Biden sends federal resources to fight fires – what actually happened | Los Angeles

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The Hearst Fire is now 37% contained, California Governor Gavin Newsom shared on social media Thursday night.

The fire, which started Tuesday, is 10% contained and has now spread to 855 acres.

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President Joe Biden said he would send all available federal resources to Southern California, including hundreds of firefighters, 30 fire planes, eight defense aircraft and 500 military personnel.

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More than 153,000 people are under evacuation orders in Los Angeles County, according to the latest information from Sean Boyd of the California Operations Center.

Seven evacuation centers have been opened for displaced people, with more than 1,500 people already evacuated.

The National Weather Service says there will be a brief respite in strong winds over the weekend, but strong winds could return Tuesday into Wednesday.

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That’s all for today

Thank you for joining us today to cover the Los Angeles wildfires. There are currently five wildfires burning in Los Angeles County. They include:

Palisades Fire, 19,978 acres, 6% containment

Eaton Fire, 13,690 acres, 0% containment

Kenneth Fire, 960 acres, 0% containment

Hearst Fire, 671 acres, 10% containment

Lydia Fire, 348 acres, 60% containment

As we settle into the third night of wildfires in Southern California, here are the main events of the day.

The Palisades and Eaton fires killed seven people and destroyed more than 10,000 structures. Five people were confirmed dead in the Eaton fire and two in the Palisades. The Palisades Fire had been 0% contained since Tuesday’s outbreak, but was 6% contained as of Thursday at 6 p.m.

The new fire, now called the Kenneth Fire, started around 3:34 p.m. and quickly grew to 960 acres.

President Joe Biden announced that the federal government will cover 100% of firefighting needs for the next 180 days.

Law enforcement officials are working to impose a curfew in the Los Angeles burn area to prevent looting, but it’s unclear when it will go into effect.

Shortly after President Biden canceled a trip to Italy to monitor the fires more closely, Vice President Kamala Harris canceled trips to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany.

California prisons are currently deploying about 800 incarcerated firefighters to fight the devastating fires.

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Updated on 22.02 ET

Death toll from fire rises to 7

The death toll from the Palisades and Eaton fires has increased to seven, according to city and county officials.

Five people were killed in the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, Los Angeles County Fire Department Public Information Officer Carlos Herrera said.

Meanwhile, two people were killed in the Palisades Fire along the Los Angeles coast, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.

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Updated at 21:55 ET

Law enforcement officials say there has only been one incident of looting in the Palisades area so far tonight, at a city hall sponsored by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“We have responded to many calls for help in our area, but so far we have only had one confirmed theft report,” said Los Angeles Police Department Commander Stephen Enrich.

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The Palisades Fire is currently 6% contained, California Governor Gavin Newsom shared on social media Thursday night.

The fire is 0% contained since it first started around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and has now spread to 19,978 acres.

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Updated at 21:50 ET

More than 10,000 buildings destroyed in Los Angeles fires

More than 10,000 buildings caught fire between the Eaton and Palisades fires. At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley reported that more than 5,300 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades fire. Earlier in the day, authorities confirmed a fire near Eaton had destroyed more than 5,000 structures.

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The NFL will move the Rams’ wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona after several days of devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The playoff game will be played Monday night at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, outside Glendale, Arizona.

Although there were no fires near Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, where the two teams were scheduled to play, the NFL announced the decision due to concerns about air quality, the burden it would place on the community, and the potential for calls to police and fire. The department official who made the decision.

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Updated on 21.18 ET

Hundreds of firefighters head to battle Kenneth Fire

California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a social media post Thursday night that an additional 900 firefighters are being activated to battle the rapidly advancing Kenneth Fire. The fire, which started around 3:34 p.m., has now grown to 960 acres.

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Updated on 21.19 ET