Fires in Los Angeles: the provisional toll rises to 16 deaths, the flames gain ground
The violent winds are largely
responsible for the transformation of the fires into infernos which destroyed
entire neighborhoods around the American megalopolis which has not experienced
significant precipitation for more than eight months.
The Los Angeles County
Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed that the death toll from California's
wildfires has risen to 16. Thousands of buildings were destroyed by the flames.
Five of the deaths were
attributed to the Palisades Fire; eleven other bodies were found in the ravaged
Eaton area, near the town of Altadena.
The previous death toll was
11, but authorities said they expected that figure to rise as sniffer dogs
continued to search the rubble for human remains and Teams assess the
devastation.
Firefighters are working to
stop the fires from spreading before high winds forecast for early next week
return and push the flames toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University
of California.
A fierce battle against the
flames was underway at Mandeville Canyon, home of Arnold Schwarzenegger and
other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters
dumped water as flames raced down the slope.
Firefighters on the ground
used fire hoses to try to push back the flames, while thick smoke covered the
hillside covered in chaparral, the California scrub.
In a briefing, CalFire Chief
of Operations Christian Litz said the focus needs to be on the Palisades Fire,
which is burning in a canyon not far from the UCLA campus.
County Supervisor Lindsey
Horvath said the Los Angeles area "experienced another night of
unimaginable terror and heartbreak, and even more Angelenos were evacuated due
to the northeastern expansion of the Palisades Fire.”
Light breezes fanned the
flames, but the National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds
could soon return.
These winds are largely responsible for the transformation of fires into infernos which destroyed entire neighborhoods around the Californian megalopolis which has not experienced significant precipitation for more than eight months.
The fire also threatened to
cross Interstate 405 and spread to densely populated areas in the Hollywood
Hills and San Fernando Valley.
The search for bodies
Inspection of the rubble
continued Saturday, with teams conducting systematic searches with sniffer
dogs, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
The official said a family
support center was being set up in Pasadena and urged residents to respect the
curfew.
The fires consumed
approximately 145 square kilometers; an area larger than San Francisco.
Tens of thousands of people
are still under evacuation orders and new evacuations were ordered Friday
evening after a surge on the east side of the Palisades Fire.
Since the fires began Tuesday
north of downtown Los Angeles, more than 12,000 structures have burned,
including homes, buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
No cause has been determined
for the larger fires and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the
costliest in the nation's history.
According to an initial
estimate from AccuWeather, the damage and economic losses to date amount to
135-150 billion dollars (131-146 billion euros).
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