Los Angeles wildfires: At least 10 dead and whole neighborhoods destroyed as distraught residents flee
Four major wildfires are raging across Los Angeles County. At least 10 people have died, but officials warn the true toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to go into neighborhoods.
What you need to know,
• Four major wildfires are raging across Los Angeles County. At least 10 people have died, but officials warn the true toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to go into neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of people have been urged to evacuate since the blazes began this week.
• Whole neighborhoods have been devastated, with as many as 10,000 structures destroyed by the coastal Palisades Fire, expected to be the costliest fire in US history, and the Eaton Fire.
• Firefighting teams are expecting more wind and dry conditions to continue to complicate efforts into next week. If winds are too strong, firefighting aircraft won’t be able to take off. Here’s why California is uniquely susceptible to the worst effects of the human-caused climate crisis.
“Sometimes it will come from the east and sometimes from the west. That’s a concern for firefighters,” she added.
Chinchar predicted a “tremendous improvement in the winds on Saturday,” which would bring relief to fire crews in the skies; strong winds have at times grounded aircraft that were trying to dump water on the fires.
But the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned Thursday night that “the threat doesn’t end after Friday,” noting offshore winds will continue into next week, peaking Sunday, then again Tuesday or Wednesday.
And “maybe even more robust winds” are possible as far out as next Tuesday, California Interagency Management Team 5’s operations section chief, Don Fregulia, said Thursday.
