Forecast for strong winds keeps Los Angeles on edge after weeklong wildfires

After six days of emergency caused by raging wildfires and a death toll of at least 24, Los Angeles remained on high alert on Monday. Forecasters have warned that the strong Santa Ana winds, with gusts of up to 65 mph, will pick up again after a short reprieve and continue to hamper firefighting efforts through Wednesday. These are the same winds that have been fueling a series of fires since Tuesday, affecting more than 37,316 acres and killing at least 24 people by the latest official count, with dozens more missing. More than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and residents are bracing for more hardship to come. “Critical environmental conditions will continue until Wednesday,” warned Anthony Marrone, the fire chief of Los Angeles County. A red flag warning issued Saturday evening has been extended to Wednesday night.

Authorities have warned that the number of dead and missing will “very likely” rise in the coming hours. The Los Angeles Police Department has begun searching for bodies in the areas ravaged by the Palisades fires, located to the west, and the Eaton fire, east of the city. On Saturday, forensic and rescue teams began the search work in Altadena, searching 364 homes and locating three bodies.

It is difficult to explain the magnitude of the fires with figures or images. The areas of burnt land are huge and have burned down to the core; the smell is deep and permeates clothes and hair; embers float in the air and get stuck in cars; the foundations of houses and some of their gardens are still smoking, days later. The surface area that’s fallen prey to the flames is the size of a country like Liechtenstein, or almost three times the size of the island of Manhattan. And the fact that it is all happening in a city like Los Angeles makes it even more disturbing.

Almost everyone in the city knows someone who has lost their home, their workplace or who has been evacuated. The community experience of loss is similar to that of the Covid pandemic. There were at one point 180,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders, although as of Sunday morning on the West Coast that number had dropped to 105,000 thanks to the progress of firefighters on smaller blazes, such as the Hurst Fire, which has already been 89% contained. However, the Palisades Fire, the most devastating one of all so far, is only 11% contained. This blaze has burned a good part of the most scenic landscapes of Los Angeles, such as Malibu (which has lost a third of its East coast) as well as the latter portion of the famous Sunset Boulevard, one of its main arteries.

The Eaton Fire, which is affecting the northwest, especially the cities of Pasadena (population 133,000) and Altadena (43,000), has consumed entire neighborhoods and is only 27% contained. Firefighters have managed to extinguish other fires named Lidia, Kenneth and Sunset, the latter of which broke out in Runyon Canyon Park, located in the heart of Hollywood, forcing the evacuation of part of the neighborhood, although in the end there was little damage.

Victims want to check on their homes

The National Guard has been deployed since Friday on the perimeters of the two main fires to protect the neighborhoods and residences that are still standing. Hundreds of soldiers and tanks are guarding the streets to prevent looting and deny access to anyone who is not a law enforcement official, a member of emergency services, repair crews or accredited personnel. Entry is being denied to residents who want to check on the state of their homes and who go to security posts every day to complain about the lack of access.

Robert Clearwater is one of the people who have been forced to evacuate. On Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, he was recently trying to convince one of the guards to let him through to check on the state of the family home that his mother left him as an inheritance, and located just five minutes away from that spot. But the area has been declared off limits and the frustrated man did not understand why reporters were being allowed in but not him. In the end, journalists ended up going by the man’s small bungalow, and certified that the home was still standing and that not a single tree had burned down in the entire street.

Authorities have urged patience. There are still active fires that pose an extreme danger to the public. There is no power, no water, gas lines are broken and we have unstable structures, said L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley on Sunday. The fire department has only inspected 16 percent of the homes that have been affected, but authorities say they are working to ensure that residents of the ravaged neighborhoods can check the status of their properties online in the coming days.

The county sheriff’s office has 1,200 officers on the ground, and the number is likely to continue to grow, warned Robert Luna, the sheriff. So far there have been 29 arrests over theft or looting. Police arrested two men dressed entirely in black early Saturday morning at the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris in Brentwood, a wealthy neighborhood that is currently under evacuation orders. The intruders were prosecuted for violating the 6pm-6am curfew imposed in the area. About 25 people have been arrested in the area devastated by Eaton while another four were arrested to the west, around what was left standing in Pacific Palisades. Three of those arrested were dressed as firefighters.

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