Los Angeles wildfires: Firefighters race to beat blazes as winds grow and death toll hits 16
Firefighters were racing against time on Saturday to contain massive wildfires around Los Angeles as winds ramped up, pushing the blazes towards previously untouched neighbourhoods.
At least 16 people were now confirmed dead from fires that have ripped through the city, leaving communities in ruins and testing the mettle of thousands of firefighters – and millions of California residents.
Despite heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire continued to grow on Saturday, pushing east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Centre art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
“We’re a nervous wreck,” Sarah Cohen told the Los Angeles Times of the threat to her Tarzana home.
“Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again.”
Story continues after the blog
16 confirmed dead in LA wildfires
Nazahryth Bernard
The number of people confirmed dead in fires that raced through Los Angeles rose to 16 on Saturday, authorities said.
The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner published a list of fatalities without giving details of any identities.
Five of the dead were found in the Palisades Fire zone, and 11 in the Eaton Fire zone, the document said.
Death toll rises to 13 - reports
Nazahryth Bernard
Authorities have confirmed at least 13 people have died in the Los Angeles wildfires, according to the LA Times, with eight of those occurring in the Eaton blaze.
The Eaton wildfire burned through 14,000 acres and left more than 7000 structures damaged or destroyed, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
“Please be assured that we will continue to battle these wildfires until they are fully contained,” Marrone said.
“We stand alongside all of you as we begin to plan for the repopulation of evacuated areas disaster recovery and the rebuilding of your homes and your lives.”
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner had previously said five deaths were attributed to the Palisades fire.
Search and rescue teams were also looking for 13 people reported missing, although it is unclear if any of those overlapped with those now confirmed dead.
Stay inside to avoid toxic LA wildfire smoke, residents warned
Nazahryth Bernard
Health bosses warn people living in Los Angeles to stay indoors because of dangerous wildfire smoke wreathing the area.
Monster blazes tearing through the city are pumping toxic clouds into the air, blanketing a vast region with choking fumes. "We are all experiencing this wildfire smoke, which is a mix of small particles, gasses and water vapours," Anish Mahajan of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health told a press conference.
"It's those small particles that get into our noses and throats and cause those sore throats and headaches.
"Everyone in the areas where there's visible smoke or the smell of smoke, and even where you don't see that, we know that the air quality is poor, so you should limit outdoor exposure as much as possible."
Multiple fires that have erupted around Los Angeles have laid waste to vast areas, reducing homes, businesses, cars and vegetation to ash.
That means plastics, chemicals, fuel and building materials all went up in smoke, and now hang in the air across a densely populated region.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles County declared a public health emergency because of the smoke, and banned the use of machines like leaf blowers that can whip up dangerous ashes.
- AFP
Among the LA wildfire victims: A great-grandmother, surfer, father, and son
Nazahryth Bernard
As of late Friday afternoon, local time, officials had confirmed 11 deaths – six from the Eaton fire in the northeast part of the county and five from the Palisades fire on the city’s west side.
Here’s what we know so far about some of those individuals.
'She didn't get out': Actress Jennifer Garner loses friend in LA wildfires
Nazahryth Bernard
Jennifer Garner lost a friend in the Los Angeles wildfires.
While the 52-year-old actress confirmed a close friends of hers had died, she admitted she was not quite ready to talk about it as the loss was too raw.
Speaking on MSNBC, she said: “I did lose a friend, and for our church, it’s really tender so I don’t feel like we should talk about it yet. I did lose a friend. She didn’t get out in time.
”My heart bleeds for my friends. I mean, I can think of 100 families, and there are 5000 homes lost.
“I can, without even [thinking], I could just write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes.“
Garner’s house survived the fires, and her former husband Ben Affleck sought shelter at her house after being evacuated from his own.
The latest figures
Ebba Strand
At least 11 people are known to have died in the chaotic infernos, with 13 reported missing, but the toll is widely expected to rise.
The Palisades fire is now 11% contained and spreading east after burning 9,100ha. The Eaton Fire is at 5600ha and 15% contained.
Five separate fires have destroyed around 12,000 structures, California's fire agency reported. But Todd Hopkins, who is overseeing the Palisades Fire fight, said not all of those buildings were homes.
"Structures can be homes, outbuildings, RVs, automobiles or other types of things like sheds," he said, adding the confirmed total of homes destroyed in the biggest fire was 426.
- AFP
LA mayor denies sacking fire chief
Ebba Strand
Los Angeles city and fire officials have put on a united front following reports of a furious row over the handling of devastating wildfires raging throughout the city.
In an at-times tense press conference, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass denied a report that she had been planning to fire Los Angeles City Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley.
Crowley, standing alongside Bass, meanwhile said the city's political leaders, fire and police departments were "all on the same page" as they battled the devastating infernos that have left at least 11 people dead.
Crowley had appeared to direct a barb at city leaders earlier this week when she said her department was underfunded.
"My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded," Crowley told Fox television's local network. "It's not."
Hours later, Crowley met Bass in a private meeting at city hall which ran so late that Bass was forced to miss a scheduled news briefing. The Daily Mail later reported on its website that Bass had fired Crowley.
Yet Bass and Crowley denied the reported rift as they stood alongside Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell.
