A devastating fire continues to rage in Los Angeles, ten people have died, nearly 10,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and at least 130,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. Experts say Los Angeles is not out of danger yet, and these fires could become the costliest wildfire disaster in American history.
We will know this on Friday
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office announced that the death toll had doubled by Thursday evening, so authorities are now aware of 10 deaths. No information was provided about the identity of the deceased or the location of the deaths – writes the LA Times.
According to authorities, entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, and so far nearly 10,000 buildings – homes, businesses, churches, schools and other buildings – have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires. Nearly 180,000 people in the county are under evacuation orders, and another 200,000 people are under evacuation warnings.
About 2,300 firefighters are assisting in the extinguishing, they came from all over the state.
As firefighters battled the fast-spreading blazes in the Los Angeles area, hydrants ran dry again, preventing them from effectively extinguishing them. Experts say these problems have highlighted the vulnerability of urban water systems, which are not built for wildfires of this magnitude. “The water system that supplies the city districts simply cannot deliver such a large amount of water for several hours” said Martin Adams, former director general of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Hundreds of guards are chasing the looters
In our Thursday article, we already wrote about looters appearing near the burned houses, trying to steal valuables that can still be used from the site. Since there are more and more of these individuals, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that they will also deploy the National Guard, because the police are not enough for this, and they now have more than enough tasks on top of that.
Newsom said in a statement that hundreds of members of the National Guard will be deployed to increase the capacity of local law enforcement agencies and will be stationed at traffic control points for security.
The local police said “we do not tolerate those who target vulnerable victims”and announced that 20 looters had already been arrested.
The number of firefighters in the city has remained unchanged for sixty years
Traci Park, a councilwoman for the 11th District of Los Angeles, which includes Pacific Palisades, said that this region has been experiencing fires all the time and that this is a community that is no stranger to fires. As a result, people in the district are very familiar with the faulty protocols that are required of them in such an emergency.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to see the same problems repeated in the most devastating disaster in Los Angeles history.” – said Traci Park, then highlighted,
The number of firefighters in the city of Los Angeles has remained unchanged for 50-60 years, despite the fact that at least 62 new fire stations would be needed to meet the average daily demand.
“We have so few staff that our response time is twice the national standards” – the council member drew attention to the problem.
Meanwhile, more than 400 federal firefighters, more than 30 firefighting helicopters and planes, and eight Department of Defense C-130s are being flown to Southern California, President Joe Biden announced Thursday.
In addition, the Defense Minister has delegated a 500-strong wildfire rescue unit from the Defense Squad to the site.
Air quality has reached a dangerous level
Air quality “unhealthy” levels in many parts of Southern California as raging wildfires fill the air with smoke and ash.
Shortly after midnight in San Marino, near the Eaton fire, the air quality index was 431, according to IQair. This index is quite a “dangerous” belongs to the category As a result, air quality alerts are in effect in many parts of the region. The smoke from urban fires is more dangerous than the smoke from traditional forest fires, because everything that gets in the way of the fire burns: metal, rubber, plastic, and their particles all get into the air.
Not only the fire, but also the smoke is dangerous for the locals
Experts say fine particles can penetrate deep into people’s lungs, while poor air quality can seriously affect people with chronic illnesses, pregnant women and young people.
The Kings and Lakers game was missed, the Rams are moving to Arizona
The NFL moved the Los Angeles Rams’ Monday night playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to State Farm Stadium in Arizona for public safety.
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ Wednesday night game and the city’s NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers’ home game against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, was also cancelled.
Strong winds are expected, it will be difficult to extinguish
The head of the firefighting operations department said Thursday night that they expect the wind and drought to further complicate efforts next week.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said winds will pick up by Friday morning and will be at gusty speeds in the fire zone through at least Friday afternoon. This is a problem, isn’t it, because there is already a drought and the fire spreads more easily due to the strong wind. The locals are praying for precipitation, but according to the meteorological service, there is no chance of that.
„Life imitating art”
Several celebrities have posted on social media about losing their homes. But before we list who became homeless, let’s look at one of the most unique and saddest stories of the Los Angeles fire.
A huge success This is Us Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia played the roles of a married couple, Rebecca and Jack Pearson. During the story, a fire unexpectedly breaks out in the family house, and they are forced to leave their home, which later burns down. It was fiction. And the reality is that Mandy Moore reported on Instagram at dawn on Thursday, Hungarian time, that they had to flee because their house was in danger, and then a few hours later announced that the family home was totally destroyed. The actress became homeless with her husband and 3 children, including a 4-month-old baby.
On Friday morning, Milo Ventimiglia announced that his house had burned to the ground. The actor was accompanied by the CBS news crew to the site of his former house.
Milo Ventimiglia’s entire neighborhood was razed to the ground, and when he walked among the ruins of the celebrity’s house, he only said: “Life imitating art”. By the way, the actor’s wife is pregnant, she is in her 9th month, their baby could be born any day.
These stars are affected
Los Angeles is also home to Hollywood, America’s entertainment center and many Hollywood celebrities. Since countless A-list actors, musicians, singers, and athletes live in the area, there are many people affected by the tragedy. As a result, the list of stars who lost their homes due to the fire is getting longer and longer.
- Billy Crystal, who lived in his house with his wife since 1979, was the first to report his tragedy
- Mel Gibson’s house also burned down, and he couldn’t do much on the scene, as he is currently filming in Australia
- Jeff Bridges, whose home in Malibu burned down in the Palisades fire, was also affected
- Paris Hilton also lost her house in Malibu
- Mandy Moore’s home in Altadena and her husband’s music studio next door were razed to the ground
- Milo Ventimiglia’s house in Malibu burns down
- It was also touched by Adamy Brody, Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman
- But there was also the house of Miles Telles, Eugene Levy and Anna Faris
Reese Witherspoon, James Woods, Mark Hamil, Steven Spielberg, John Legend were evacuated, but they have not yet given a situation report on what happened to their homes.
Los Angeles insurers have been canceling home insurance in droves in recent years
According to the latest data from the California Department of Insurance
Between 2020 and 2022, insurance companies did not renew 2.8 million homeowner policies in the state. Of these, 531,000 are located in Los Angeles County, where fires are currently ravaging.
The problem has escalated over the past few years. Insurers in California are refusing to issue new policies in areas they believe are at high risk of wildfires, affecting a significant percentage of the state.
With the ever-increasing threat of wildfires, insurance companies are withdrawing coverage in large areas of California at risk from these devastating disasters, and it has become a statewide crisis for homeowners.
We are constantly updating our article…
Source: www.economx.hu
