At least ten people have died in the fires that have swept through the Los Angeles area, the county medical examiner’s office said last night, while the main fires are still out of control in the area, where additional military reinforcements will be sent.
“The Department of Forensic Medicine has been informed of 10 deaths related to the fires,” it said, adding that all cases are in the process of being identified, after which their families and loved ones will be notified.
“It looks like the apocalypse,” a resident of Altadena, north of Los Angeles, told AFP in front of his house reduced to ashes.
According to estimates, damage and economic losses currently reach between 135 and 150 billion dollars.
The fire that swept through the luxury Pacific Palisades neighborhood, with the villas of multimillionaires and celebrities, located between Malibu and Santa Monica, was still not under control last night despite increased efforts by helicopters that were able to drop water when the strong winds temporarily subsided.
The fire that swept through Altadena was also not controlled, although it was stopped during the previous night, according to fire officials.
180,000 people are under evacuation orders, thousands of buildings have been destroyed or damaged, and the death toll is rising, authorities announced last night.
US President Joe Biden expressed condolences to the families of the victims and regretted the consequences of the fire during an emergency meeting, a few days before the end of his term.
AFP journalists flew over Malibu and Pacific Palisades yesterday, where instead of luxury villas overlooking the ocean, only the skeletons of houses and ashes are often visible.
Several hundred military personnel are to be deployed as reinforcements, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced. He ordered the deployment of the National Guard to help thousands of firefighters battle the fires and restore order in the area, which has seen a surge in looting. At least 20 people have been arrested in connection with looting in recent days. Newsom warned on X Network that “looting will not be tolerated.”
A curfew has been declared in the evacuated city of Santa Monica.
Wind gusts that have reached 100 miles per hour in recent days, fanning fires over several square miles, have subsided. But the winds have not completely stopped and conditions are “critical,” according to authorities.
“This is absolutely unprecedented,” warned Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The weather warning remains in effect today.
Yesterday afternoon, another hot spot appeared near Calabasas, the wealthy Hidden Hills neighborhood where, among other celebrities, Kim Kardashian lives.
The Hollywood neighborhood that was under threat of fire can breathe a sigh of relief after firefighters subdued the fire in the surrounding mountains, local authorities announced, stating that the evacuation order was lifted yesterday afternoon.
Photo: PTI
