Firefighters have been aided by less intense winds to deal with wildfires in Los Angeles. A private company that provides data on the climate and its impact estimated that the total damage could reach $57 billion.
Firefighters, aided by calmer winds, saw the first signs of successful combat Thursday against a series of deadly and devastating firesalthough fire was still burning out of control in and around Los Angeles as the enormity of the devastation began to emerge with haunting scenes of destruction.
Dozens of blocks were reduced to smoking rubble in the picturesque Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of the houses and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, there were only blackened palm trees on the rubble that once stood on the beach.
At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and grocery stores were lost. Also lost were Will Rogers' West Ranch House and the Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks that date back to the 1920s. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage, or details on how many structures They burned.
AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on the weather and its impact, estimated that the total damage could reach $57 billion.
City officials were encouraged Thursday after firefighters made significant progress in slowing the spread of the two largest fires, which had consumed block after block from Pacific Palisades to Altadena, a community near Pasadena.
Crews also controlled a fire in the Hollywood Hills, allowing an evacuation to be suspended Thursday. The fire that broke out Wednesday night near the heart of the entertainment industry came dangerously close to reaching the famed Hollywood Bowl amphitheater.
“While we still face significant threats, I am hopeful that things are changing in our favor,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
Water dropped from aircraft helped firefighters quickly gain control of fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. Much of the widespread destruction occurred Tuesday after those aircraft had to be grounded due to high winds.
Wind gusts were expected to strengthen Thursday night into Friday morning, with another round of strong winds expected next week, raising concerns that conditions could worsen, the National Weather Service said. .
But Thursday's daytime forecast provided an opportunity for firefighters — including crews from neighboring states and Canada — to make progress in controlling the fires, which have left at least five people dead and thousands of people fleeing their homes. .
Capt. Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said they were able to keep the Hollywood Hills fire under control because “we hit it hard and fast, and Mother Nature was a little kinder to us.”
Fire officials indicated Thursday that they do not yet know the cause of the fire, but are actively investigating.
The wind fuels the fires
This week, hurricane-force winds with gusts of up to 80 miles per hour (129 kilometers per hour) kicked up embers that set fire to the hillsides of Southern California.
Thousands of homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those fires, called Palisades and Eaton. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the Palisades Fire alone has burned thousands of coastal structures.
At this time, it is impossible to quantify the magnitude of the destruction beyond “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, director of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.
“There are areas where everything has disappeared, not even a wooden stick remains; “It's just dirt,” Bruderlin lamented.
The five deaths recorded so far were due to those two fires. Cadaver dogs and search teams are sifting through debris, and the death toll is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
On Thursday, rescuers pulled a body from the rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu, along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things left.
While the two main fires were no longer spreading significantly, both remained completely uncontained, officials said.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city's water system was overloaded and further hampered by power outages, but even without those problems, firefighters would not have been able to stop the rapidly spreading fire. due to erratic wind gusts.
Still, questions have been raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to fail when it was needed most.