Firefighters in Southern California are battling Monday to bring multiple major Los Angeles area wildfires under control as forecasters warned of renewed strong winds that could cause “explosive fire growth.”
The new wind threat, with the biggest concern extending from late Monday through Wednesday morning, is expected to bring sustained winds of 80 kph and gusts up to about 110 kph, the National Weather Service warned.
Forecasters called it a “particularly dangerous situation” and designated it as a red flag warning.
Strong winds and dry conditions in an area that has not received significant rainfall for more than eight months helped fuel the fires that have already killed at least 24 people and caused billions of dollars in damage since they began a week ago.
A brief reprieve in the winds in recent days allowed firefighters aided by air drops of water and fire retardant to make some progress in bringing the blazes under control.
Of the three major fires still burning in the Los Angeles area, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said Monday the Palisades Fire was 14% contained and has burned 96 square kilometers.
Eight of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area, officials said.
Sixteen deaths were from the Eaton Fire, located farther inland in North Pasadena and Altadena, which was 33% contained by Monday morning and has burned nearly 60 square kilometers.
Sixteen more people have been reported missing in the areas of the two fires, with officials warning that the number of fatalities is likely to increase.
Another blaze, the Hurst Fire in the Sylmar area, was 89% contained, Cal Fire said, after burning more than three square kilometers.
The ongoing blazes, along with other fires that have been contained, together have destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said, “Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost in the wildfires across Los Angeles. Jill and I pray for them and their loved ones. We are deeply saddened by the devastation caused by the unprecedented ongoing wildfires across Southern California.”
Biden said he is being updated frequently on the fires and directed federal agencies to dispatch any help and equipment California authorities need.
“To the brave firefighters and first responders working day and night to suppress these fires and save lives: our nation is grateful,” Biden said. “You represent the best of America, and we are in your debt.”
About 100,000 people remained under evacuation orders late Sunday, with officials saying people would not be allowed back in fire risk areas while the new wind warnings were still in place.
Some schools that had canceled classes last week were resuming operations Monday. The National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers were also set to resume home games Monday after canceling games due to the fires. But a key National Football League playoff game involving the Los Angeles Rams set for Monday night was moved to the neighboring state of Arizona.
Local officials expressed fears that as the fires spread, they could endanger more highly populated areas and threaten some of the city’s key landmarks, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, which houses renowned artworks, and the University of California, Los Angeles, one of the top public U.S. universities.
California Governor Gavin Newsom told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the wildfires could be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, “in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope.”
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion. The damages are so high in part because much of the housing that has burned to the ground is among the costliest in the country.
Newsom called for an independent review of how the fires raged on, with firefighters at times facing a shortage of water to fight the blazes as they quickly spread out of control.
The governor said he is asking the same questions “that people out on the streets are asking, yelling about, ‘What the hell happened? What happened to the water system?’”
Newsom said he wants to know whether the water supply was simply overwhelmed, “Or were 99 mile-an-hour winds [160 kph] determinative and there was really no firefight that could've been more meaningful?”
The U.S. Defense Department said more than 1,800 California National Guard personnel have been activated to assist with the firefighting efforts and aircraft deployed to drop water and fire retardants over the raging fires.
VOA’s Carla Babb contributed to this report. Some information came from by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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