Five people killed in Los Angeles wildfires
Five people have been killed at least and more than 1,500 buildings incinerated in wildfires that have torn through a number of neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, according to The Guardian on January 9th.
More than a thousand structures, mostly homes, have been destroyed, and over 130,000 people have been placed under evacuation orders in the LA metropolitan area, from the Pacific coast inland to Pasadena.
“We are absolutely not out of danger yet,” stated LA city fire chief Kristin M Crowley.
The disaster began on the afternoon of January 7th, when a windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, quickly forcing thousands to flee.
Firefighters struggled to contain the flames overnight in the extreme winds, in what one official said was among the “most devastating and terrifying nights” in LA’s history.
By the morning of January 8th, authorities had dispatched crews from across the state of California to tackle at least four blazes besieging the region, and Oregon stated that it would send firefighters.
Officials say many have been injured by the flames in addition to the five deaths, and UCLA said its hospitals had treated over 20 patients.
LA county fire chief Anthony Marrone said on January 8th that there were “not enough firefighters in LA county to address four separate fires of this magnitude”.
The county was prepared for “one or two brushfires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities”, he added. That had grown to six by later on that evening.
The Palisades fire has been regarded as the most destructive in the modern history of the city, and early estimates of damages and economic losses from the disasters exceeded $50bn.
The region’s water resources have also been strained by the fires. Firefighters have struggled with less water pressure and fire hydrants that have run dry in some areas due to the the uptick in demand, and officials have urged residents to conserve water.
The Guardian
