(Los Angeles) The numerous fires that have raged in Los Angeles for five days, causing at least eleven deaths, spread on Saturday to areas hitherto spared, in turn targeted by evacuation instructions.
Entire sections of the second largest city in the United States are devastated: more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed and more than 15,000 hectares (150 square kilometers) have gone up in smoke. “It reminded me of a war scene, with bombing,” President Joe Biden said.
Despite the massive mobilization of firefighters, the progression of the fire triggered evacuation orders on the eastern flank of the Pacific Palisades sector, in an area where the Getty Center is located. Built in part with fire-resistant stone, the famous museum houses 125,000 works of art.
The winds which began to weaken on Friday are expected to regain strength from Saturday, according to forecasts from the Federal Natural Disaster Response Agency (FEMA), further pushing back hopes of bringing the disaster under control.
PHOTO JAE C. HONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon.
For his part, Pope Francis said on Saturday that he was “saddened” by the loss of life and the damage and expressed his “spiritual closeness” to the people struck by this “tragedy”, in a telegram addressed to the Archbishop of Los Angeles.
Faced with increasing looting in disaster-stricken or evacuated areas, a strict curfew, in force between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., was decreed Friday by the authorities in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena sectors, the most ravaged.
Feeling of abandonment
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday called for “a comprehensive independent review” of the city’s water services.
PHOTO DAVID RYDER, REUTERS
Remains of vehicles and businesses burned in Palisades fire
He described as “deeply disturbing” the lack of water supply and loss of pressure at hydrants in the early stages of the fires, which helped allow them to expand, emphasizing in an open letter the need to “answers”.
The main fire, among the five still active, burned more than 8,000 hectares on the coast of Malibu and the upscale district of Pacific Palisades, under control on Saturday morning at 8%, according to emergency services.
Among those who saw their homes destroyed was actor Mel Gibson, whose Malibu home was gutted.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who broke ties with the British monarchy in 2020 and who now reside in California, came to comfort victims in the Pasadena district.
Nicole Perri, whose house went up in smoke in Pacific Palisades, told AFP that authorities had “completely failed” the residents.
PHOTO CECILIA SANCHEZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Kyle Kucharski hugs his partner Nicole Perri on the ruins of their home destroyed by the Palisades fire.
Across the Californian megacity, according to orders received, sometimes by mistake, evacuations number in the hundreds of thousands.
Soldiers were also deployed and dozens of people were arrested.
“Demagogues”
Although it is too early to know the origin of the fires, criticism is aimed at the preparation and response of the authorities.
Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox News affiliate KTTV that they are “still understaffed, under-resourced and underfunded.”
Californians are being urged by authorities to save water, as some reservoirs supplying fire hydrants have been emptied by the fight against flames.
These fires could be the costliest on record: AccuWeather estimates total damages and losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion.
President Biden said “a lot of demagogues” were looking to take advantage of misinformation surrounding the disaster.
He did not name names, but his elected Republican successor Donald Trump spread false information on his Truth Social network. In particular, he claimed that California was running out of water because of Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect “useless fish.”
The hot, dry 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: the most populous state in the country is coming out of two very rainy years which gave rise to lush vegetation, now dried up by a glaring lack of rain for eight months.
Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.
