Firefighters were racing against time this Saturday to put out the powerful fires in Los Angeleswhile the death toll increased to 16 and the winds spread the fire to hitherto unscathed areas, which diminishes expectations of soon controlling the emergency.
At least 16 people have died during the fires, according to the Los Angeles forensic department. The office attributed five of the deaths to the Palisades fire on the west coast of the United States, and eleven to the Eaton fire, north of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, others 13 people have been reported missing, and the authorities fear that the balance could worsen.
Entire neighborhoods of the second largest city in the United States are devastated: more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed and more than 15,000 hectares have burned.
It looks like “a war scenario,” President Joe Biden compared Friday.
Despite the massive mobilization of firefighters, the advance of the fires generated new evacuation orders on the east side of the Pacific Palisades sector, in an area where the Getty Center is located, a museum that houses some 125,000 works of art.
“These winds, combined with dry air and vegetation, keep the threat in Los Angeles County at a high level,” said Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, dimming hopes that the disaster will soon be under control.
Aerial images of the area Mandeville Canyon They showed burning houses and a wall of fire on a hillside.
At a press conference on Saturday, the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, attempted to reduce tensions over the government’s response to the emergency by stating that policymakers, emergency services and security officials were “all on the same page.”
The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaumannounced on Saturday that “a humanitarian aid group was leaving for Los Angeles, California,” to address the situation.
Photo: Government of Mexico
Strict curfew
Before him increased looting in affected or evacuated areasauthorities declared a strict curfew on Friday, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
The largest of the four fires still active has burned about 9,100 hectares on the coast of Malibu and in the Pacific Palisades, and was 11% contained as of Saturday afternoon, according to emergency services.
The conflagration in Eaton was only 15% contained, according to the same source.
Devastating
The award-winning actor Mel Gibson He told NewsNation that his Malibu home caught fire and that the loss was “devastating.”
He Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Marklewho cut ties with the British monarchy in 2020 and live in California, came to console the victims in the Pasadena neighborhood.
The situation “remains very dangerous,” warned Deanne Criswell of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Throughout the Californian megacity, evacuations number in the hundreds of thousands.
In light of the fires, more than 153,000 residents remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 166,000 are under notice this Friday.
Smoke warning
Authorities are urging Californians to conserve water, as some reservoirs that supply fire hydrants have been depleted due to fighting the fires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also ordered “a complete independent review” of water distribution services.
Donald Trump, who will assume the presidency of the United States on January 20, has spread false information on his social network Truth Social, claiming that California is running out of water due to Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect “useless fish.” “.
President Biden said “many demagogues” were trying to capitalize on misinformation around the disaster.
Authorities have also warned of health risks from smoke from the fires, asking residents to stay inside buildings and homes.
These wildfires could be the costliest ever recorded: AccuWeather estimates total damage and losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion.
California is emerging from two very rainy years that gave rise to lush vegetation, now parched by a lack of rain for eight months.
Scientists regularly note that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.
