LOS ANGELES: Firefighters scrambled to contain two wildfires in Los Angeles that burned for a sixth straight day on Sunday, taking advantage of a brief respite in dangerous conditions before strong winds were expected to fan the flames again. At least 24 people died in what California Governor Gavin Newsom said could be the most devastating natural disaster in US history, destroying thousands of homes and forcing the evacuation of 100,000 people. The flames turned entire neighborhoods into smoldering ruins, razing the homes of the rich, famous and ordinary people to the ground, leaving behind an apocalyptic landscape. Officials said 12,300 structures were damaged or destroyed. “L.A. County had another night of unimaginable horror and sadness,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. Aerial firefighters, some of whom scooped up water from the Pacific Ocean, dropped water and retardant, while ground crews with hand tools and hoses held the line of the Palisades fire as it reached upscale Brentwood and other populated areas of Los Angeles. The fire on the city’s west side has consumed 23,713 acres (96 km²), or 37 square miles, and is 11% contained, a number representing the percentage of the perimeter of the fire that firefighters have under control. The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles has burned an additional 14,117 acres (57 km²), or 22 square miles – nearly the size of Manhattan – and firefighters have increased containment to 27%, up from 15% a day earlier. North of the city, the Hurst fire was 89% contained and three other fires that ravaged other parts of the county were now 100% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said, although areas inside the containment line may still burn . THE STRONG WIND IS BACK Firefighters got a temporary break from the weather this weekend as winds from Santa Ana, which reached hurricane force earlier in the week, finally eased. Dry winds coming from the inland deserts fanned the flames and blew the embers up to 3 km in front of the front lines. But in an area that hasn’t seen any rain since April, the National Weather Service in Santa Ana is forecasting winds of 80 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 112 km/h) Sunday night and continuing through Wednesday. Officials warned the entire Los Angeles County population of nearly 10 million that anyone could be ordered to evacuate from the flames and toxic smoke. By Sunday, more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County had been ordered to evacuate — up from a previous high of more than 150,000 — and another 87,000 faced evacuation warnings. “These winds, combined with low relative humidity and low fuel moisture, will keep the fire threat very high throughout Los Angeles County,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference, adding that evacuated areas may not be reopened until further notice. red flag. conditions are canceled on Thursday. But schools, except for some in mandatory evacuation zones, will reopen Monday after closing for all 429,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District on Thursday and Friday, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced. Newsom told NBC News that the fires were probably the worst natural disaster in U.S. history “just in terms of the costs associated with it.” The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported 24 deaths from the fires. AccuWeather, a private forecaster, estimated damage and economic losses at $135 billion to $150 billion. To help speed up efforts to rebuild the monuments, Newsom signed an executive order on Sunday that temporarily suspends environmental regulations for destroyed homes and businesses. Active-duty military personnel are ready to support firefighting efforts, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a series of television interviews Sunday, adding that the agency urged residents to start applying for disaster assistance. Firefighters from seven states, Canada and Mexico have already converged on the Los Angeles area to assist firefighters from across the state. HIGH ANXIETY In Altadena, on the edge of the Eaton fire, Tristin Perez said he never left his home and defied police orders to evacuate as the fire raced down the hillside. Instead, Perez insisted that he would try to save his property and the homes of his neighbors. “Your front yard is on fire, the palm trees are glowing — it looked like something out of a movie,” Perez told Reuters in a driveway interview. “I did everything I could to stop the line and save my house, help save their houses.” His one-story yellow duplex survived. So are the other two houses next door. Across the street, entire houses burned to the ground. “A lot of these areas still look like they were hit by a bomb. There are live electrical wires, gas lines and other hazards,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Zuzana Korda was evacuated from her home in the Fernwood neighborhood of Topanga, northwest of Los Angeles. Speaking outside the temporary help desk at the West Hollywood Public Library, she said her landlord told her the family home was still standing, but she was nervous. “We left everything behind. We have no insurance,” Korda said. “We will lose everything.
