Palisades fireplace reside updates: Five useless as wind-fueled wildfire deemed most harmful in LA historical past

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is providing an update this evening on the devastating wildfires in Southern California.

“Conserve water to the extent that you can,” Bass said. “We want to make sure that we are ready if we need more water.

“But make no mistake, Los Angeles will rebuild stronger than ever,” she continued.

Everyone should stay away from the areas impacted by the blaze, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Member Kathryn Barger.

“If you do not need to be in the area and you’ve been evacuated, please heed the evacuation warning, and if you don’t live in the area, please stay away,” she said. “I was shocked to see people walking around that don’t live up there, that are just taking a look at what’s going on. We have firefighters and first responders that are trying to do their job, and it’s important for us to all support them and make sure that we provide space so that they can get it done.”

Some 750 firefighters are battling the Eaton Fire, Pasadena Fire Department Chief Chad Augustin said on Wednesday evening.

Planes are also dropping water to prevent additional spread, and firefighters are optimistic weather conditions will work in their favor in the coming days, he said.

Victor Gordo, mayor of Pasadena, said over 100,000 people are under evacuation orders and 100,000 people have been warned they’re in the danger zone, meaning they should evacuate as soon as possible.

“We have hundreds of homes that have been destroyed,” Gordo said, explaining that the city’s biggest challenge will be finding shelter for those displaced.

The Eaton fire is also draining water resources from the area, Pasadena Fire Department Chief Chad Augustin said, with winds and power outages also contributing to the blazes.

Eaton has burned more than 10,600 acres, he added.

Another round of Santa Ana winds is expected to arrive as early as Thursday afternoon following a brief break tonight, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Gusts of up to 70 mph are possible in the mountains.

Learn how the Santa Ana winds are fueling California’s destructive wildfires this week from The Independent’s Rhian Lubin:

However, the comment didn’t land and was condemned online given the disaster that was unfolding just miles away.

After noting that he’d received word that the home of his son Hunter — who is dad to new mom Naomi — had initially been believed to have burned down in the fire but was actually still standing, Biden revealed that he was now a proud great-grandfather, even as he appeared to be unsure of his grandchild’s gender at first.

A lack of water access has complicated firefighters’ ability to extinguish the wildfires devastating Southern California this week.

“A firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable,” Mark Pestrella, the director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said.

However, the shortage isn’t due to a lack of water itself — but rather the delivery of the water, experts told CNN.

Hydrants throughout the Pacific Palisades, for example, went dry due to low water pressure early Wednesday after firefighters drew heavily from the city’s three major water tanks to battle the blazes, CNN reports.

“Those tanks help with the pressure on the fire hydrants in the hills in the Palisades, and because we were pushing so much water in our (main supply line), and so much water was being used … we were not able to fill the tanks fast enough,” Janisse Quiñones, chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said “The consumption of water was faster than we can provide water in a (main) line.”

Actors Cary Elwes and Lisa Marie Elwes have lost their southern California home amid the devastating wildfires scorching the Los Angeles area.

President Joe Biden took to social media on Wednesday to offer his support for those impacted by the California wildfires.

“Over 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate communities impacted by the Southern California wildfires,” Biden wrote on X. “At least two people have been killed. And many more are injured – including firefighters. It’s devastating. To the residents of Southern California: We are with you.”

“To the brave men and women who ran towards danger over the past 24 hours in Southern California, I want you to know your President, and the rest of the country, is with you,” he wrote in a second post. “You suited up and risked your lives to save the lives of your fellow Americans. We are indebted to you.”

At least five people have been killed by the wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area, the Associated Press reports.

The deaths were reported in Altadena and Pasadena, near where the Eaton fire rages on. The Pacific Palisades fire has also been deemed the most destructive in Los Angeles history.

California officials have now ordered more than 150,000 people to evacuate as the destructive wildfires burn on.

More than 1.5 million customers are also without power as the blazes destroy thousands of structures in Southern California.