The fire in the Los Angeles region Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP / Profimedia
The largest of the wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles this week seems to have changed direction on Saturday, prompting new evacuation orders and posing a new challenge for exhausted firefighters, reports CNN and Reuters, taken by News. ro.
The six simultaneous fires that have ravaged neighborhoods in Los Angeles County since Tuesday have killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures. It is expected that the budget will increase when firefighters can conduct house-to-house searches.
The fire is moving almost unchecked to the northeast
The violent wind known as Santa Ana that fueled all this inferno subsided on Friday night. But the Pacific Palisades fire, on the west side of the city, was moving in a new direction, prompting a new evacuation order as it headed toward the Brentwood neighborhood and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles Times reported. said
“The Palisades Fire has had a significant flare-up on the east side and continues to move toward the northeast,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Erik Scott told local station KTLA.
Students at the University of California, Los Angeles, and staff at the renowned Getty Center are among those awaiting updates from officials. The flames are now spreading eastward in the Mandeville Canyon area, approaching Interstate 405, one of the busiest in Los Angeles.
Firefighters, who also act with the support of 1,000 inmates, are in a rush to make progress and protect new communities from the flames. The fire, the most destructive in the history of the city of Los Angeles, tore entire neighborhoods from their foundations, leaving only the smoking ruins of what were people’s homes and belongings.
Firefighters had made progress in containing the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire in the eastern foothills of the metropolis after burning out of control for several days. As of Friday evening, the Palisades fire was 8 percent contained, and the Eaton fire was 3 percent contained, the state Cal Fire agency said. Together, the two large fires consumed 14,100 hectares (35,000 acres), which is 2.5 times the area of ​​Manhattan.
About 153,000 people remained under evacuation orders and another 166,800 faced evacuation notices, with a curfew in effect for all evacuation areas, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
The enormous damage caused by the fire
Seven neighboring states, the federal government and Canada quickly sent aid to California, bolstering air crews dumping water and fire retardants on burning slopes and ground crews attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
According to the National Weather Service, conditions in the Los Angeles area will improve over the weekend, with sustained winds easing. “The gusts are not strong anymore, so that should help the firefighters,” said NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli, adding that the situation is still critical with low humidity and dry vegetation.
Cal Fire said there is a new risk of high winds Tuesday. Officials declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.
Many Altadena residents expressed concern that government resources were being directed to wealthier areas and that insurers could turn a blind eye to those who can’t afford to fight against claim denials of fire.
In addition to those who lost their homes, tens of thousands of people were left without power and millions were exposed to poorer air quality as the fires swept away metal, plastic and other debris. synthetic materials.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated damage and economic losses at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending a difficult recovery and rising homeowner insurance costs. President Joe Biden declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would reimburse 100% of recovery costs over the next six months.
