Wildfires Kill 2, Burn Over 1,000 Buildings In Los Angeles County - Report
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (KUNA) - Spreading wildfires have killed two people and burned more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other buildings across Los Angeles County, making it one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory, reported the Los Angeles Times Wednesday.
Firefighters battled multiple blazes overnight as whipping winds, with gusts up to 100 mph, fueled three major wildfires, the US daily pointed out.
It added that in Pacific Palisades, the Palisades fire had charred more than 5,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, burning down to Pacific Coast Highway where it engulfed homes along the iconic stretch.
About 1,000 structures, including many homes, have been destroyed in the fire, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Wednesday morning.
Marrone said while there have been no fatalities in the Palisades fire, officials have seen "a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate in addition to first responders who were on the fire line."
The Eaton fire, which broke out Tuesday evening, had burned more than 2,200 acres near Altadena and Pasadena whipped by gusts of up to 99 mph in the area.
Two people have died in the Eaton fire and several others have been seriously injured. More than 100 structures have been destroyed, Marrone said.
The Hurst fire, which spread quickly during high winds overnight in Sylmar, had burned more than 500 acres. The cause of the fires is under investigation.
On Wednesday, the roughly 1,500 firefighters assigned to the Eaton and Palisades fires were bracing for another challenging day of fire fueled by extreme winds.
Red flag warnings remain in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County through Thursday with officials warning of a "life threatening, destructive and widespread windstorm." Winds are predicted to ease through the day, but will linger through Friday, forecasters said
The National Weather Service has warned of a "particularly dangerous situation" across the San Gabriel Mountains, Beverly and Hollywood Hills, the coastal areas adjacent to the Sepulveda Pass, the Santa Monica Mountains, Malibu and the eastern Ventura Valley.
Wind gusts reaching nearly 100 mph in some areas swept through Los Angeles overnight, grounding firefighting aircraft and casting flurries of embers across neighborhoods.
The National Weather Service reported a gust of 99 mph near Altadena at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday; 98 mph near Woodland Hills at 9:37 p.m.; and 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport at 8:30 p.m.
"We are absolutely not out of danger yet," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said, adding that "these fires are stretching the capacity of emergency services to the maximum limits." (end)
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