UPDATE: 11:27 A.M.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Dangerously high winds were expected to return to Los Angeles on Monday, jeopardizing efforts to extinguish two massive wildfires that have leveled whole neighborhoods, destroyed thousands of buildings and claimed the lives of at least two dozen people.
Dry Santa Ana winds of up to 50 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 112 kph) were forecast to resume on Monday and persist through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning, the agency’s most serious fire warning.
Fire crews were able to keep the fires from spreading overnight and are preparing for increased winds in the days ahead, officials said at a press conference on Monday morning.
“We are not in the clear,” Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said. “We must not let our guard down, as we have right now extreme fire behavior.”
Officials said the state was pre-positioning firefighting crews in vulnerable areas, including around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest blazes burning on either side of Los Angeles. More than 8,500 firefighting personnel are assigned to those two fires.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said firefighters were “absolutely better prepared” for extreme winds this week, after the fires grew rapidly last week following similar dire warnings from forecasters.
There are more personnel on the ground and additional firefighting aircraft in the air now, he said, though he acknowledged that nothing was guaranteed.
“We’re never sure that we’re going to be able to catch the next fire and keep it small,” he said. “They said 70-mile-an-hour winds. It’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire.”
At least 24 people have died in the fires that began last Tuesday, and more than 150,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes. More than two dozen people are reported missing, authorities said.
Deputies are finding human remains every day as they search through the burned-out parts of Altadena, where the Eaton fire first ignited, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“It is a very grim task,” Luna said, adding that he expected the confirmed death toll to rise in the days ahead.
The blazes have reduced entire neighborhoods to smoldering ruins, leaving an apocalyptic landscape. California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history. Private forecaster AccuWeather has estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion.
HIGH WINDS THREATEN PROGRESS
The return of high winds threatens the hard-won progress that crews have made in containing the fires.
Over the weekend, aerial and land-based firefighters managed to stop the Palisades Fire as it encroached on the upscale Brentwood section and advanced toward the populous San Fernando Valley in the north.
That fire on the western side of the metropolis has consumed 23,713 acres (96 sq km), or 37 square miles, and stood at 14% contained, a figure representing the percentage of the fire’s perimeter that firefighters have under control.
The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles has scorched 14,117 acres (57 sq km), or 22 square miles, but firefighters increased the containment to 33%.
Together, the Palisades and Eaton fires have burned an area nearly the size of Washington, D.C.
North of the city, the Hurst Fire was 89% contained, and three other fires that had ravaged other parts of the county were now 100% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported, though areas within the containment lines may still be burning.
Angelenos, even those far from the fires, were urged to wear N95 masks when outside due to the smoke.
City police and county sheriff’s deputies have arrested dozens of people in recent days for violating curfews and evacuation orders, for burglary and shoplifting, for flying unauthorized drones and in at least one case for impersonating a firefighter, officials said.
CITY ON ALERT
In anticipation of high winds returning on Monday, officials have warned the entire Los Angeles County population of nearly 10 million to be ready to evacuate.
As of Monday morning, more than 92,000 people in Los Angeles County were under an order to evacuate – down from a previous high of more than 150,000 – while another 89,000 faced evacuation warnings.
Active duty military personnel are ready to support the firefighting effort. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told MSNBC on Monday that residents who are out of harm’s way can begin applying for federal assistance, and that agency staffers are going to local shelters to help people get aid.
Firefighters from seven states, Canada and Mexico have already converged on the Los Angeles area to help fire departments from around the state.
In Altadena on the edge of the Eaton Fire, Tristin Perez said he never left his home, defying police orders to evacuate as the fire raced down the hillside.
Instead, Perez insisted on trying to save his property and his neighbors’ homes.
“Your front yard is on fire, palm trees lit up – it looked like something out of a movie,” Perez told Reuters in an interview in his driveway. “I did everything I could to stop the line and save my house, help save their houses.”
(Reporting by Nathan Frandino and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Jonathan Allen; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Joseph Ax; Editing by Frank McGurty and Nick Zieminski)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Firefighters raced to contain the frontiers of two Los Angeles wildfires that burned for the sixth straight day on Sunday, taking advantage of a brief respite in hazardous conditions before high winds were expected to fan the flames anew.
