At Least 10 Dead and 10,000 Structures Destroyed as Los Angeles Wildfires Enter Day 4
The Los Angeles wildfires showed subtle signs of relenting up overnight into Friday morning, but the numbers associated with the devastation continue to rise. Thus far, at least 10 people are dead, 10,000 structures have been destroyed and 153,000 locals are now under evacuation orders.
The Palisades fire is currently at 8% containment, having burned 20,438 acres since it began on Tuesday. Elsewhere, the Eaton fire has burned 13,690 acres now at 3% containment, with the Kenneth fire still at 1,000 acres, the Hurst fire at 771 acres and the Lidia fire nearly contained at 394 acres.
“Yesterday, we were very hopeful that we could turn a corner on this fire, and we did,” CalFire battalion chief Brent Pascua said of the Palisades fire’s containment on Friday. “It’s going to take a lot more work to see that grow, but we’re headed in the right direction.”
Many Angelenos were jolted awake by a second (hopefully errant) all-county emergency alarm on their phones at around 4 a.m. PT early Friday morning. Thursday’s similar text message alert was confirmed to have been sent wide by mistake.
At least 13,926 emergency responders are now battling the unprecedented urban wildfires, with 8,000 personnel coming from California itself and additional assistance from Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Canada.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has again activated the California National Guard to help combat both the blazes and looting after at least 20 people were arrested for burglarizing impacted homes this week. “Taking advantage of evacuated communities is absolutely sick,” he said. “Looting will not be tolerated.”
A suspected arsonist in connection to the more recent Kenneth fire was also arrested Thursday night, according to the LAPD. “Justice will be swift, it will be firm, and the maximum punishment will be sought,” Los Angeles DA Nathan Hochman noted.
All Los Angeles Unified School District schools are closed for Friday. LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho further stated that next week’s classes will be dependent on weather, pollution and fire conditions, in addition to potential recovery needs.
A red flag warning remains in effect until Friday evening.
The post At Least 10 Dead and 10,000 Structures Destroyed as Los Angeles Wildfires Enter Day 4 appeared first on TheWrap.
