landscapes of desolation, tens of thousands of victims…

Landscapes of desolation and a very heavy toll. At least 27 people have been killed by the Los Angeles fires, thousands evacuated and dozens more missing. In terms of cost, these are close to 280 billion dollars in damage. A cost much higher than the damage caused by the terrible Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which cost 108 billion dollars.

The two main fires destroyed nearly 16,000 hectares, an area almost as large as the capital Washington DC, and wiped out entire neighborhoods of the second largest city in the United States. Fires now more than 50% contained according to the authorities and the AFP.

The upscale neighborhood of Pacific Palisades today offers nothing but a vast landscape of ashes, nearly 10,000 hectares have gone up in smoke and more than 5,000 buildings have been destroyed by the flames. The Eaton fires to the east ravaged 6,000 hectares and destroyed 10,300 buildings.

Mounted police officers and dog squads inspected the disaster areas on Friday in search of victims, in charred buildings and even in certain steep areas. Hundreds of trucks also crisscross the roads of Altadena, the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and the Malibu coast to transport workers who have come to clear the roads, restore electricity and inspect water and gas leaks.

While the lull in winds this weekend allowed authorities to lift evacuation orders in many areas of the city, allowing thousands of residents to return home, tens of thousands of other residents evacuated will have to wait”at least one more week” before returning, warned the authorities. The cause: fears of landslides or exposure to toxic substances. “This will take a whileLos Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced to AFP, I would say at least another week, and that's an estimate, but I think it's going to take longer than that.“

Federal authorities have launched an investigation to determine the causes of these fires, which are the subject of numerous theories. But experts are already pointing out a few elements: two very rainy years gave rise to lush vegetation, which then dried out without precipitation for months and violent winds made the firefighters' task almost impossible.

The Santa Ana winds, which fanned the flames at breakneck speed, are a classic of Californian autumns and winters. But this time they reached an intensity not seen since 2011, according to meteorologists, with gusts blowing up to 160 km/h.

Strong winds which could blow again on the City of Angels on Monday January 20. The US weather services forecast dry and windy weather with gusts up to 130 km/h. While thousands of firefighters continue to work day and night to control these devastating fires, President-elect Donald Trump declared this Sunday during a meeting that he would go to the site on Friday.