Los Angeles | Fires spread, death toll rises to 16

(Los Angeles) The multiple fires that have been raging in Los Angeles for five days have left at least 16 dead, and spread on Saturday to areas that had until now been spared.

The county medical examiner announced additional deaths Saturday evening. The previous report reported 11 deaths.

Entire sections of the second largest city in the United States are devastated: more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed and more than 15,000 hectares have gone up in smoke. A landscape compared by President Joe Biden to “a war scene”.

Despite the massive mobilization of firefighters, the progression of the fire triggered new evacuation orders on the eastern flank of the Pacific Palisades sector, in an area where the Getty Center is located. Built in part with fire-resistant stone, the famous museum houses 125,000 works of art.

The winds which began to weaken on Friday are expected to regain strength from Saturday evening, according to forecasts from the Federal Natural Disaster Response Agency (FEMA).

“These winds, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County high,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

Aerial footage of the Mandeville Canyon area shows homes on fire, with a wall of flames licking the side of a hillside.

Even if it is too early to determine the origin of the fires, criticism of the preparation and response of public authorities is increasing.

Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley deplored on Fox News affiliate KTTV a persistent lack of “personnel, resources and funds,” comments interpreted as targeting local authorities.

During a press conference on Saturday in the presence of M^me Crowley, the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, however played down the tensions, assuring that politicians, emergency services and security were “all on the same wavelength”.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Saturday the sending of a “support team to Los Angeles, with forest fire fighters”.

Strict curfew

Faced with looting in disaster-stricken or evacuated areas, a strict curfew, in force between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., was decreed Friday by the authorities in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena sectors, the most ravaged.

The Democratic governor of the nation’s most populous state, Gavin Newsom, on Friday called for “a comprehensive independent review” of the city’s water services.

The main fire, affecting Pacific Palisades, was 11% contained Saturday and spreading eastward after burning some 9,100 hectares, while the Eaton Fire was 15% contained, according to emergency services.

At least 11 people died in the blaze and 13 are missing, but authorities said they expected the toll to rise.

Among those who saw their homes destroyed was actor Mel Gibson, whose Malibu home was gutted.

Nicole Perri, whose house went up in smoke in Pacific Palisades, told AFP that authorities had “completely failed” the residents.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who broke ties with the British monarchy in 2020 and reside in California, came to comfort victims in the Pasadena district.

Hundreds of thousands of evacuations

In the megacity, depending on the orders received, sometimes by mistake, evacuations number in the hundreds of thousands.

Californians are being urged to conserve water as some reservoirs supplying fire hydrants have been emptied by battling the flames.

Health authorities also warned residents of the health risks posed by smoke from the fires, asking them to stay inside buildings.

These fires could be the costliest on record: AccuWeather estimates total damages and losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion.

The hot, dry Santa Ana winds currently blowing are a classic of California autumns and winters. But this time they reached an intensity not seen since 2011, according to meteorologists.

A nightmare for firefighters: California is coming out of two very rainy years which gave rise to lush vegetation, now dried up by a glaring lack of precipitation for eight months.

Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.