At least 24 people have died in what California Governor Gavin Newsom said could be the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history, one that has destroyed thousands of homes and forced 100,000 people to evacuate.
Flames have reduced whole neighborhoods to smoldering ruins, leveling the homes of the rich and famous and ordinary folk alike, and leaving an apocalyptic landscape. Officials said at least 12,300 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
“L.A. County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.
Aerial firefighters, some of them scooping water out of the Pacific Ocean, dropped water and retardant while land crews with hand tools and hoses held the line of the Palisades Fire as it encroached on the upscale Brentwood section and other populated areas of Los Angeles.
That fire on the western side of town has consumed 23,713 acres (96 sq km) or 37 square miles and stood at 13% contained, a figure representing the percentage of the fire’s perimeter that firefighters have under control.
The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles scorched another 14,117 acres (57 sq km) or 22 square miles – itself nearly the size of Manhattan – and firefighters increased the containment to 27%, up from 15% a day earlier.
North of the city, the Hurst Fire was 89% contained, and three other fires that had ravaged other parts of the county were now 100% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported, though areas within the containment lines may still be burning.
SEVERE WINDS RETURN
Firefighters got a temporary break from the weather this weekend as Santa Ana winds, which reached hurricane force earlier in the week, finally eased. The dry winds originating from the inland deserts had fanned flames and blew embers up to 2 miles (3 km) ahead of the front lines.
But, in an area that has not received any rain of note since April, the National Weather Service forecast Santa Ana winds of up to 50 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 112 kph) would resume on Sunday night (U.S. West Coast time) and last through Wednesday.
Officials warned the entire Los Angeles County population of nearly 10 million that anyone may 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 – down from a previous high of more than 150,000 – while another 87,000 faced evacuation warnings.
“These winds combined with low relative humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County very high,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told a press conference, adding that evacuated areas may not be reopened until red flag conditions are lifted on Thursday.
Even so, schools except some in mandatory evacuation zones would reopen on 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 the fires were likely to be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history “in terms of just the costs associated with it.” The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported 24 deaths from the fires.
Private forecaster AccuWeather has estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion.
To help expedite the monumental rebuilding effort ahead, Newsom signed an executive order on Sunday temporarily suspending environmental regulations for destroyed homes and businesses.
Active duty military personnel are ready to support the firefighting effort, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a series of Sunday television interviews, adding the agency has urged residents to begin filing for disaster relief.
Firefighters from seven states, Canada and Mexico have already converged on the Los Angeles area to help fire departments from around the state.
HIGH ANXIETY
Hundreds of people displaced by the fires attended mass at the St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica on Sunday, including parishioners whose churches were destroyed.
Kathleen McRoskey, who attended mass regularly at Pacific Palisades’ ruined Corpus Christi church for over 40 years, said she was grateful to St. Monica for opening its doors to those who lost their homes and place of worship.
“It was the first offer of support that would heal us spiritually and physically and emotionally,” she said.
In Altadena on the edge of the Eaton Fire, Tristin Perez said he never left his home, defying police orders to evacuate as the fire raced down the hillside.
Instead, Perez insisted on trying to save his property and his neighbors’ homes.
“Your front yard is on fire, palm trees lit up – it looked like something out of a movie,” Perez told Reuters in an interview in his driveway. “I did everything I could to stop the line and save my house, help save their houses.”
His one-story yellow duplex survived. So did two more homes 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,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Zuzana Korda was evacuated from her home in the Fernwood neighborhood in Topanga, northwest of Los Angeles. Speaking outside a temporary assistance office at the West Hollywood Public Library, she said her landlord told her the family home was still standing, but she was anxious.
“We’ve left everything behind. We have no insurance,” Korda said. “We stand to lose everything.”
(Reporting by Nathan Frandino, Lisa Richwine, Jackie Luna, Omar Younis, Alan Devall, Chad Terhune, Fred Greaves, Shannon Stapleton, Ringo Chiu, Mario Anzuoni, Mike Blake and Carlos Barria in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson, Michael Martina, Costas Pitas, Andrea Shalal and Dawn Chmielewski; Writing by David Morgan and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Mary Milliken, William Mallard, Alex Richardson, Bill Berkrot, Sandra Maler, Lincoln Feast and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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