The two major wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have claimed at least 10 lives and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and structures, officials confirmed, urging more residents to comply with evacuation orders as a new blaze rapidly spread.
The Kenneth Fire, which ignited Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) from a shelter for evacuees from another fire, quickly advanced into neighboring Ventura County. However, a swift and strong firefighting response managed to prevent the flames from spreading further.
Around 400 firefighters remained on-site overnight, staying vigilant to prevent the fire from reigniting.
Only hours before the Kenneth Fire roared to life, officials expressed encouragement after firefighters, aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state, saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s two devastating wildfires.
The Eaton Fire, which started Tuesday night near Pasadena, has burned more than 5,000 structures, including homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings, and vehicles. Firefighters were able to establish the first bit of containment Thursday.
To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 structures, and firefighters have yet to establish containment.
All of the major fires that have broken out this week are located in a roughly 40-kilometer (25-mile) band north of downtown Los Angeles, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation’s second-largest city. The cause of the largest fires remains unidentified.
The level of devastation is jarring, even in a state accustomed to massive wildfires.
A large portion of scenic Pacific Palisades has been obliterated. Dozens of blocks in the seaside neighborhood were flattened to smoldering rubble.
In neighboring Malibu, blackened palm fronds were all that remained above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks, and grocery stores were burned. So too were the Will Rogers Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s.
The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.
AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.
Firefighters made significant gains Thursday in slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remains far out of reach.
Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday. The fire, which sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry, came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.
Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds blew embers that ignited hillsides.
"It's impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than total devastation and loss," said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.
"There are areas where everything is gone, there isn't even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt," Bruderlin said.
Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five. Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble to see if there are more victims.
Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy. They were waiting for an ambulance and did not make it to safety when the flames roared through, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.
Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night, but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from the rubble of what was once a beachfront residence in Malibu. A charred washer and dryer were among the few identifiable remains in the home along the Pacific Coast Highway.
At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) – roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest, will be closed again Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting. The city of Santa Monica, which is next to Pacific Palisades, declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said.
National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. They'll be stationed near fire-ravaged areas to protect property.
Many celebrities live in areas devastated by fire. Among those who lost their homes were Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, and Paris Hilton.
Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a "fund of support" for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels, from the city’s wealthy to its working class.
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.
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.
Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.
"All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone," he said.
