Five days which already seem like an eternity as the toll and damage are so heavy. The fires that have besieged Los Angeles since Tuesday have already killed at least sixteen people and continue to gain ground this Sunday. They could even strengthen in the coming hours, with the anticipated return of violent winds.
The return of “dangerous” winds
“The situation is still critical,” warned Deanne Criswell of the federal disaster response agency (FEMA). “The winds risk becoming dangerous again,” she explained to the ABC channel, calling on the population to remain extremely vigilant. After a brief lull in the winds, the authorities expect them to return in force on Sunday. “These winds, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County high,” warned County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
More than 12,000 buildings or caravans destroyed
Despite the efforts of thousands of firefighters on site, the “Palisades Fire” spread to the northwest of Los Angeles on Saturday. It now threatens the densely populated San Fernando Valley, but also the Getty Museum and its priceless works of art. More than 12,000 structures – houses, various buildings and even caravans – were destroyed or damaged by the fires, according to the latest report. The damage is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars, and some experts already fear that these fires will be the costliest on record.
“It’s just overwhelming,” said Dara Danton, a 25-year resident of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, the first to catch fire on Tuesday. She is one of more than 150,000 people forced to flee in the face of the region’s flames.
A catastrophe against a backdrop of political controversy
Many of them are beginning to question the management of the authorities, in particular because the firefighters have sometimes had to deal with empty fire hydrants or with low pressure. Much criticized, the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, assured Saturday that her services were “all on the same wavelength”. The day before, the city’s fire chief had pointed out the insufficient budget allocated by the municipality to fire fighters.
-Donald Trump launched a new attack on Sunday on the management of fires by local leaders. “Incompetent politicians have no idea how to turn them off,” he lambasted on his Truth Social platform.
Causes of fire still unknown
The investigation to determine the causes of these multiple fires, in which the FBI is participating, is still ongoing, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna recalled on Saturday. “We will not neglect any avenue,” he assured.
The hot, dry Santa Ana winds that fanned these fires are a classic of California autumns and winters. But this time they reached an intensity not seen since 2011, according to meteorologists, with gusts of up to 160 km/h this week. Enough to spread the embers very quickly, sometimes over kilometers. A nightmare scenario for firefighters, because California is coming out of two very rainy years which gave rise to lush vegetation, now dried up by a severe lack of rain for eight months.
