LOS ANGELES: Firefighters were battling massive wildfires on Monday that have ravaged Los Angeles and killed at least 24 people, with officials warning of incoming dangerous winds that could whip up the blazes further. The fires ripped through the United States' second-largest city for the seventh day, reducing whole communities to scorched rubble and leaving thousands without homes. Massive firefighting efforts have staunched the spread of the Palisades Fire, which was looming toward upscale Brentwood and the densely populated San Fernando Valley. But conditions are set to dramatically worsen, with "extreme fire behavior and life threatening conditions" over the coming days.
Winds up to 110 kilometers per hour mean a "particularly dangerous situation" will be declared from Tuesday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld. Those gusts could fan flames and whip up embers from existing burn zones into new areas, firefighters warned. Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Anthony Marrone said his department had received resources including dozens of new water trucks and firefighters from far afield and was primed to face the renewed threat. There was frustration for evacuees who were told they would not be returning home until at least Thursday when winds subside. Some have queued for hours in the hope of getting back to homes they fled to pick up medication or a change of clothes.
But Sheriff Robert Luna said escorts into those areas were being suspended on Sunday because of the winds and dangerous conditions among the wreckage, as well as the need to retrieve victims' bodies. Teams with cadaver dogs were carrying out grid searches with the grim expectation that the confirmed death toll would rise. Several more arrests of looters were made, including one burglar who had dressed as a firefighter to steal from homes.
The Palisades Fire has consumed 23,700 acres (9,500 hectares) and was just 13 per cent contained. Video footage showed "fire tornadoes", red-hot spirals that occur when a blaze is so intense it creates its own weather system. But containment of the 14,000-acre Eaton Fire in Altadena had improved, figures showed, with 27 per cent of its perimeter controlled. The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner published a list of fatalities without giving details of any identities. Eight of the dead were found in the Palisades Fire zone, and 16 in the Eaton Fire zone, the document said. The total number of residents under evacuation orders dropped to around 100,000, from a peak of almost 180,000.
President-elect Donald Trump has accused California officials of incompetence, even though a heroic firefighting operation has operated 24/7 since the first flames erupted. That effort was bolstered on Sunday with the arrival of crews from Mexico. They join teams from all over California and across the western United States who have come to help out. A huge investigation by federal and local authorities was underway to determine what caused the blazes. While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are often natural and a vital part of an environment's life cycle. — AFP
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