Fresh evacuation orders have been given to new areas of Los Angeles after the largest wildfire blaze shifted in another direction.
On Friday night, reports that the Palisades Fire on the city’s western edge was heading in a new direction prompted fresh evacuation orders for much of the Brentwood neighborhood and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
“The Palisades fire has got a new significant flare-up on the eastern portion and continues to move northeast,” LA Fire Department Captain Erik Scott told local station KTLA, according to a report on the LA Times website.
The latest evacuations come after California Governor Gavin Newsom called for an investigation into the county’s fire hydrants and other water failures.
Some hydrants in the Palisades were unusable earlier this week and reservoir water was reportedly not available, impairing the effort to protect homes. Newsom has called on county officials to investigate the matter and compile a report.
There are six active large wildfires throughout Los Angeles County. The Palisades and Eaton fires are the most destructive in the state’s history. The Palisades fire is at 11 percent containment and the Eaton fire is at 15 percent as of Saturday morning.
At least 11 have been killed as officials continue to battle the stubborn blazes.
Texas sends resources to assist California wildfire fighting efforts
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Saturday he would send firefighting resources to assist with the fire response efforts in California.
The state will send more than 135 firefighters, emergency, and medical responders, as well as 45 vehicles including fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles and equipments, according to a Texas press release.
“Texans know all too well the devastation wildfires can cause to our communities, and our country is stronger when we come together in times of crisis,” Abbott said in a statement.
‘My whole city is gone’: As evacuations are lifted, LA residents are returning home to find nothing left
Los Angeles area residents are returning to their homes to find nothing but ash and rubble as wildfires devastate Southern California.
The Palisades and Eaton fires, along with other smaller blazes, have burned more than 36,000 acres of land throughout the Los Angeles area. At least ten people are dead and more than 10,000 structures have been destroyed by the flames as of Friday afternoon.
The deadly fires prompted some 200,000 people across Southern California to evacuate their homes. As evacuation orders are lifted for certain neighborhoods, many residents are returning to find their homes and belongings reduced to rubble.
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Former child star dies in California wildfires aged 32
Rory Callum Sykes, a British-born former child actor, has died in the wildfires that have devastated California this week.
Sykes, who featured in the Australian TV series Kiddy Kapers, was at his family’s home in Malibu when he died at the age of 32.
The news was announced on X/Twitter by his mother, Shelley Sykes, who also starred in the 1998 reality series.
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Pope Francis offers prayers for California wildfire victims
Pope Francis offered his “heartfelt prayers” to the victims of the widlfires in Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Vatican.
“Saddened by the loss of life and the widespread destruction caused by the fires near Los Angeles, his holiness Pope Francis assures you and the communities affected by this tragedy of his spiritual closeness,” the statement said.
It continued, saying the Pope is praying “for the relief efforts of the emergency services personnel.”
Nearly 50,000 without power in LA area due to wildfires
Nearly 50,000 power customers are in the dark in Southern California as of this morning, according to PowerOutage.us.
Wildfires in the area have disrupted power to approximately 47,998 homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area. Approximately half of the outages affect LA Department of Water and Power customers, while the other half affects Southern California Edison customers, according to the data.
Cal Fire chief says there’s a “very significant concern” that next week’s high winds will spread fires
Cal Fire Battalion Chief David Acuna told CNN on Saturday that there was a “very significant concern” that the wildfires will grow next week when Santa Ana winds return to the region.
Relatively calm winds overnight on Friday and on Saturday allowed firefighters to make gains on containment, but the high winds next week threaten to offset some of that work.
Acuna said that “when the wind picks up and those embers start flying, that’s where our concern is.”
Palisades fire is still growing despite containment gains
The Palisades fire is growing despite LA firefighters’ best attempts to keep the blaze contained. Cal Fire reports that the blaze torched 22,660 acres as of this morning. That’s an increase over its last burn count, which found the fire had engulfed 21,595 acres. The fire is spreading toward Encino and Brentwood, and eastern neighborhoods and organizations — including UCLA — were preparing to evacuate in the event of an easterly turn.
Cal Fire said on Saturday that a fire weather watch would be in effect through 6pm on Sunday night. The state fire agency expects that strong Santa Ana winds will begin blowing in as soon as Monday, are expected to peak on Tuesday, and will die out on Wednesday.
The high winds will add fuel to the already raging fires and could potentially assist in starting new ones. Firefighters made progress containing the fires on Saturday in part because the winds were calmer in Southern California overnight Friday and into Saturday than they had been in recent days.
LAPD chief vows to determine Palisades fire cause, ATF to helm fire origin investigation
LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell vowed to find out what exactly started the Palisades and Eaton fires on Saturday, and said in the mean time his department was focused on stopping looters.
“Let me be clear on this,” he said during a press briefing. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for anybody attempting to exploit this crisis.”
The ATF will lead the overall investigation into the cause of the fires, according to city officials.
The ATF, along with Cal Fire, the LAPD, and the LA Fire Department, will examine whether or not there is any connection between the Palisades and Eaton fires.
“They have tremendous resources and expertise and can bring in resources from across the country to do their investigation,” McDonnell said.
LA Mayor Karen Bass says she and LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowely are on same page despite recent friction
LA Mayor Karen Bass said that she and the city’s fire chief, Kristin Crowley, were still on the same page depite recent friction between the officials.
Crowley said the city’s firefighting force was hobbled in its response to the Palisade fire due to budget cuts totalling $17m enacted by Bass’s administration.
During a press conference on Saturday, Bass acknowledged the tension but said both her and Crowley’s focus was saving lives, not bickering.
“Let me be clear about something, the fire chief and I are focused on fighting these fires and saving lives, and any differences that we might have will be worked out in private,” Bass said. “But right now, our first and most important obligation to Angelenos is to get through this crisis.”
She promised “a full accounting of what worked — and especially what did not” once the fires are contained and the immediate needs of affected Angelenos are addressed.
Crowley was present at the news conference.
Fire responders by the numbers
Thousands of public servants are out fighting the Palisades fire, which has been torching Southern California since last week.
More than 3,700 fire personnel are fighting the Palisades fire, according to Cal Fire and the LA Fire Department. That includes more than 20 helicopters and 460 fire engines.
As of Saturday morning, the Palisades fire was reported as 11 percent contained, though high winds predicted for next week could challenge the gains firefighters have made.
In addition to fire personnel, there are also approximately 400 National Guard members deployed across LA County, according to Sheriff Robert Luna.
Source: independent.co.uk