California is once again preparing for strong winds, fearing the spread of fires. Nine people were accused of looting, they also stole the statue of Emma – World – News

Rebuilding after the wildfires that left some Los Angeles neighborhoods in smoldering ruins will require staggering costs in the billions of dollars, US President Joe Biden said on Monday.

“It’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back to what it was,” the outgoing president said as the Los Angeles metropolitan area braces for the return of strong winds that could fan wildfire flames again.

After a short rest, southern California will again face dangerous winds for the next two days. Authorities fear that these winds could spread raging fires and start new ones.

Firefighters spent Monday establishing containment lines around the Eaton and Palisades fires and finalizing preparations ahead of the storm, which is expected to hit the entire region, including Ventura County, the San Fernando Valley and parts of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, bringing strong wind gusts.

Thanks to the easing of winds over the past few days, the deployment of aircraft has been able to stop the Palisades Fire from spreading into the Brentwood and Encino areas. The authorities hope that on Tuesday it will be possible to use planes to fight the fires again. However, it is not clear to what extent conditions will allow this.

Wildfires in the Los Angeles area have claimed at least 24 lives so far.

Nine people have been charged for the robbery in Los Angeles

Nine people have already been charged in connection with the looting in fire evacuation zones around Los Angeles. According to the AFP agency, District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated this on Monday.

The charges include one count of burglary with $200,000 in damage. In another break-in, an Emmy statuette was stolen – the televised equivalent of the prestigious Oscar film awards. As prosecutor Hochman specified, one of the accused faces life imprisonment if convicted.

The prosecutor added that the legal actions taken should serve as a warning to potential perpetrators. “The question is not if, but when, you will be caught if you engage in these crimes,” he warned.

Seven days after massive fires broke out around Los Angeles, killing at least 24 people, about 92,000 people remain evacuated. There are about 12,000 buildings in the evacuated zones, which were turned into ruins during the fires. The police have issued a curfew in these zones and are trying to assure evacuated residents that their property is safe from looters.

However, the number of people arrested during robbery or attempted robbery continues to increase, and the first charges were announced on Monday.

They also concern two perpetrators of a home burglary in the elite Mandeville Canyon area, which was threatened by the Palisades fire over the weekend. One of the accused faces life imprisonment due to previous sentences in other cases, his accomplice could be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison.

A third man was charged with assaulting police officers and fleeing the scene. Six other suspects were charged in a number of Altadena home burglaries, including the theft of an Emmy from one of them. The police did not specify who was the owner of the statuette.