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 two 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 and many others severely injured as several fast-moving wildfires have torn across the Los Angeles County area, leaving thousands of firefighters attempting to extinguish the blaze.
Officials said Thursday that while progress had been made on the Sunset, Woodley, Hurst, and Sunswept Fires, more “extreme fire behavior” and wind gusts up to 60mph are continuing to challenge firefighting efforts.
“Significant fire growth remains likely with ongoing or new fires,” forecasters warned.
The Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive natural disasters the city has seen, is still not contained. The fire has burned more than 17,200 acres, while the Altadena and Pasadena-based Eaton fire has scorched some 10,600 acres.
The causes of all of the wildfires are under active investigation, but thousands of buildings and businesses have been destroyed.
Nearly 180,000 residents of the cunty are under evacuation orders and nearly 200,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Even more California customers were left without power on Thursday, with nearly 420,000 outages reported by tracker PowerOutage.us.
Sheriff Robert Luna said that deputies were touring the affected areas.”
“Some of ‘em looked like a bomb was dropped in ‘em,” he said.
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Contingency plan in place for Monday’s Vikings-Rams game, NFL says
While Monday’s Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings game is still scheduled to take place at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, the NFL said there is a contingency plan in place if necessary due to the threat of wildfires.
If a location change is necessary, it would be played at the Arizona Cardinals’ home field, State Farm Stadium.
“We will continue to closely monitor developments in the area and will remain in contact with public officials, both clubs and the NFLPA,” the league said.
Cal Fire battalion chief says clamer winds could help firefighters
Calmer winds could help aid California firefighters’ efforts to “start to build some containment,” Brent Pascua, battalion chief with Cal Fire, told NBC’s TODAY show on Thursday.
“I believe if it stays like this we can actually turn a corner on these fires and make some progress today, some good progress. In case they pick up again later tonight we’ll have something to anchor into,” he said.
Beverly Hills evacuee: ‘It feels a little bit like the Titanic in here'
The Beverly Hills Hotel has become a place of refuge for wildfire evacuees, although portions are now a voluntary evacuation zone.
One woman who evacuated from Santa Monica with her sister and their dog told The Los Angeles Times that the vibe was “apocalyptic,” although the hotel had “made things feel like they’re not falling apart.”
“It feels a little bit like the Titanic in here,” she said. “Everyone is acting normal but everything is falling apart outside.”
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
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