(Los Angeles) A little respite in Los Angeles: the multiple fires raging in the Californian megacity for the fourth day have caused at least 10 deaths, but the wind which fanned the flames weakened on Friday.
“It looks like the apocalypse,” Oren Waters told AFP, in front of his house reduced to ashes in the town of Altadena, one of the two main disaster areas, north of Los Angeles. “To come back and see this is unimaginable. »
At least 10 people died in these violent fires, according to authorities. Entire sections of the second largest city in the United States are devastated and charred: more than 10,000 buildings have been destroyed by the flames, according to Californian fire departments.
“It reminded me of a war scene, with bombing,” President Joe Biden said during a meeting at the White House.
PHOTO ERIC THAYER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Palisades Fire continues to burn on the outskirts of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, January 10, 2025.
AFP journalists flew over the coast of Malibu and the upscale neighborhood of Pacific Palisades on Thursday: instead of the sumptuous villas of multimillionaires and celebrities with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, there are often only scrap metal skeletons left , filled with ashes.
“It’s crazy. All these houses, disappeared…” breathes Albert Azouz, helicopter pilot.
The wind nevertheless weakened on Friday, which will help firefighters fight the flames, while five main outbreaks are still active.
Curfew
“We are seeing a slight drop now (in the strength of the winds), but this will especially be the case in the afternoon,” meteorologist Mike Wofford told AFP. And tomorrow (Saturday), there won’t really be any wind until the evening. »
In the northwest of Los Angeles, the outbreak which devours the upscale district of Pacific Palisades, with its villas of multimillionaires and celebrities, between Malibu and Santa Monica, was still not contained, despite the contribution of helicopters dropping water. After a lull, the winds returned and new fires continued to break out.
PHOTO MARK J. TERRILL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beachfront properties are destroyed by the Palisades Fire on January 9, 2025 in Malibu.
However, the conditions, with extreme drought and winds expected to strengthen later, remain worrying.
On Thursday afternoon, a new fire broke out north of the main home in Pacific Palisades, near the wealthy Hidden Hills neighborhood, where star Kim Kardashian lives. It has since been largely brought under control.
Across the Californian megacity, depending on the orders received, evacuations number in the hundreds of thousands.
Faced with increasing looting in disaster or evacuated areas, a curfew, in effect between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, was decreed by local authorities on Friday. Soldiers were also deployed.
Before this decision, residents were already acting as vigilantes and patrolling to protect what remains of their neighborhoods.
“I didn’t save this damn house for some idiot to come and steal from me.” There is no way,” Nicholas Norman, who guards his home armed with a hunting rifle, told AFP in the middle of the ruins of Altadena.
“Let’s be clear: looting will not be tolerated,” insisted the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom.
“Burning State”
Among the affected residents, questions and criticisms emerge.
If his mother’s house miraculously escaped the furious flames in Altadena, unlike neighboring homes, “California is a state that burns, we should not be overwhelmed when it comes to the firefighters,” grumbles Kalen Astoor, assistant thirty-year-old lawyer. “This is where we have to put money: (against) earthquakes and fires. »
These powerful fires, fanned by gusts that blew up to 160 km/h in the first days, sweeping embers for kilometers, could be the costliest on record: AccuWeather estimates the total damage and losses at between 135 and 150 billion dollars.
PHOTO FREDERIC J. BROWN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A partially melted car sits in front of the remains of the Altadena Compassionate Heart Church destroyed in the Eaton Fire, Altadena, January 10, 2025.
Californians are being urged by authorities to save water, as some reservoirs supplying fire hydrants have been emptied by the fight against flames.
President-elect Donald Trump spread false information on his Truth Social network, claiming that California was running out of water because of Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect “useless fish.”
PHOTO DAVID RYDER, REUTERS
Firefighters work near a destroyed church after the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 10, 2025.
In fact, most of the water used by Los Angeles comes from the Colorado River, and is used primarily by the agricultural sector.
The cinema industry, in its Hollywood lair, with several film and series shoots stopped, or even sporting events, such as a postponed Lakers match, have not escaped the consequences of the fires.
The hot, dry Santa Ana winds currently blowing are a classic of California 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 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.
