Thousands of firefighters battled to extinguish four wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area Saturday before evening winds were expected to fan the flames further.
In Pacific Palisades, incarcerated firefighters dug wide trenches into the scorched terrain to try to extinguish what was said to be the most destructive fire in the city’s history. Across the city in Altadena, first responders dragged hoses over burned-out cars and rebar. As the Palisades Fire neared the UCLA campus in Mandeville Canyon, evacuation orders were issued across the Brentwood and Encino areas, and fire planes dropped water and retardant and aggressively attacked from the air to try to stop the fire from advancing. Dropped.
As containment levels for the two largest fires increased, city and county officials began the difficult task of identifying victims. At least 11 people were confirmed dead in Saturday’s Palisades and Eaton fires, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. Relatives have begun coming forward to identify the victims, including several elderly black Altadena residents who refused to leave their longtime homes and a former Australian child star who was unable to move. This includes people with disabilities and multiple people receiving home health care.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the death toll is expected to rise as authorities deploy search dogs to the affected areas. The sheriff also said 13 people were reported missing.
The fire ravaged an area about 2.5 times the size of Manhattan, displaced 200,000 people and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and structures, including entire residential areas. They also sparked political brawls both in Los Angeles and across the United States.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said after reports emerged that critical reservoirs shut down during the fires, leaving some emergency hydrants with low water pressure before running dry. Ordered an investigation into Los Angeles County’s water management. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has been vocal about water issues and budget cuts contributing to firefighters’ “failures.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Water and Power confirmed that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which helps provide water to the Pacific Palisades, was shut down for routine maintenance at the time of the fire.
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works issued its own statement “correcting misinformation” about the water system.
“The unprecedented and extreme demand for water to fight wildfires without air support resulted in a loss of water pressure in the system,” the report said. “It was necessary to suspend use of the Santa Ynez Reservoir to meet safe drinking water regulations,” the department added.
The water issue has sparked a national debate, and Donald Trump has weighed in.
At the same time, neighboring blue and red states, as well as foreign countries, are making their own political statements in their decisions to send firefighters to assist California. On Saturday, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his state would send emergency responders to left-leaning California. It came a day after Mexico and Canada announced that both countries would send firefighters to assist the United States, despite President Trump’s threat to levy them. Tariffs on both.
Arrests and further evacuation orders
Los Angeles County authorities announced Saturday that 22 people have been arrested at the scene in California, including 19 people in the Eaton Fire and three in the Palisades Fire. At least some of the charges were theft and looting. Hours earlier, the Sheriff’s Office sent all mandatory evacuation areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton wildfires to 6 p.m. to protect the property of homeowners who were following evacuation orders from looting. A curfew was imposed from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m.
The area that was recently ordered to be evacuated is a two-lane road near Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood, making emergency access to expensive homes difficult. The order also includes an “s,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
A spokeswoman for the J. Paul Getty Trust, which funds the museum, said the museum is following evacuation orders and is currently closed and staffed only by emergency personnel.
The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Los Angeles said it was relocating residents from a community living facility on its north campus “out of an abundance of caution.”
Earlier, US authorities declared a public health emergency due to the impact of the California fires on air pollution.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health announced that it has declared a local health emergency and issued a public health order in response to “multiple ongoing significant fire incidents and widespread impacts from the storm.” . The order applies to all areas of Los Angeles County.
“The fires, combined with strong winds, have significantly degraded air quality by emitting harmful smoke and particulate matter, posing immediate and long-term risks to public health,” the ministry said in a statement. .
People who have to go out for long periods of time in areas with thick smoke or ash are urged to wear masks.
The Palisades Fire is 11% contained, and the Eaton Fire, which affected Altadena and Pasadena, is 15% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Smaller wildfires such as the Kenneth and Hearst fires, some of which may have been intentionally started, are under the control of firefighters.
The Santa Ana winds that caused the wildfire destruction earlier this week are expected to slow down and fade over the next few days. Strong wind gusts are expected Monday night into Tuesday, but are not expected to reach the 160 mph wind gusts that previously sparked firestorms.
