Apocalyptic scenes have emerged across Los Angeles County, where multiple wildfires have caused catastrophic damage and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
Whole neighborhoods have been devastated. As many as 10,000 structures have been destroyed between the Eaton Fire and the coastal Palisades Fire, which is now the most destructive fire in the county’s history.
Four major wildfires are raging across Los Angeles County. At least 10 people have died, with officials warning the true toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to go into neighborhoods. More than 153,000 people are under evacuation orders, the county sheriff said Friday.
After countywide evacuation warnings were accidentally sent to millions, officials apologized, emphasized work is underway to resolve the issue and urged people not to disable their alerts.
Officials on Friday said firefighters have made some progress and that the blaze is 8% contained.
Firefighting teams are expecting more wind and dry conditions to continue to complicate efforts into next week. If winds are too strong, firefighting aircraft won’t be able to take off.
California governor warns of misinformation
Meanwhile, California GGovernor Gavin Newsom is warning Los Angeles residents, and the nation, of misinformation as several wildfires rage in Southern California.
“There were hurricane force winds of mis and disinformation, lies. People want to divide this country and we’re going to have to address that as well,” Newsom said during a Friday briefing with President Joe Biden.
The governor’s comments echo those of Biden, who has lamented over the spread of misinformation around firefighting and water efforts around the Los Angeles wildfires.
During a White House briefing Thursday, the president offered an implicit criticism of recent comments from President-elect Donald Trump, who has slammed the federal response. Biden also asked for an explanation of the impact utilities have had on the ability to generate the pumping of water.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is also facing criticism over the timing of an overseas trip and budget cuts made months ago that affected the city’s fire department. When the Palisades Fire began on Tuesday, Bass was in Ghana attending the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama as part of a US presidential delegation.
On Thursday, Bass defended her leadership during the crisis and insisted her “number one focus” is protecting lives and saving homes.
Biden also told reporters Friday that his administration will keep “working 24/7 to support state and local officials” though there are just 10 days left in his presidency.
“The scope, the scale and the erratic movements of these fires is truly unprecedented,” Biden said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, whose home state is California, said “The devastation that we are looking at is multi-generational and is going to linger for quite some time.”
