(Los Angeles) The clouds of smoke of recent days have disappeared from the blue sky of Los Angeles. But despite a certain lull, the threat of a new conflagration still loomed over the megalopolis on Sunday.
“The problem is that there are materials that burn for a very long time, for example because they are treated with a chemical similar to tar, which is very difficult to extinguish,” explains Michael Contreras, firefighter and paramedic for the City of Los Angeles Fire Department. Due to the wind, these materials can ignite again and send embers onto other materials, likely to spread the flames in turn.
The Press met the firefighter at Station 23, located on Sunset Boulevard, inside the perimeter where the Pacific Palisades fire raged. He stopped to take a nap and have a snack, before returning to patrol the area still evacuated, looking for new potential fire sources or latent fires. On Sunday, the heavy toll from the blazes rose to 24 dead.
At the heart of the blaze
The small red brick building, where six firefighters are stationed, found itself at the heart of the blaze at the very start of the fires on Tuesday.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Cesar Garcia, captain of barracks 23
“We just lost a few things in the station, and we had no water, no gas, no electricity,” summarizes Captain Cesar Garcia.
The firefighters managed to protect the barracks, which normally serves a sector that is now devastated.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Abandoned cars in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles
Abandoned cars are still on the roads, charred, with burst tires. Electric wires hang from split poles. Blackened trees with charred leaves stand in front of houses reduced to ashes.
Mastery
The Pacific Palisades fire has spread over an area of more than 95 km2. As of Sunday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said it was only 13 percent contained, although the flames were not as visible as when they started six days earlier. .
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Lyndsey Lantz, firefighter and press relations manager
“The number means that there is (this part) of the perimeter that we consider “cold”, which no longer has the potential to transport embers or cause more destruction,” explains Lyndsey Lantz, firefighter and responsible for press relations.
The redoubled efforts of the last few days had, however, brought good news.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
A firefighter extinguishes what remains of embers on the ground in the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“We managed to have good control of the most active locations, with airdrops, with firefighters on the ground putting out structure fires, brush fires, digging on the ground,” adds M.me Lantz.
However, gusts reaching 110 km/h are expected in the coming days – the Santa Ana, the strong desert wind that hit Los Angeles last week. Firefighters have also warned that these winds would prevent any return of evacuees before Thursday.
“With the winds coming, we stay ready,” said Captain Garcia.
Its team of six firefighters is mobilized 24 hours a day. They return to the station just long enough to wolf down a burrito – courtesy of a local restaurant – or a snack, and take a nap in a dark room furnished with beds and of armchairs.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Firefighters put out fire in Pacific Palisades neighborhood
Like a bombed city
They’ve seen their share of disasters, but this one is particularly striking.
“I’ve never seen anything that compares to the destruction I see here, except maybe the pictures in the history books of Nagasaki and Hiroshima after the bombs,” Mr. Contreras said. I don’t remember seeing such destruction, even though I have been to war zones. Except for cities destroyed by bombs, we don’t see massive destruction like this. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The city of Malibu was badly affected by the fires.
The 55-year-old with a bald head served in the Marines. The pungent smell of burning materials also reminds him of his missions abroad.
“I don’t have the words to describe the smell, it’s quite unique, but it triggers memories,” says the man who grew up in Los Angeles. Except this is my home. »
California Governor Gavin Newsom told NBC on Sunday that the fires in recent days could be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, in terms of cost, scale and impact.
City within a city
To fight the fires, crews from across California were sent to Los Angeles, as were people from other states and other countries, including Canada and Mexico. On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, announced that a team of 60 Canadian firefighters would be deployed to lend a hand to the Americans.
In Malibu, a “city within a city” has set up shop in the beach parking lot. The base camp, with its numerous trailers and tents, makes it possible to coordinate all the personnel deployed for a given sector.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
A firefighter rests at the Zuma Beach command post in Malibu.
“Everyone starts their day here,” said Dan Collins, a city of Oroville fire captain who is responsible for media relations.
On site, firefighters and police officers can take a shower, eat, sleep, and get the latest information on the tasks to be accomplished.
Security
Besides fires, safety remains a significant concern in evacuated areas. “There are people who pose as security guards, for example,” explains Captain Collins. There is a lot of concern about looting. »
The Malibu neighborhood on the Pacific Ocean, for example, was popular with the wealthy, attracting thieves looking for items spared by the flames.
At least seven people – including two posing as firefighters – have been arrested in recent days, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, cited by the Associated Press. The National Guard came to lend a hand to the police.
Entire sections of Malibu were destroyed. Other colossal houses still stand.
