At least 24 people have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced due to wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles for six days. Firefighters are battling three remaining blazes, with strong winds expected to intensify the situation.
Destructive and dangerous wildfires have been burning through the Los Angeles area in the United States for six days now, killing at least 24 people and displacing thousands of residents. Firefighters are now scrambling to ensure they can control three remaining fires before powerful winds pick up again and the existing blazes are at risk of spreading to new areas. Days before the wildfires broke out, forecasters had been warning of extreme wind.
A huge investigation has been announced by local authorities to determine what caused the blazes, involving the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. 'If this is a criminal act — I'm not saying it's going to be — if it is, we need to hold whoever did this, or groups responsible,' Luna added. Officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo (watercourse). While lightning is the most common source of fires in the US, according to the National Fire Protection Association, investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton fire, which started in east Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes. So far there has been no official indication of arson in either blaze, and utility lines have not yet been identified as a cause either. Utilities are required to report to the California Public Utilities Commission when they know of “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire,” Terrie Prosper, the commission’s communications director, said via email. There are currently three active fires burning in the Los Angeles area, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire. Collectively, they have burnt through 160 square kilometres, which is an area larger than San Francisco. and has burnt through 9,572 hectares of land. Despite heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades fire continues to grow, pushing east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Center art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley. Officials said they expected the death toll to rise as teams with cadaver dogs conduct systematic grid searches in levelled neighbourhoods. Eight deaths were attributed to the Palisades fire along the coast and 11 deaths resulted from the Eaton fire further inland, the LA County medical examiner's office said. The Pacific Palisades fire, considered to be one of the most destructive, tore through almost 7 hectares in one of Los Angeles’s most affluent areas, which is home to dozens of celebrities. Mel Gibson, Milo Ventimiglia, Miles Teller, Paris Hilton are among a large group of celebrities who have lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires. Flames burned parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie Carrie, the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday and the TV series Teen Wolf. It was among multiple structures destroyed at both Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park. Rogers’s ranch was built on land he bought in the 1920s. neighbourhood to the ground, city residents said on Sunday they were 'terrified' that forecast strong winds would whip up the flames and threaten their homes. Conditions are set to dramatically worsen, with 'extreme fire behaviour and life threatening conditions' to peak with 112 kph winds in a rare 'particularly dangerous situation (PDS)' declared from early Tuesday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld. Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Anthony Marrone said his department had received resources including dozens of new water trucks and firefighters from far afield, and was primed to face the renewed threat. as they did during the initial outbreak of fires last week, Mayor Karen Bass replied: 'I believe the city is prepared.'Nearly 70,000 customers were without power across California as of Sunday morning, more than half of them in Los Angeles County, according t
WILDFIRES LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA DEATHS DAMAGE
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