LA firefighters desperately try to contain the monster Palisades fire.

Spread the love

WATCH: Palisades Fire Spits ‘Fire Devil’

Firefighters are waging an all-out attack to prevent Los Angeles’ largest wildfire from spreading into the city’s only unique neighborhoods.

Aerial crews are dousing the burning hillsides with water and fire retardant to prevent the Palisades Fire, which has grown an additional 1,000 acres and is now threatening Brentwood.

Officials remained on the defensive as firefighters battled to contain the fast-moving blaze.

Winds are expected to pick up again overnight, fanning the blaze, which has killed at least 11 people.

Getty Images Monterey County firefighters watch as an LA County helicopter arrives to drop water on the Palisade Fire.Getty Images

The Palisades fire has burned nearly 23,000 acres

“LA County has had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said on Saturday.

Firefighters have made modest progress on the worst-hit Palisades fire, which is about 23,000 acres and 11 percent contained.

But the conflict spread to the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood, prompting an evacuation order in Brentwood, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Disney CEO Bob Iger and NBA star LeBron James.

See: The plane dropped fire retardant on the Los Angeles fire

Also in the evacuation zone, the hilltop museum of the Getty Center houses more than 125,000 works of art, including masterpieces by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet and Degas. The building has not yet been damaged.

The Eaton Fire, the second largest, has burned more than 14,000 acres and is 15 percent contained. Firefighters mostly contain two smaller fires, the Kennett and Hurst fires.

But the National Weather Service warned that Santa Ana winds, which fueled the fire at the start, will pick up again Saturday and Sunday.

Seven neighboring states, the federal government, and Canada and Mexico channeled their resources to California.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The two largest combined destroyed an area twice the size of Manhattan.

Firefighters flee the ridge line as the Palisades fire reaches them.

About 153,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders and another 166,000 have been warned to evacuate.

The political backlash has begun.

On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat with White House aspirations, ordered an investigation into why a key water reservoir is out of service and some fire hydrants are dry.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley complained about the shortage.

“When the firefighter comes to hydrate, we expect there will be water,” she said.

Chief Crowley has attacked city leaders for cutting his department’s budget and eliminating mechanic positions, saying more than 100 fire extinguishers have been put out of service.

On Saturday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — criticized for attending the inauguration of the African nation’s president in Ghana at the time of the fire in LA on Tuesday — hinted at tensions with Chief Crowley.

“Let me be clear about one thing,” Bass told a news conference, “the fire chief and I are focused on fighting these fires and saving lives.”

More than 70,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for the mayor’s immediate resignation.

The veteran publicist lost a house full of Hollywood memorabilia

A sunrise-to-sunset curfew is being strictly enforced in the displaced areas as the fear of looting increases, the official said.

Newsom announced on Saturday that he would double the number of National Guard troops on the ground to “keep the community safe” by deploying 1,680 troops.

About two dozen people were arrested, including theft, robbery and curfew violations.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said 40 Red Dogs search-and-rescue teams were scouring damaged neighborhoods.

The death toll is expected to rise as house-to-house checks are carried out.

Prince Harry and Meghan embraced residents in Pasadena

The flames were so intense that the wheel alloys on the cars were melting into puddles of liquid metal.

Rick McGuig, a real estate agent, told Reuters news agency that only six of the 60 houses in his Pacific Palisades neighborhood survived.

All that stood in his house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.

“All that’s left is ashes and rubble,” said the 61-year-old father of three.

2025-01-11 23:14:20
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/56e6/live/249350c0-d075-11ef-94cb-5f844ceb9e30.jpg

Similar Posts