Los Angeles | California’s ‘most devastating’ fires still untamed

(Los Angeles) The fire continues to ravage Los Angeles, enveloped in thick acrid smoke: the two main fires raging in the Californian megacity remain out of control on Thursday, in “critical” weather conditions.

“The flames have consumed all our dreams. We have lost practically everything,” William Gonzales whispered to AFP behind a black mask, in front of his house reduced to ashes in the town of Altadena, north of Los Angeles.

To the west of the second largest city in the United States, the outbreak which devours the upscale district of Pacific Palisades, with the villas of multimillionaires and celebrities, located between Malibu and Santa Monica, was still not limited to the afternoon. And this, despite the reinforcement of helicopters dropping water thanks to a temporary lull in the violent winds which fanned the flames.

No more than the one that set fire to Altadena, where at least five people died, even if its spread was “considerably stopped” the previous night, firefighters said.

“These are the most extensive, devastating fires in the history of California,” declared US President Joe Biden, who is living his last days in office, during a meeting organized Thursday afternoon at the White House with officials involved in the management of these violent fires.

“Death and Destruction”

“It’s a vision of death and destruction,” Kalen Astoor, a 36-year-old legal assistant, described to AFP, surrounded by blackened and charred remains in what until a few days ago were residential streets. Miraculously, his mother’s house remained standing. Many neighboring homes were reduced to ashes.

Read “Fires near Los Angeles: Why are they so devastating?” »

“I don’t know if anyone will be able to come back for a while.” Even if your house is still standing, it is damaged by smoke,” she sighs.

“Altadena is devastated,” noted Californian parliamentarian Judy Chu on a local channel, during a visit to a center where a thousand evacuated residents found refuge. “They are distraught. »

Some 180,000 people across the Californian city are still affected by an evacuation order and the weather conditions, ultra dry and windy, remain “critical”, although less severe, insist forecasters and local authorities.

“The winds retain their historic character. This is absolutely unprecedented,” warns Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Throughout the day Thursday and until Friday, a “significant development of fires remains likely”, whether fires already in progress or new outbreaks, warn the weather services.

Hollywood, den of the cinema industry, threatened for a time by the flames, can breathe: the fire in its hills was brought under control by firefighters, according to local authorities, and the evacuation order lifted on Thursday Morning.

“Unacceptable” looting

Amid the chaos in the partly deserted city, looting led to the arrest of twenty people, according to police, who called them “totally unacceptable.”

In Altadena, a stricken town, residents have decided to set up patrols to protect what remains of their neighborhoods. A curfew was declared in evacuated areas of the coastal city of Santa Monica.

The furious flames, which have progressed at lightning speed since Tuesday, fanned in conditions of extreme drought by gusts which blew up to 160 km/h, have destroyed more than 2,000 buildings – houses, businesses, schools. , etc. – and raise fears of other deaths.

One of the five victims was Altadena resident Victor Shaw, who defended his home until the end.

“It seems like he was trying to save the house that his parents had for almost 55 years,” his friend Al Tanner, who found him lifeless, garden hose in hand, told KTLA.

Californians were urged by authorities to conserve water as three reservoirs supplying fire hydrants were emptied by battling flames in Pacific Palisades alone.

Hollywood disrupted

“More than 7,500” firefighters, some from other American states, are leading the fight against these fires.

President-elect Donald Trump spread false information on his Truth Social network, claiming that California is running out of water because of Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect “useless fish.”

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In reality, most of the water used by Los Angeles comes from the Colorado River, and is primarily used by the agricultural industry.

“Climate change is a reality,” reaffirmed Joe Biden, who will cede power on January 20 to Donald Trump, a notorious climate skeptic.

In the city of entertainment, the fires are disrupting the cinema industry: several film and series shoots have been stopped, and the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park has been closed. The Oscar nominations have been pushed back two days, to January 19.

The Santa Ana winds currently blowing are a classic of California’s autumns and winters. But this time they reached an intensity not seen since 2011, according to meteorologists.

A nightmare for firefighters: California is coming out of two very rainy years which gave rise to lush vegetation, now dried out by an abnormally dry winter.

Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.