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LA Fires Burn Out of Control After Leaving at Least 5 Dead

A firefighter battles flames from the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles on Jan. 8. (Eric Thayer/Photographer: Eric Thayer/Getty )

(Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles firefighters are battling to contain five major blazes as powerful winds continue to fan the flames that have left at least five people dead, decimated neighborhoods and forced nearly 180,000 to evacuate in the region’s worst natural disaster in decades. 

Over 29,000 acres (11,736 hectares) have been charred, with a new wildfire breaking out in the Hollywood Hills overnight. The two biggest blazes are completely uncontrolled, devastating Pasadena and the wealthy coastal community of Pacific Palisades. Dangerous winds will continue through at least Friday, according to the US Storm Prediction Center. 

Along with those already under evacuation orders, another 200,000 people are under evacuation warnings, Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said during a press conference Thursday. Thousands of structures have been destroyed, according to officials.

Authorities are having difficulty assessing the death toll, which is likely to rise, Luna said. Some of the areas look like a “bomb was dropped” and there is a need to bring in dogs, he added.

“More than 7,500 firefighting personnel are on the ground working with local and federal partners to respond to California’s ongoing historic wildfires,” Governor Gavin Newsom urged in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Southern California residents — please remain vigilant.”

Additional firefighters are on the way to help from other states including Arizona and Oregon. The US military is also standing by to provide aircraft to help extinguish the flames from the sky, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday during a meeting in Germany.

“This is absolutely an unprecedented and historic firestorm,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday.

Arson investigators are looking into the cause of the Palisades fire, according to Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. That blaze has so far consumed more than 17,000 acres.

The wildfires are poised to become among the most costly in US history. While the full impact won’t become clear until the flames are contained, AccuWeather Inc. estimated damages and economic losses at $52 billion to $57 billion.

Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said water, power and sewer systems have all been “significantly damaged.” Water quality has also been tainted by ash and debris falling into reservoirs. Anyone living near a burn zone “should just go ahead and boil water,” he said Thursday.

Air quality across much of the Los Angeles area also remains unhealthy, according to AirNow.gov.

California officials said at least 10 health care facilities have been evacuated due to the wildfires. Many of them are skilled nursing facilities with dozens of residents and a relocation facility has not been determined yet, according to the California Department of Public Health’s website. 

Authorities arrested 20 people in Altadena for looting and burglaries, and Santa Monica issued a curfew Wednesday night. All Los Angeles Unified School District schools remain closed. 

 

There were signs Thursday that firefighters were beginning to make some progress controlling the blazes. Evacuation orders have been lifted for one smaller blaze, the Sunset fire that erupted overnight in the Hollywood Hills, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters are still working in the area, but residents are allowed to begin returning to their homes. The fire has scorched at least 60 acres.

The acreage burned by the Eaton fire, which devastated Altadena, hasn’t grown since Wednesday, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.

The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings across the region until 6 p.m. local time Friday due to high winds and low relative humidity. Maximum sustained winds across Los Angeles and Ventura counties are forecast to be around 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour, while gusts may reach as high as 70 mph. 

That’s also raising concern that trees and power lines will fall, causing widespread blackouts. Edison International’s Southern California Edison, the region’s biggest utility, has proactively cut off power to homes and businesses to reduce the risk that its lines may trigger new blazes. The company said Wednesday that it’s conducting a review of the deadly Eaton fire near Pasadena, which started in its service area.

More than 420,000 utility customers in Southern California were in the dark Thursday morning.

“Conditions will remain critical into tonight and Friday with another round of northeast winds expected to develop tonight,” National Weather Service senior meteorologist Todd Hall wrote in an update Thursday morning, adding that another “moderate to locally strong Santa Ana wind event” is expected to start Friday, bringing damaging gusts into the foothills.

The longer-range forecast is showing no sign of relief, with another potential Santa Ana event developing between Tuesday night and Wednesday and no rain expected, Hall said.

--With assistance from Brian K. Sullivan, Lauren Rosenthal, Gerry Smith, Mark Chediak, David Baker and Eliyahu Kamisher.

(Updates with evacuations in first paragraph, details throughout)

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