The most destructive fires in Los Angeles County history continued to ravage the region Thursday morning, where at least five people lost their lives and dozens more were injured. More than 130,000 people have been evacuated, more than 2,000 structures have been burned and 300,000 homes are without power.
Firefighters are battling at least five blazes ravaging Los Angeles County, home to more than 10 million people, the most populous region in the United States.
Driven by winds which have sometimes reached more than 150 km/h in recent days, the flames spread more slowly on Thursday morning thanks to a slowdown in the winds.
Watch footage of the fires in California.
The most destructive blaze rages in the Pacific Palisades sector, which ravages the coast between Malibu and Santa Monica. The fire extends over an area of 7,000 hectares, more than the area of the city of Granby in Quebec.
The Eaton fire, in the town of Altadena, covers 4,300 hectares. These two fires, considered the most destructive, are still out of control and have destroyed more than 2,000 houses and buildings between them.
One hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters. This is approximately double the size of an American football field, which is 5,351 square meters.
Hollywood under threat
Three other smaller blazes are also active in the areas of Hurst (346 hectares), Acton, where the fire, called Lidia, covers 141 hectares, and in Hollywood Hills, where the fire called Sunset covers approximately 24 hectares.
This blaze broke out less than two kilometers from the main tourist sector of the city, the jewel of the American film industry. The filming of several productions and series has also been suspended and the Universal Studios Hollywood amusement park has been closed as a security measure.
Open in full screen mode
Helicopters were mobilized Wednesday evening, despite strong winds, to water the flames which threaten the highly touristy sector of Hollywood.
Photo : Getty Images / Mario Tama
The Sunset Fire broke out Wednesday evening as fire officials held a news conference. An evacuation order was immediately issued for the Hollywood Hills area.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame and the streets around the TCL Chinese Theater and Madame Tussauds quickly became saturated with parked cars, as sirens wailed and helicopters flew low overhead to dump water on the flames, which were only 1.5 kilometers away.
People carrying suitcases hurriedly left hotels, filming the fire on their phones.
As of late Thursday night, the fire was considered under control by Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott. We hit it hard and fast and best of all, Mother Nature was a little kinder to us today
he explained. The evacuation order was lifted in the morning.
A sixth fire which broke out on Wednesday, the Woodley fire, is now completely under control after devouring 12 hectares of wooded land.
At least eight billion dollars in insured damages
According to a preliminary estimate from global agency Morningstar DBRS, insured losses caused by these fires will be more than $8 billion. More than 28,000 structures are currently threatened by flames, according to agency estimates. For comparison, the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which destroyed 1,643 structures north of Los Angeles, caused more than $6 billion in property damage at the time.
Start of widget. Skip the widget?End of widget. Return to start of widget?
Conditions still difficult
The extreme weather conditions plaguing California these days are the main driver of these brush fires.
Helped by months of drought and storm winds that have been blowing across Southern California for several days, the flames are literally running from hillside to hillside, burning everything in their path.
Open in full screen mode
The legendary Sunset Boulevard offered a Dantesque vision Wednesday in the Pacific Palisades area.
Photo : Getty Images / Apu Gomes
-Southern California has only received 1 inch of rain since May.
The winds have decreased in intensity a little, but they are still making it difficult for firefighters, Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin told CNN.
Strong squalls could begin again during the day on Thursday. These very strong winds also prevent air tankers from taking to the air to help firefighters who are trying to contain the flames as best they can on the ground.
These conditions favorable to the rapid spread of wildfires are expected to last at least until Friday in Los Angeles, Riverside and Ventura counties.
Open in full screen mode
Thousands of firefighters have been tirelessly fighting gigantic fires since the start of the week in Los Angeles County.
Photo: AP / Etienne Laurent
More than 7,500 firefighters and rescue workers have been mobilized, and several of them are working shifts of 36 or 48 hours. The California National Guard also deployed troops to assist. Help is also coming from neighboring states.
Canada is mobilizing
The Canadian Interservice Forest Fire Center (CIFFC) claims to have received a request for assistance from the American agency responsible for fighting forest fires, particularly for air tankers. In Quebec, the SOPFEU affirms that it is able to deploy around forty forest firefighters on request in addition to having yesterday extended the loan of two CL415 air tankers until January 14 to the County of Los Angeles.
Open in full screen mode
A Canadian CL-415 water bomber.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Patrick Doyle
The Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, declared on his X account that he asked his civil servants to send all available water bombers
. We will provide the necessary personnel and equipment and will spare no effort to help our closest friends and allies
he added.
The Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, announced the upcoming deployment an operations command team in California, as well as additional firefighting resources, including water bombers and helicopters equipped with night vision systems
.
Air and water quality
In Pasadena, notably, an advisory was issued regarding unsafe drinking water in areas affected by evacuations caused by the Eaton Fire.
Open in full screen mode
The destruction is total in Pacific Palisades.
Photo : Getty Images / AFP/Agustin Paullier
The Pasadena Water and Power system could be impaired by debris and high turbidity
according to the City. It is advisable to only consume bottled water, even when brushing your teeth.
Excessive smoke and ash caused air quality to drop to levels dangerous
in parts of Los Angeles County and air quality alerts are in place in many areas, including downtown Los Angeles.
Altadena currently has an air quality index of 426, which exceeds the worst air quality observed in New Delhi, an Indian city known for its air pollution, over the past two days.
Finally, five people died in the fires, but the authorities fear that this toll will rise on Thursday.
With information from CNN, BBC and Agence France-Presse
