(Bloomberg) — Los Angeles firefighters are battling to contain five major blazes as powerful winds continue to fan the flames that have left at least five people dead, decimated neighborhoods and forced more than 100,000 to evacuate in the region’s worst natural disaster in decades.
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Over 29,000 acres (11,736 hectares) have been charred, with a new wildfire breaking out in the Hollywood Hills overnight. The two biggest blazes are completely uncontrolled, devastating Pasadena and the wealthy coastal community of Pacific Palisades. Dangerous winds will continue through at least Friday, according to the US Storm Prediction Center.
“More than 7,500 firefighting personnel are on the ground working with local and federal partners to respond to California’s ongoing historic wildfires,” Governor Gavin Newsom urged in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Southern California residents — please remain vigilant.”
Additional firefighters are on the way to help from other states including Arizona and Oregon. The US military is also standing by to provide aircraft to help extinguish the flames from the sky, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday during a meeting in Germany.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the disaster the “big one” during a press conference Wednesday, adding that the scenes from the biggest blaze, the Palisades Fire, are “staggering.” The wildfires are poised to become among the most costly in US history.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings across the region until 6 p.m. local time Friday due to high winds and low relative humidity. Maximum sustained winds across Los Angeles and Ventura counties are forecast to be around 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour, while gusts may reach as high as 70 mph.
That’s also raising concern that trees and power lines will fall, causing widespread blackouts. Edison International’s Southern California Edison, the region’s biggest utility, has proactively cut off power to homes and businesses to reduce the risk that its lines may trigger new blazes. The company said Wednesday that it’s conducting a review of the deadly Eaton fire near Pasadena, which started in its service area.
More than 250,000 utility customers in Southern California were in the dark Thursday morning.
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“Conditions will remain critical into tonight and Friday with another round of northeast winds expected to develop tonight,” National Weather Service senior meteorologist Todd Hall wrote in an update Thursday morning, adding that another “moderate to locally strong Santa Ana wind event” is expected to start Friday, bringing damaging gusts into the foothills.
The longer-range forecast is showing no sign of relief, with another potential Santa Ana event developing between Tuesday night and Wednesday and no rain expected, Hall said.
–With assistance from Brian K. Sullivan and Lauren Rosenthal.
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