At least five people have been confirmed dead following the fast-moving wildfires that tore through several neighborhoods of Los Angeles, incinerating more than 1,500 buildings and leaving firefighters across the region spread thin.
Winds were easing and firefighters from across the state were relieving exhausted crews, but the danger was far from over. As officials provided an update on the fires, a new blaze broke out in the Hollywood Hills, and evacuation orders were also extended to Santa Monica.
More than 1,000 structures, mostly homes, have been destroyed, and over 130,000 people are under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires – six were burning as of Wednesday evening – erupt.
“We are absolutely not out of danger yet,” LA city fire chief Kristin M Crowley said.
The disaster began on Tuesday afternoon, when a powerful windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the scenic Pacific Palisades neighborhood, quickly forcing thousands to flee.
Read also: Celebrities among thousands to flee homes as Los Angeles wildfires rage
The emergency intensified overnight as firefighters struggled to contain the flames in the extreme winds, during what one official described as among the “most devastating and terrifying nights” in city history.
By morning, authorities had dispatched crews from across California to help tackle at least four blazes besieging the region, and Oregon reported it would send firefighters.
Officials say the flames have injured many, and UCLA said its hospitals had treated over 20 patients.
The LA county fire chief, Anthony Marrone, said on Wednesday morning there were “not enough firefighters in LA county to address four separate fires of this magnitude”. The county was prepared for “one or two brushfires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities”, he said. Later that evening, that had grown to six.
One of the fires, the Palisades fire, has been deemed the most destructive in the modern history of Los Angeles, and preliminary estimates of damages and economic losses from the disasters exceeded $50bn.
The fires are also straining the region’s water resources. Firefighters have struggled with reduced water pressure and fire hydrants that have run dry in some areas due to the increased demand, the city’s water and power department reported. Officials have urged residents to conserve water.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
