in October. Then came the powerful Santa Ana winds, which brought dry desert air from the east into the coastal mountains, fanning the flames of the wildfires as they blew over the hilltops and down the canyons.

Scientists said the fires, which break out well outside the traditional wildfire season, mark the latest extreme weather events that are likely to increase further as global temperatures continue to rise in the coming decades.

President Joe Biden, who remained in Los Angeles after Air Force One was grounded due to high winds on Tuesday, joined California Governor Gavin Newsom at a Santa Monica fire station to receive a briefing on firefighting efforts.

“The impacts of (the fires include) more than a thousand structures already destroyed, more than a hundred thousand people who have been evacuated, lives lost, traditions, lifestyles, places destroyed,” said Newsom, who declared a state of emergency on Tuesday . .

Biden promised whatever help he could provide in his final days in office before handing it over to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

“We are doing whatever and as long as it takes to contain these fires… to make sure they get back to normal,” Biden said. “It's going to be a tremendously long road. It's going to take time.”

Local officials warned that gusty winds were forecast to persist throughout the day.

“We are not out of the woods yet, with high winds continuing to hit the city and county today,” said Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

As the flames spread and residents began evacuating after the fires broke out on Tuesday, roads were so congested that some people abandoned their vehicles to escape the fire. Emergency services went door to door to press evacuation orders.

Shaun Tate, 45, said he fled his home in Altadena, a Los Angeles suburb in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, at 4:15 a.m. when he saw flames advancing toward his house.

“I left the house because I heard something flying from the roof,” Tate said at an evacuation center in Pasadena.
“We packed up the truck and came here,” he said. “I chose to put away my laptop, my diabetes medications and some food.”

David Reed said he had no choice but to leave his Pacific Palisades home when police officers showed up at his door and “laid down the law” as he saw flames approaching his home.

“I grabbed my trombone and the latest book I've been reading, which is my Jack Kerouac anthology, because I'm a beatnik,” Reed said.