"As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency," Bass told reporters.
"We want to make sure that we save lives, we save housing, we save businesses, and if there are differences that we have, we will continue to deal with those in private."
Asked if she had been planning to fire Crowley, Bass replied emphatically: "No."
- AFP
Ebba Strand
Australian man Rory Sykes, 32, killed at Malibu home
Ebba Strand
An Australian man living in Los Angeles has died as a fire tore through Malibu.
Rory Callum Sykes, 32, was confirmed to have died in a statement by his mother Shelly Sykes on Twitter.
"I’m totally heart broken", she writes.
Getty art center faces LA flames
Ebba Strand
Wildfires are looming toward the celebrated Getty Center and its priceless collection.
Nestled in the mountains above Los Angeles, the famed art museum is within a new evacuation warning zone as the Palisades Fire roars east toward populated areas.
Dubbed a "beautiful fortress" and constructed of fire-resistant travertine stone, as well as cement and steel, the center has drawn museum experts from around the world to observe its safety system.
Its roofs are covered with crushed stone to prevent embers igniting, and even in the gardens, resilient plants were chosen.
Inside, the galleries can be closed off with a vault-like double door that, museum officials say, is practically impenetrable.
"Getty staff, the art collections and buildings remain safe from the Palisades Fire," the museum said hours before the evacuation warning.
"The threat is still happening," Getty added in an X post.
The museum's unique collection comprises 125,000 artworks -- including paintings by Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh and Monet -- and 1.4 million documents. It also houses a research hub and a foundation.
- AFP
LA fire chief says city failed her department
Kurt Bayer
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has blasted the City of Los Angeles for failing its more than 100,000 displaced residents who were forced to evacuate from the ongoing wildfire siege.
When asked by Fox News' affiliate, KTTV, if the City of Los Angeles, and its Mayor Karen Bass failed the city, Crowley replied: "Yes."
Crowley said that pressing staffing shortages impacted the department's response time when the blaze began tearing across Los Angeles.
"Any budget cut is going to impact our ability to provide service," she told KTTV. "That is a ground truth in regard to our ability. If there's a budget cut, we had to pull from somewhere else. What does that mean? That doesn't get done or that there are delays."
Pope Francis: 'Saddened by the loss of life'
Ebba Strand
Pope Francis yesterday expressed his sadness over the havoc caused by the giant California wildfires and expressed his spiritual closeness with the victims in a telegram to the archbishop of Los Angeles.
"Saddened by the loss of life and the widespread destruction," the pontiff expressed his "spiritual closeness" with the victims, Vatican number two Pietro Parolin wrote in the telegram.
- AFP
Australian citizen confirmed dead in the LA wildfires
Ebba Strand
Story continues
Footage from the Mandeville Canyon area showed one home consumed, with a wall of flame licking up a hillside to menace others.
A brief lull in the wind was rapidly giving way to gusts that forecasters warned would feed the blazes for days to come.
“Critical fire weather conditions will unfortunately ramp up again today for southern California and last through at least early next week,” the National Weather Service said.
“This may lead to the spread of ongoing fires as well as the development of new ones.”
Survivors were cautioned to not spend time outside or to wear a mask to avoid inhaling toxic particles from the thick smoke that wreathes the city.
‘I know it’s gone'
The Palisades fire was 11% contained on Saturday but had grown to 9500ha, while the Eaton Fire was at 5600ha and 15% contained.
Official figures show more than 12,000 structures burned, but Cal Fire’s Todd Hopkins said not all were homes, and the number would also include outbuildings, RVs, vehicles and sheds.
With reports of looting and a night-time curfew in place, police and National Guard have mounted checkpoints to prevent people getting into the disaster zones.
But that has left residents frustrated as they queue for up to 10 hours to try to get back in and see what, if anything, is left of their homes.
One woman, who gave her name as Janelle, told broadcaster KTLA she knew her house was gone, but she needed “closure”.
“I see the photos, I see the videos, and I just want to see it with my own eyes,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I know it’s gone, but ... I just want to see it for myself.”
The long queues left some people fuming about poor management, the latest gripe from a population already angry over hydrants that ran dry in the initial firefight.
City officials put on a united front on Saturday after reports of a behind-the-scenes row and suggestions that Mayor Karen Bass had sacked her fire chief.
“As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our No 1 mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency,” Bass said.
An at times tense joint press conference came after Chief Kristin Crowley complained her fire department was short of cash.
“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded,” Crowley told Fox television’s local network. “It’s not.”
Body search
Among those known to have died in the tragedy was former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who appeared in British TV show Kiddy Kapers in the 1990s.
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heart broken,” his mother Shelley Sykes wrote on social media.
Teams with cadaver dogs were combing through the rubble, with several people known to be missing and fears that the death toll will grow.
‘Criminal act’ investigation under way
A huge investigation was under way to determine what caused the blazes, involving the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with local authorities, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“We are not going to leave any rock unturned,” he 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, appealing for anyone who had information to come forward.
While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are often natural, and a vital part of an environment’s life cycle.
But urban sprawl puts people more frequently in harm’s way, and the changing climate – supercharged by humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels – is exacerbating the conditions that give rise to destructive blazes.
- Agence France-Presse