Officials in Southern California said wildfires burning in and around the city of Los Angeles have prompted the evacuation of nearly 180,000 people, destroyed thousands of homes and burned tens of thousands of hectares of land. At a news briefing Thursday, Los Angeles city and county officials provided an update on the fires and efforts to bring them under control. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters the fierce winds that have driven the fires have calmed enough to allow fire fighters to increase containment and allowed air operations to resume. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said it is fighting five active wildfires in the Los Angeles area: the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Sunset fires, with the Palisades and Eaton fires being the largest. In its last report, the department said the fires had burned more than 11,750 hectares of land. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Lidia fires have prompted the evacuation of nearly 180,000 residents and another 200,000 residents are under evacuation orders. Chief Crowley called the Palisades fire alone “one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.” A leading national credit rating service echoed that view. In a statement Thursday, Morningstar-DBRS credit service said preliminary estimates show the fires could result in more than $8 billion in property losses. Citing local fire officials, Morningstar-DBRS said the fires have already destroyed more than 1,100 homes and threaten more than 28,000 structures. The organization, which monitors and evaluates risk, said it expects the wildfires to have an adverse but manageable impact on California property insurers. In a statement Thursday, the White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the latest impact of the wildfires. Biden was scheduled to convene senior administration officials for a briefing on the full federal response directed to the wildfires later in the day. The president has approved a federal emergency declaration for California to release federal money and resources to help battle the wildfires. The White House said late Wednesday that the president canceled a planned trip to Italy so he can “remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead.” “We are prepared to do everything and anything, as long as it takes, to contain these fires and help reconstruct and make sure we get back to normal. It’s going to be a hell of a long way,” Biden said Wednesday. “It’s going to take time.” The Defense Department pledged to provide “additional firefighting personnel and capabilities” to California. The fires have torn through some of the world’s most lavish real estate and showbiz landmarks instantly recognizable around the world. Pictures posted to social media Thursday show beachfront property burned to the ground. The homes of movie stars and celebrities were among those consumed by flames. A fast-moving fire broke out late Wednesday in the Hollywood Hills, prompting orders for people to flee to safety. Meteorologists said the dry conditions and strong winds conducive to the breakout and spread of the fires are expected to remain in place through Friday. High wind gusts had forced the grounding of planes used to help fight the fires, but officials said Wednesday the winds had eased enough for those operations to resume. Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustine said he was confident the improved conditions would allow them to begin to control the fire. While authorities had warned of the potential for wildfires in the Los Angeles area given the conditions this week, the blazes were more extensive than anticipated. “The L.A. County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities,” L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday. Two thousand National Guard members have been deployed to help local firefighters. In the Pacific Palisades, the fire jumped from one house to the next, pushed by hurricane-force winds. In the same area, firefighters said hydrants had run dry. “We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades,” said Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “We pushed the system to the extreme.” The call for water was “four times the normal demand … for 15 hours straight,” she added. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
