(Los Angeles) Los Angeles is not experiencing any respite: hot and powerful winds threaten Tuesday to further fan the flames which have disfigured the second city in the United States for a week and have left at least 24 dead.
Posted at 12:59 p.m.
Updated at 6:03 p.m.
Romain FONSEGRIVES et Huw GRIFFITH
Agence France-Presse
The United States Weather Service (NWS) has placed parts of Los Angeles County and neighboring Ventura County as being in a “particularly dangerous situation” due to winds.
The Santa Ana winds, hot and dry squalls typical of this region in winter, were expected to strengthen on Tuesday to more than 110 km/h.
The very low humidity and very dry vegetation can lead to “ultra-rapid expansion of the fire” in certain areas, warn meteorologists, who have also placed a large part of southern California on alert. red.
The damage is immense: more than 12,000 homes, buildings and vehicles have been destroyed or damaged, and entire neighborhoods razed, while 88,000 people are still displaced and at least 24 dead.
“My house burned down, I know it. I saw photos: only the chimney remains. But I need to see it with my own eyes to believe it,” Fred Busche told AFP.
Refusing to leave the apartment complex he manages, Jeff Ridgway told AFP he saved it from the flames by drawing buckets of water from the swimming pool to extinguish a dangerously close eucalyptus tree.
PHOTO JAE C. HONG, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pacific Palisades devastated by fires.
“It was war,” said this sixty-year-old. “But I was stubborn, I fought.”
“Everything will be fine”
The two main fires covered 9,700 hectares in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, and more than 5,500 in the town of Altadena, just north of Los Angeles.
For days, teams accompanied by dogs have been searching the ruins for victims. On Monday, 1,800 homes were inspected, according to the Los Angeles County sheriff. “The good news is that we didn’t find any bodies,” added Robert Luna. “We don’t want the toll to increase any more.”
These fires, among the worst in California history, could be the costliest ever, according to preliminary estimates.
In Altadena, Zahrah Mihms tries to contain the anxiety of her little Ethan, four years old.
“I try to make him forget what’s going on and tell him, ‘Everything’s okay. Our house had a little mess, but we’re going to fix it. Everything is going to be fine,” + she says, still wearing the slippers she wore when she fled the flames.
Hundreds of thousands of children returned to school on Monday, but schools located in evacuated areas remain closed.
In total, thousands of firefighters are on the job and have received human and material reinforcements, including dozens of tanker trucks.
They were mobilized to a new outbreak which broke out late Monday, in Oxnard, 80 km from Los Angeles.
“Fine dust”
After problems fighting flames in the Pacific Palisades area due to dry or low-pressure hydrants, which notably led to criticism of fire management, Fire Chief Anthony Marrone assured Tuesday that There was indeed “water and pressure” in the Altadena sector.
PHOTO ERIC THAYER, ARCHASSOCIATED PRESS
Fires raged on January 11 in Mandeville Canyon
Target of this criticism, notably coming from the next Republican President of the United States Donald Trump, the Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom has requested “a comprehensive independent review” of Los Angeles water distribution services.
The attention of the authorities is also focused on the smoke and ashes generated by the blazes, moved by the winds.
“The ashes are not just dirt. This is fine dust that can irritate or damage your respiratory system and other parts of your body,” warned Anish Mahajan of the county public health department. The authorities are therefore calling on the population to wear a mask.
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 last week.
Enough to spread the fire at lightning speed, especially since two very rainy years had given rise to luxuriant vegetation, which then dried up over the course of eight months without precipitation.
Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.
