'Dangerous And Strong' Winds Fanning Los Angeles Inferno

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) US officials have warned“dangerous and strong” winds were set to push deadly wildfires further through Los Angeles residential areas as firefighters struggled to make progress against the flames.
At least 16 people have been confirmed dead from blazes that have ripped through the city, reducing whole neighbourhoods to ashes and leaving thousands without homes.
Despite massive efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire continued to grow, spreading east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Centre art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
“The winds are potentially getting dangerous and strong again,” Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told CNN.“The biggest thing that people need to know is that this is still dangerous.”
Firefighters were however slowly making progress in their battle to contain the inferno that has burned wide areas of Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades neighbourhood to the ground.
Aircraft dropped water and fire retardant on steep hills to stem the eastward spread of the Palisades Fire and KTLA television reported that ground crews had managed to save a number of houses, although others were lost.
“LA County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.
Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across the second-largest US city since Tuesday had killed at least 16 people.
At least 16 people are estimated to be missing.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he expected the death toll to rise.
“I've got search and rescue teams out. We've got cadaver dogs out and there's likely to be a lot more,” he told NBC's Meet the Press programme.
Newsom said the fires are likely to be the worst natural disaster in US history“in terms of just the costs associated with it”.
Active duty military personnel are ready to support the firefighting effort, FEMA administrator Criswell said in a series of television interviews yesterday, adding the agency has urged residents to begin filing for disaster relief.
“We have the funding to support this response, to support this recovery,” she told ABC's This Week programme.
The blazes have damaged or destroyed 12,000 structures, fire officials said.
The flames have reduced whole neighbourhoods to smouldering ruins, destroying the homes of the rich and famous and ordinary folk alike and leaving an apocalyptic landscape.
Over the past 24 hours, the Palisades Fire spread over an additional 1,000 acres (400 hectares), consuming more homes, officials reported.
Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins said that while 11% of the Palisades Fire was now contained, it has burned more than 22,000 acres.
Hopkins told a press conference that fire had spread into the Mandeville Canyon and threatened to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighbourhood that is home to many celebrities, and the San Fernando Valley.
It also inched toward the north-south 405 freeway.
Although the Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames had calmed some over the weekend, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that stronger gusts of up to 70mph (110kph) could return early next week.
Local officials said they expect the strongest winds to occur tomorrow.
Red Flag warnings remain in effect for LA and Ventura counties through to Wednesday, the NWS said.
“These winds, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire weather threat in the area,” it said. Conditions were expected to moderate by Thursday.
Evacuation orders throughout the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents.
Another 166,000 residents have been warned that they may have to evacuate, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
President Joe Biden spoke by phone with officials to get an update on their efforts and was briefed by aides on federal resources that were being dispatched.
His declaration of a major disaster unlocked federal assistance for those affected by the wildfires, clearing the way for the FEMA to provide support.
“FEMA is now starting to support, with the major disaster declaration, the individuals that have been impacted,” Criswell said on Fox News Sunday, urging people to register for assistance through the website DisasterAssistance
Support can range from funding for home repairs to money to replace lost food or medication, FEMA spokesperson Michael Hart said, adding that assistance can be provided within days.
Newsom also signed an executive order to reduce the amount of state government red tape needed to rebuild lost homes and businesses.
In Altadena, official Don Fregulia said managing the Eaton Fire and its impact will be a“huge, Herculean task” that he said will take“many weeks of work”.
The Cal Fire website reported that the Eaton Fire was 27% contained, up from 15% on Saturday, after burning 14,117 acres.
The two big fires combined have consumed more than 36,000 acres (14,500 hectares), or 56sq miles (145sq km) – 2-1/2 times the land area of Manhattan – in one of the worst disasters in Los Angeles history.
Officials have declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke and poor air quality, as the fires lofted traces of metals, plastics and other synthetic materials.
Progress was reported in bringing electrical power back to Los Angeles neighbourhoods.
Southern California Edison chief executive Steven Powell said there were now about 50,000 customers without power, down from more than half a million days earlier.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135-150bn, portending soaring homeowners' insurance costs.
Meanwhile, the sudden rush of evacuated people needing somewhere to live posed a growing problem for the city.
“I'm back on the market with tens of thousands of people,” said a man who gave his name as Brian, whose rent-controlled apartment has burned.“That doesn't bode well.”
With incidences of looting and a nighttime curfew in place, police and National Guard mounted checkpoints to prevent people getting into the disaster zones.
Two people were arrested near Vice-President Kamala Harris's Brentwood house for violating the curfew order after police received reports of burglary.
A handwritten sign with“looters will be shot” was hung on one tree, next to the US flag outside a house in Pacific Palisades.
However, the security checkpoints have left residents frustrated as they queue for up to 10 hours to try to get back in and see what, if anything, is left of their homes or check on family.
Prevented from entering an evacuation zone, Altadena resident Bobby Salman, 42, said:“I have to be there to protect my family, my wife, my kids, my mum and I cannot even go and see them.”
The queues left some people fuming about poor management, the latest complaint from a population who are already angry over hydrants that ran dry in the initial firefight.
Teams with cadaver dogs were combing through the rubble, with several people known to be missing and fears that the death toll will grow.
A huge investigation by federal and local authorities was underway to determine what caused the blazes.

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