Largest Los Angeles fires still out of control even as slower winds help tame flames
Death toll expected to rise as crews begin searching rubble, sheriff says
Firefighters began to slow the spread of deadly and devastating fires in the Los Angeles area Thursday after the ferocious winds that drove the fast-moving flames diminished, though the largest blazes still burned out of control.
Crews were able to knock down a major threat that broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, close to the heart of the entertainment industry, and by morning had lifted an evacuation order for the area.
"While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning," Los Angeles County supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a news conference Thursday morning.
Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews get control of fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Much of the destruction around the city occurred after those aircraft were grounded due to high winds.
Major wind gusts still posed a danger Thursday, but the weather forecast could signal an opportunity for firefighters to make progress in reining in the blazes, which have killed at least five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to frantically flee their homes.
The toll from the fires is still being calculated. Kristin Crowley, chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the Palisades Fire along the coast burned thousands of structures.
"It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles," she said.
The number of dead is expected to rise as cadaver dogs and search crews begin looking through rubble, said Robert Luna, a Los Angeles county sheriff.
Flames from the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills put densely populated neighbourhoods on edge Wednesday night. A few kilometres away, the streets around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were bustling, with some onlookers using their phones to record video of the blazing hills.
Firefighters were able to keep the blaze in check because "we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us today," said Capt. Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which co-ordinates cross-border wildfire response with the United States, said it was working Thursday to send a pair of CL-415 water bombers to help the fight.
Hurricane-force winds fan flames
On Wednesday, hurricane-force winds, with gusts up to 129 km/h, blew embers that ignited block after block in the coastal neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades and in the nearby community of Altadena.
Thousands of homes, businesses and other structures were destroyed in those blazes — called the Palisades and Eaton fires — and the number is expected to increase. The five deaths recorded so far were from the Eaton Fire near Pasadena.
Those two fires already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming nearly 113.3 square kilometres so far — an area exceeding the size of Disney World — and turning entire neighbourhoods to ash.
While they were no longer spreading significantly, both remained at zero per cent containment, officials said.
In Pasadena, fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city's water system was stretched and crews were further hampered by power outages. But even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fast-moving blaze, he said.
"Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire," he said.
Still, questions were being raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to buckle when it was needed most.
Canada's Minister of Emergency Preparedess Harjit Sajjan said on X that he had connected with FEMA to offer support.
"Team Canada, with Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta, is ready to deploy 250 firefighters, aircraft equipment, and other resources as early as tonight," he wrote, adding that the Canadian Forces are standing by to move personnel and equipment.
Canada has also sent water bombers from Alberta.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X, "To our American neighbours: Canada's here to help."
180,000 people ordered to evacuate
In Pacific Palisades, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes, block after block of California Mission-style homes and bungalows were reduced to charred remains. Ornate iron railing wrapped around the smouldering frame of one house.
About 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 117 square kilometres — an area roughly the size of San Francisco.
Jose Velasquez sprayed his family's Altadena home with water as embers rained down on the roof. He managed to save the structure, which also houses their family business selling pastries. Many of his neighbours were at work as fire spread through their homes.
"We had to call a few people and then we had people messaging, asking if their house was still standing," he said. "We had to tell them that it's not."
About 250 homes in Altadena were reduced to rubble. Only a few homes remained, some still in flames according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies. Just a handful of 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu appeared intact.
Actors lost homes
The flames tore through affluent neighbourhoods that are home to California's rich and famous.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton were among the stars who lost homes. Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades Fire.
Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million US to start a "fund of support" for those affected by the wildfires.
In Palisades Village, the public library, two major grocery stores, a pair of banks and several boutiques were destroyed.
"It's just really weird coming back to somewhere that doesn't really exist anymore," said Dylan Vincent, who said his elementary school had burned down.
Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park.
A longer fire season
The main fires grew rapidly in different areas that had two things in common: densely packed homes in places that are choked with dry vegetation that was primed to burn.
Flames moved so quickly that many people barely had time to escape, some abandoning their vehicles and setting out on foot. Police sought shelter inside their cars.
California's wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 2.5 millimetres of rain since early May.