Written by Jorge Garcia, Rollo Ros, and María Alejandra Cardona
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The high winds that exacerbated wildfires sweeping through parts of Los Angeles finally subsided on Friday evening, bringing some relief to the hearts of weary firefighters, but reports that the largest blaze had turned its direction, led to an issue… New evacuation orders.
Six simultaneous wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles County neighborhoods since Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and destroying or damaging 10,000 structures. This toll is expected to rise once the situation is safe enough for firefighters to conduct house-to-house searches.
On Friday night, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Palisades Fire on the city's western edge was heading in a new direction, prompting an evacuation order that included most of the Brentwood neighborhood and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
“The Palisades Fire has sparked a new major fire in the eastern part and is continuing to move northeast,” Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Eric Scott told local station KTLA, according to a report on the Los Angeles Times website.
Before the latest fire, firefighters reported progress in arresting the Palisades Fire and Eaton (NYSE:) Fire in the foothills east of DC.
After the fire raged out of control for several days, and despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters attacking the blazes from the air and on the ground, the Palisades Fire was 8% contained and the Eaton Fire was 3% contained. Cal Fire listed containment levels for both fires at 0% as of Friday.
However, the two large fires combined consumed 35,000 acres (14,100 hectares) or 54 square miles, two and a half times the area of Manhattan.
With thousands of people displaced and heavy smoke, US officials declared a public health emergency.
Los Angeles County Police Chief Robert Luna said that about 153,000 people are still under evacuation orders, and another 166,800 face evacuation warnings, with a curfew imposed in all evacuation zones.
Seven neighboring states, the federal government and Canada rushed to provide assistance to California, bolstering air teams dropping water and fire retardant on burning hills and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
“Thanks to the increased number of dedicated resources, the area is in a much better position than we were earlier this week,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference.
Conditions will improve in the Los Angeles area over the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 20 mph (32 kph) and gusts between 35 mph and 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service, a respite from Recent wind gusts reached 80 mph.
“It's not windy, so that should help firefighters,” said Alison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, adding that conditions remain critical with low humidity and dry vegetation.
However, forecasters expected another red flag warning to be issued on Monday.
Houses turned to ashes
Residents of Pacific Palisades who ventured back to their devastated neighborhoods were shocked to find brick chimneys looming above charred waste and burned-out vehicles with acrid smoke lingering in the air.
“This was a beloved home,” Kelly Foster, 44, said as she combed through the rubble where her home once stood.
Smoke billowed from nearby homes and planes dropped water nearby.
Foster's 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to get in but “I just got sick. I couldn't even… yeah, it's hard.”
In Rick McGaig's Palisades neighborhood, only six of the 60 homes survived, and all that was left standing at his farmhouse was a statue of the Virgin Mary.
“Everything else is ashes and rubble,” said McGaig, 61, a commercial real estate broker who, along with his wife, raised three children in their home.
On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into the parking lot near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to pick up donated clothes, diapers and bottled water.
Denise Doss, 63, said she was eager to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if there was anything that could be saved, but officials held her back due to safety concerns.
“At least let's say goodbye so we can rebuild. I'll let God lead me,” Doss said.
Many Altadena residents said they worry that government resources will go to wealthier areas and that insurance companies may turn to those who can't afford to appeal fire claim denials.
Along with those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poor-quality air, as fires left traces of metal, plastic and other synthetic materials.
Losses in billions
Private forecasting firm AccuWeather estimated damage and economic losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and rising insurance costs for homeowners.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara called on insurers on Friday to suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations homeowners received before the fires started and extend the grace period for payments.
President Joe Biden declared the fires a major disaster and said that the US government would reimburse 100% of the recovery costs during the next six months.
