Los Angeles wildfires live: City braces for more destruction as blazes continue to burn in neighborhoods
Death toll continues to climb as more than 7,500 firefighting personnel are deployed across California, with three of the most ferocious fires at zero percent containment
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Your support makes all the difference.At least five people have been killed as several fast-moving wildfires sweep across the Los Angeles area, leaving thousands of firefighters attempting to extinguish the blaze.
The death toll climbed to five as of Thursday morning after the Eaton fire raged through Altadena and Pasadena, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone confirmed to The New York Times.
The Palisades fire, now the one of the most destructive L.A. has seen, is burning more than 17,200 acres, while the Eaton fire has scorched some 10,600 acres. The Sunset fire in Hollywood has engulfed 60 acres. All three fires are at zero percent containment.
An estimated 2,000 buildings have been scorched and 130,000 residents ordered to evacuate, including more than 60,000 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. More than 330,000 people are without power throughout the region, according to PowerOutage.us.
On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed that more than 7,500 firefighting personnel and almost 1,200 fire trucks have been deployed across Southern California. He also thanked President Joe Biden, who announced the approval of a major disaster declaration and ordered federal assistance to bolster response efforts.
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More than 420,000 California customers are without power early Thursday
More than 420,000 California customers are without power early Thursday morning, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.
The lion’s share of those outages — nearly 212,000 — are in Los Angeles County.
Stunning images show firefighting efforts amid orange-colored skies, flying embers
Harrowing footage shows before and after fires ravaged Los Angeles' streets
Piles of ash line streets in videos showing extent of devastation caused by LA fires
With a death toll expected to rise and thousands of buildings destroyed, the Sunset fire that broke out in Runyon Canyon continues to engulf the Hollywood city in flames. Video shows the devastating effect the Pacific Palisade fires have left, with 150,000 people evacuated from their homes, 27,000 acres of land burned and many structures demolished. In Altadena, north of Los Angeles where the Eaton fire started, rows of houses have been turned into kilometers of ashes. Officials are now warning that the situation is likely to get worse due to high wind speeds.
Wildfires estimated to have caused up to $57 billion in damages and economic loss
The total cost of the California wildfires may reach up to $57 billion, according to AccuWeather’s estimate.
The privately-owned weather forecasting service’s preliminary estimate takes into account damage – including to buildings, infrastructure and landmarks – and loss to the economy – such as from a booming film and TV industry.
Is it safe to travel to California and is LAX closed?
Pacific Palisades is a residential community and attracts very few tourists, however, the area it sits in, Los Angeles County, is popular with visitors who are heading to the sandy shores of Venice Beach, exploring Hollywood and touring round studios and museums among many other attractions.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) sits relatively close to the Palisades fires, but so far minimal travel disruption has occurred.
Meanwhile, several roads including parts of the Pacific Coast Highway have been closed as of early Thursday morning.
LAX is around 19 miles south of Pacific Palisades, but the majority of arrivals and departures have continued as normal amid the wildfires.
Amelia Neath has the story.
Palisades fires: Is it safe to travel to California and is LAX closed?
Roads are closed but flight disruption has so far kept to a minimum as fires spread in southern Californian
Mapped: Where are the Palisades, Eaton, Sunset and Hurst wildfires burning?
Trump takes yet another swipe at Californian officials and Biden admin
Donald Trump has taken yet another swipe at Californian officials with the Palisades, Eaton and Sunset fires at zero percent containment.
The president-elect has this time placed Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the firing line for the state’s response to the fast-moving fires – and threw a jab at the Biden Administration for good measure.
It comes as the president announced the approval of a major disaster declaration and ordered federal assistance to bolster response efforts.
“Fire is spreading rapidly for 3 days — ZERO CONTAINMENT. Nobody has ever seen such failed numbers before! Gross incompetence by Gavin Newscum and Karen Bass,” Trump wrote on Thursday morning. “And Biden’s FEMA has no money — all wasted on the Green New Scam! L.A. is a total wipeout!!!”
Watch: Passenger films plane battling wildfire smoke and high winds during turbulent LA landing
Passenger films plane battling wildfire smoke during turbulent LA landing
A plane travelling from San Jose to LAX airport battled thick black smoke and high winds from the deadly wildfires during a turbulent landing. Passenger Matt Gisela filmed footage of his flight and the scary encounter on Tuesday (7 January). Mr Gisela said: “Before the flight, the pilot warned of high winds and turbulence. “He suspended all food and drink service before we took off. As we approached LAX, we could see the smoke from the fire moving across the sky.” Wildfires continue to rage across more than 27,000 acres in Southern California – with one of the fires now the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles.
Satellite images show wildfire chaos from the skies
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