Firefighters battle Los Angeles fires before high winds return Climate Crisis News

Firefighters continue to fight severe forest fires Forecasters issued another severe weather warning this week as strong winds returned this week after killing 16 people in the Los Angeles area of ​​California.

Although the Santa Ana winds that fueled the flames died down over the weekend, the US National Weather Service (NWS) warned that gusts of up to 110 km/h (70 mph) could return early next week.

Local officials said they expect the strongest winds to hit Tuesday. Red flag warnings remain in effect for Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Wednesday, the NWS said.

Conditions were expected to ease by Thursday.

On Sunday, planes dropped water and fire retardant on steep hillsides in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood to keep the fire from spreading eastward, and KTLA television reported that ground crews were able to save a number of homes, although others were lost.

“LA County has experienced another night of unspeakable horror and heartbreak,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

The second largest city in the United States has seen six simultaneous fires since Tuesday. at least 16 dead.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a statement late Saturday that five of the deaths were caused by the Palisades fire and 11 by the Eaton fire.

Twelve people were missing in the Eaton Fire and four in the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday morning.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he expects the death toll to rise.

“I have search and rescue teams. We have cadaver dogs and probably more,” he told NBC News.

Newsom said the fires would be the worst natural disaster in US history in terms of “scale and scope” as well as associated costs.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a series of televised interviews Sunday that active duty military personnel are ready to support firefighting efforts and that the agency is urging residents to apply for disaster relief.

“We have the funding to support this response, to support this recovery,” he told ABC News.

The fires have damaged or destroyed 12,000 buildings, fire officials said, and flames have reduced entire neighborhoods. burning ruins and abandoned apocalyptic landscapes.

Officials said late Saturday that the Palisades fire had spread to an additional 1,000 acres (400 hectares) and burned more homes in the past 24 hours.

The Palisades fire is now 11 percent contained, but more than 22,000 acres (8,900 hectares) have burned, Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins said.

Hopkins told reporters the fire had spread into Mandeville Canyon and threatened to spread to Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood, and the San Fernando Valley. It also went down the north-south 405 freeway.

Al Jazeera reporter Phil Lavelle, reporting from a helicopter over Los Angeles, said the scale of the devastation was huge.

“What you get here is a sense of how much danger is still ahead because these flames from the Palisades fire are moving toward densely populated areas and they can change direction in a second,” he said.

“One minute, they’re going to places like Brentwood. The other is heading towards the densely populated San Fernando Valley, where millions of people live.”

Evacuation orders now cover 153,000 residents in the Los Angeles area. Another 166,000 residents have been warned they may need to evacuate, Sheriff Luna said.

Trump criticized local officials

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to officials by phone to get an update on the effort and was briefed by aides on the federal sources being dispatched.

His declaration of a major disaster unlocked federal aid for wildfire victims and paved the way for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide support.

Assistance can range from funding for home repairs to money to replace lost food or medicine, FEMA spokesman Michael Hart said, adding that it can be provided within days.

Newsom also signed an executive order to reduce the amount of state government spending needed to restore lost homes and businesses.

However, US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized local and state officials who he believes are mishandling the situation.

“The fires are still burning in LA. The incompetents (politicians) don’t know how to turn them off. Thousands of stately homes are gone and many more will soon be lost. There is death everywhere…they just can’t put out the fire. What is wrong with them?” he said on the Truth social media feed.

Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kathryn Barger told reporters that she invited Trump, who took office on January 20, to visit the county to get a closer look at the devastation.