LOS ANGELES — Raging wildfires surrounded Los Angeles on Wednesday (Jan 8), killing at least five people, destroying hundreds of homes and stretching firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit, as more than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate.
Fierce winds hindered firefighting operations and fueled the fires, which have burned unimpeded since they began on Tuesday.
Five separate fires burned in Los Angeles County, all of them 0 per cent contained according to state officials, including a pair of conflagrations that held the city in a pincer move.
On the west side, the Palisades Fire consumed 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares) and 1,000 structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the natural fire break of the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. It was already one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.
To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire claimed another 10,600 acres (4,289 hectares) and killed at least five people, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told KNX radio. Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic loss at more than US$50 billion (S$68.4 billion).
"We're facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can't be stated strong enough," Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a press conference.
The skies above Los Angeles glowed red in some areas and were blanketed by thick smoke. Nearly one million homes and businesses lost power in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us.
"The wind whipped up, the flames were up about 30 or 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) high, and you hear 'pop, pop, pop'. It sounded like a warzone," Kevin Williams, an Eaton Fire evacuee, told Reuters at an evacuation centre in Pasadena, describing gas canisters at his neighbours' homes that began exploding under the heat of the flames.
Three smaller fires in the county also stretched firefighting resources that had already been exhausted, with water shortages affecting the Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has consumed 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares).
"There are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude," said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
Demand for water also caused some hydrants to run dry in Pacific Palisades after the last of three large water tanks in the area hit empty, officials said.
"We pushed the system to the extreme. We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging," Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told a press conference.
Pacific Palisades relies on three tanks that hold about a million gallons (3.78 million liters) each, and the demand for water to fight fires at lower elevations was making it difficult to refill water tanks at higher elevations, she said.
Some hydrants ran dry at around 3am (7pm SGT). With winds and smoke limiting the ability to offer air support, firefighters were left without enough water to battle the flames.
Nestled in the hills with spectacular ocean views, Pacific Palisades is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country with a typical home valued at US$3.7 million as of the end of 2023, according to Zillow, more than all but four other zip codes in the United States.
It is also home to many film, television and music stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore and Mark Hamill, all forced to flee their homes.
The fires struck at an especially vulnerable time for Southern California, which has yet to see significant rainfall since the start of the water year in October. Then came the powerful Santa Ana winds, bringing dry desert air from the east toward the coastal mountains, fanning the flames of the wildfires while blowing over the hilltops and down through the canyons.
Scientists said the fires, erupting well outside of the traditional wildfire season, mark the latest in weather extremes that are likely to escalate further as global temperatures continue to climb in coming decades.
President Joe Biden, who stayed put in Los Angeles after Air Force One was grounded due to high winds on Tuesday, joined California Governor Gavin Newsom at a Santa Monica fire station to get a briefing firefighting efforts.
"The impacts of (the fires include) over one thousand structures already destroyed, a hundred-plus thousand people that have been evacuated, lives lost, traditions, lifestyles, places torn asunder," said Newsom, who declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.
Biden pledged any help he could provide in his final days in office before handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan 20.
"We're doing anything and everything and as long as it takes to contain these fires ... to make sure you get back to normal," Biden said. "It's going to be a hell of a long way. It's going to take time."
Local officials warned that the gusty winds were forecast to persist throughout the day.
"We are absolutely not out of danger yet, with the strong winds that continue to push through the city and the county today," Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
As the flames spread and residents began evacuating after the fires broke out on Tuesday, roads were so jammed that some people abandoned their vehicles to escape the fire. Emergency responders were going door to door to press evacuation orders.
Shaun Tate, 45, said he fled his home in Altadena, a Los Angeles suburb in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, at 4.15am. when he saw flames rolling towards his house.
"I came out of the house because I heard something fly off the roof," Tate said at an evacuation centre in Pasadena.
"We packed up the SUV and drove down here," he said. "I chose to save my laptop, my diabetic medication and a little bit of food."
David Reed said he had no choice but to leave his Pacific Palisades home when police officers showed up at his door and "laid down the law" as he saw flames approaching his home.
"I grabbed my trombone and the latest book I've been reading, which is my Jack Kerouac anthology here, because I'm a beatnik," Reed said
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