Firefighters raced Saturday to get in front of the largest and most destructive fire burning in Los Angeles as it shifted direction and grew by about 400 hectares. Firefighters are working against the clock, as the Santa Ana winds that fueled several blazes threaten to return in the coming days.
"We need to be aggressive out there," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Operations Chief Christian Litz told reporters at a Saturday briefing. Adding that firefighters were concentrating on Mandeville Canyon, not far from the University of California, Los Angeles campus.
The toll since Tuesday stands at 11 people killed, at least 13 missing, and more than 12,000 structures destroyed. Officials have warned that the death toll could increase once the multiple fires have been brought under control and workers can comb through the ruins.
But that may be days away as the Palisades Fire, the largest of five, was reported to have shifted direction, prompting evacuation orders that included the Brentwood and Encino neighborhoods and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
The fire is threatening the J. Paul Getty Museum and UCLA. If it jumps Interstate 405, the densely populated Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley would be in danger.
Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins told reporters Saturday that 11% of the Palisades Fire is contained. The second-largest blaze, the Eaton fire, was 15% contained, according to the department.
The Palisades and Eaton fires already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history. Together, they have burned through about 145 square kilometers of land and destroyed or damaged about 12,000 structures.
Cal Fire is fighting five active wildfires in the Los Angeles area: the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Kenneth fires. As of Friday morning, the Kenneth fire was 35% contained, the Hurst fire was 37% contained, and the Lidia fire was 75% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Even as the fires are being fought, investigations have begun. Chief among them is why a nearby reservoir was out of service and why fire hydrants did not have water.
"When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there's going to be water," Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said, faulting city leadership and citing budget cuts.
California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a "full independent review" of the city's utilities Friday, saying in an open letter the lack of water supplies during the initial fires was "deeply troubling" and that answers were needed "to how that happened."
U.S. President Joe Biden convened key officials Friday to discuss the federal government's response to the wildfires.
"We have an awful lot of experience with this stuff, unfortunately," Biden later told reporters Friday. "Climate change has been real. It's been real for the last four years of our administration. We've seen devastating impacts."
Biden told a White House briefing Thursday that federal resources and additional funding have been made available to California. The money will be used to cover all the costs for 180 days for temporary shelters, the removal of hazardous materials, first responder salaries, and measures to protect life.
Biden told reporters Friday that his administration was coordinating with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has faulted Biden and Newsom for the crisis.
"He is the blame for this," Trump wrote about Newsom on Truth Social.
Trump said California's water policies are to blame for the fires, but the Los Angeles area is experiencing extremely dry conditions and fierce Santa Ana winds.
Trump demanded that Newsom "open up the water main" in Northern California to send water south, but there is no such central water valve in the state. Local officials have said the overall water supply is not the problem; rather, it is that power was shut off to pumps around the fires.
Various estimates say the fires burning in the Los Angeles area are likely to be the costliest ever. AccuWeather put the toll at between $135 billion and $150 billion.
"This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in U.S. modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country," said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
Meanwhile, California's insurance commissioner blocked insurance companies from canceling or not renewing the policies of customers in the areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires for a one-year period. Concerns have increased that this week's fires could hasten the flow of insurers out of California.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France Presse and Reuters.
