By Jorge Garcia, Rollo Ross and Maria Alejandra Cardona
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An all-out firefighting effort arrived on Saturday in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, as a wildfire there spread to more than 1,000 acres overnight with residents which warned of potentially worsening weather conditions in the next 72 hours. can even start a fire.
Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins told reporters at a press conference that while 11% of the Palisades Fire is now contained, it has burned more than 22,000 hectares (8,900 acres).
Hopkins said the Palisades Fire has spread to the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood. It also threatens to overrun Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood where artists live and play.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders across the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents, putting 57,000 structures at risk. Another 166,000 residents were warned they could evacuate, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Luna added that his agency has sent 40 search and rescue team workers to cooperate with other agencies, including the use of cadaver dogs to find the remains of victims and to help families. which is separated.
“LA County has had another night of unimaginable horror and sadness,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
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. At least 13 people are estimated to be missing so far.
Fees are expected to increase once firefighters are able to conduct door-to-door searches.
The fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the infernos eased Friday night. But the Palisades Fire on the western edge of the city is headed in a new direction as air blows in from the Pacific Ocean and threatens the heavily populated San Fernando Valley foothills.
The fire, the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles, razed entire neighborhoods to the ground, leaving only the smoldering ruins of people’s homes and possessions.
Before the latest blaze, firefighters reported progress on the Palisades Fire and the Eaton (NYSE:) Fire in the eastern foothills of the metropolis after it burned out of control for several days. As of Saturday, the Palisades Fire was 11% contained and the Eaton Fire to the east was 15% contained, state agency Cal Fire said.
The two major fires combined consumed more than 36,000 hectares (14,500 acres), or 56 square miles – 2-1/2 times the land area of Manhattan.
Seven neighboring states, the federal government and Canada rushed to California’s aid, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardant on the burning hills and ground crews storming the lines. on the fire using hand tools and hoses.
The National Weather Service says conditions in the Los Angeles area will improve through the weekend, with winds slowing to about 20 mph (32 kph), gusting between 35 mph and 50 mph.
“It’s not as gusty, so that should help firefighters,” said NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli, adding that conditions are still critical with low humidity and dry vegetation.
Officials declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.
HOMES ARE REDUCED TO ASH
Residents of Pacific Palisades who returned to their devastated neighborhoods on Friday were shocked to find brick chimneys littered with charred trash and charred vehicles as heavy smoke lingered in the air.
“This is a house that was loved,” said Kelly Foster, 44, as she combed through the rubble where her home once stood.
Foster’s 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to come in but “I was just sick.
In Rick McGeagh’s Palisades neighborhood, only six of the 60 houses survived, and all that’s left standing in his ranch house is a statue of the Virgin Mary.
“Everything was gray and broken,” said McGeagh, 61, a commercial real estate broker who, with his wife, raised three children in their home.
On Friday morning, hundreds of people poured into a parking lot near Pasadena’s Rose Bowl stadium for donated clothes, diapers and bottled water.
Denise Doss, 63, said she was anxious to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if anything could be saved, but officials stopped her because of safety concerns.
“At least say goodbye until it’s rebuilt. I will let God lead me,” said Doss.
BILLION LOSSES
Many Altadena residents said they are concerned that government resources will go to wealthier areas and that insurers could shortchange those who can’t afford to fight denials of fire claims. .
Beyond those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poor air quality, as the fires raised signs of metal, plastic and other synthetic materials.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated damage and economic losses at $135 billion to $150 billion, predicting a difficult recovery and rising homeowner insurance costs.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara called on insurers on Friday to suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations that homeowners received before the fire started and to extend the grace period for payments.
President Joe Biden declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would pay 100% of the recovery over the next six months.
Law enforcement officials warned residents to obey curfews, amid arrests on charges of burglary, theft and possession of concealed weapons.
“You go out there and you break this curfew, you will go to jail,” warned Luna.