Unprecedented firestorm destroys thousands of homes in Los Angeles
Edvard Pettersson
LOS ANGELES (CN) — The wildfires that broke out in Los Angeles County this week, fanned by some of the strongest winds the region has experienced in over a decade, have destroyed or damaged thousands of buildings as of Thursday morning and forced about 180,000 people from their homes.
The winds died down to some extent on Wednesday, allowing firefighters to use helicopters and airplanes to drop water and fire retardant on the five fires that are burning across the county. But the National Weather Service warned the dry Santa Ana winds, which blow from the inland desert west to the Pacific Ocean, are expected to pick up later Thursday through Friday with gusts of up to 75 miles per hour.
"Today, we expect winds to subside somewhat, which will allow fire crews to increase containment lines" LA City Fire Chief Kristy Crowley said at a news conference Thursday morning. "However, and I want to be very clear here as well, we're still under red-flag warning with extreme fire behavior possibilities."
The largest of the fires, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood at the foot of the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, has grown to 17,234 acres and is still zero percent contained.
Preliminary reports estimate that thousands of structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire, Crowley said, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of the city.
"This is absolutely an unprecedented, historic firestorm," LA Mayor Karen Bass said at the news conference.
About 30,000 residents fled when the fire erupted in the affluent and secluded enclave two days ago, many abandoning their cars and fleeing on foot because the roads were jammed.
The Palisades Fire also destroyed historic buildings and multiple structures at two California state parks Tuesday night, including Will Rogers’ historic ranch house and buildings at Will Rogers State Historic Park. The fire also destroyed parts of Topanga State Park, including the historic Topanga Ranch Motel once owned by William Randolph Hearst.
The LA County fires are likely to become the costliest fire disaster in U.S. history. Insured losses from the multiple blazes could be as high as $20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar. Total economic losses could be as much as $50 billion, the Journal said.
East of downtown LA, the Eaton Fire had grown to 13,600 acres, including parts of Altadena, a community at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, as of Thursday afternoon. As many as 5,000 structures were damaged or destroyed as the flames spread unchecked down the community's main street, and five people have died in the fire.
"Driving up Lake Avenue, the devastation could not be missed," Kathryn Barger, chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors, said at the morning news conference. "The number of homes, businesses and buildings that were on fire dwarfed the available resources."
"Altadena is a resilient community," she said. They have seen some significant battles before, but the scale of the impact today is larger than anything that I have seen in my career."
LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said in an afternoon update for the media that the fire had spread in the direction of Mount Wilson, the peak of the San Gabriel Mountains and the site of the Mount Wilson Observatory as well as a large number of antennas to relay radio and TV broadcasts in the LA region.
A new brush fire on Thursday afternoon has burned at least 50 acres near the West Hills community in the western San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. The LA Fire Department issued mandatory evacuations for the area.
A small, 43-acre fire broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes in the densely populated, urban area along Hollywood Boulevard. The evacuation order for that neighborhood was lifted by Thursday morning as firefighters were able to use aerial resources to battle the flames.
"Forward progress, I'm very glad to share with everybody, was stopped and the crews are working to put out spot fires within the perimeter," Crowley said.
Meanwhile, more than 20 people suspected of going into evacuated areas to loot houses have been arrested.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said the number of arrests are still very preliminary and that officials are trying to implement a curfew as soon as Thursday night in the areas of Palisades and Eaton Fires to prevent further incidents of looting.
California Governor Gavin Newsom late Thursday approved LA County's request to deploy the California National Guard to support law enforcement efforts in the region.
With the CalGuard service members, a total 8,000 personnel will now be deployed to fight fires and ensure public safety in Southern California, the governor said in a statement.
The fires are so demanding the area's water supply is under threat, the LA Times reported. At 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday, all fire hydrants in the Palisades area “went dry” during the firefight, according to Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
"We have three large water tanks, about a million gallons each," Quiñones told reporters. "We ran out of water in the first tank about 4:45 p.m. yesterday, we ran out of water on the second tank about 8:30 p.m. and the third tank about 3:00 a.m. this morning."
The Biden administration took action on Wednesday to support local firefighting efforts, directing federal agencies to provide additional firefighting aircraft, helicopters and fire engines to the effort in hopes of turning the tide.
The White House reported it is in regular contact with Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Bass and other local officials, declaring it will continue to monitor the situation and provide support as needed.