LA fires newest: Firefighters to face 70mph winds pushing ‘explosive fire growth’ as demise toll climbs to 24
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Firefighters are bracing for the return of ferocious Santa Ana winds which are expected to fan the flames of wildfires raging across southern California, as the death toll climbs to at least 24 people.
The National Weather service warned of a “particularly dangerous situation” on Sunday evening and, although peak winds will be weaker than last week, they will be “strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth”. The agency anticipates gusts of up to 70mph in mountainous regions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said 70 additional water trucks have been deployed to help firefighters fend off blazes spread by renewed gusts.
As of Monday morning, the fires have scorched more than 40,000 acres, including more than 23,000 acres across the Pacific Palisades and along the Pacific Coast Highway. Only 13 percent of the Palisades fire has been contained. The Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres in Altadena and Pasadena and is 27 percent contained.
California Governor Gavin Newsom described the Los Angeles wildfires as the worst disaster in U.S. history during Sunday’s appearance on NBC’s meet the press.
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“All of the brush clearance, fuel breaks — they’re very effective on what we would consider a normal day,” said Chief Brian Fennessy, of the Orange County Fire Authority, told The Los Angeles Times. “But what you’re talking about here is probably less than 1 percent of all the fires that we respond to in Southern California.”
The Palisades fire started last week, amid hurricane-force winds.
“You could have put a 10-lane freeway in front of that fire and it would not have slowed it one bit,” Fennessy said.
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The four-bedroom, four-bathroom property, located in the affluent coastal neighborhood west of L.A., survived the catastrophic Palisades fire that has gone on to burn more than 22,661 acres, the home’s new owner has confirmed on Instagram.
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A dog owner broke down in tears, screaming for joy through the streets of the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Sunday (12 January) as the pair were reunited after their home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Casey Colvin was at work when evacuation orders meant he could not reach his home to rescue his two pets, Oreo and Tika Tika Tika. A firefighter saved Tika Tika Tika, but Oreo ran away before the house burned down, NBC reported. The tiny dog survived for five days in the rubble before a dog tracker meant Colvin was able to locate his missing pet.
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‘Hopefully it’s just a bad dream’: LA fire captain loses home to Eaton fire
A Veteran Los Angeles Fire Captain who bravely battled against the wildfires sweeping the Los Angeles area lost his entire family home to the Eaton blaze.
Jerry Puga of Altadena said he woke up at 3 a.m. to the smell of smoke and blackout conditions.
“We all went to bed,” Puga told KCAL. “No worries in my mind, I’m thinking, ‘It’s in the hills, it’s gonna stay in the hills.’”
After fleeing his home, the firefighter later tried to return the property, but was prevented by a wall of flames. Now, Puga’s nightmares have become a reality.
“Still thinking that hopefully it’s just a bad dream and I’m gonna come and find my neighborhood just the way it was,” Puga said.
Source: independent.co.uk
