The violent winds are largely responsible for the transformation of the fires into infernos which destroyed entire neighborhoods around the American megalopolis which has not experienced significant precipitation for more than eight months.
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The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that the death toll from California’s wildfires has risen to 16. Thousands of buildings were destroyed by the flames.
Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Palisades Fire; eleven other bodies were found in the ravaged Eaton area, near the town of Altadena.
The previous death toll was 11, but authorities said they expected that figure to rise as sniffer dogs continued to search the rubble for human remains and Teams assess the devastation.
Firefighters are working to stop the fires from spreading before high winds forecast for early next week return and push the flames toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California.
A fierce battle against the flames was underway at Mandeville Canyon, home of Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as flames raced down the slope .
Firefighters on the ground used fire hoses to try to push back the flames, while thick smoke covered the hillside covered in chaparral, the California scrub.
In a briefing, CalFire Chief of Operations Christian Litz said the focus needs to be on the Palisades Fire, which is burning in a canyon not far from the UCLA campus.
County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the Los Angeles area “experienced another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak, and even more Angelenos were evacuated due to the northeastern expansion of the Palisades Fire“.
Light breezes fanned the flames, but the National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could soon return.
These winds are largely responsible for the transformation of fires into infernos which destroyed entire neighborhoods around the Californian megalopolis which has not experienced significant precipitation for more than eight months.
The fire also threatened to cross Interstate 405 and spread to densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
The search for bodies
Inspection of the rubble continued Saturday, with teams conducting systematic searches with sniffer dogs, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
The official said a family support center was being set up in Pasadena and urged residents to respect the curfew.
The fires consumed approximately 145 square kilometers, an area larger than San Francisco.
Tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders and new evacuations were ordered Friday evening after a surge on the east side of the Palisades Fire.
ADVERTISEMENTSince the fires began Tuesday north of downtown Los Angeles, more than 12,000 structures have burned, including homes, buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
No cause has been determined for the larger fires and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the costliest in the nation’s history.
According to an initial estimate from AccuWeather, the damage and economic losses to date amount to 135-150 billion dollars (131-146 billion euros).
