close
Friday February 07, 2025

Los Angeles evacuees told to stay away from home for at least another week

By Reuters
January 17, 2025
A drone view shows a fire truck next to a site where houses were burnt down by the Palisades Fire, in Malibu, California, US, January 16, 2025. — Reuters
A drone view shows a fire truck next to a site where houses were burnt down by the Palisades Fire, in Malibu, California, US, January 16, 2025. — Reuters

LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles officials told evacuees from the wildfires on Thursday to stay away from their homes at least another week as emergency responders remove toxic waste from incinerated neighborhoods and cut off electricity and gas lines posing a hazard amid the ruins.

Landslides further endangered the devastated hillsides, where leveled structures no longer hold earth in place and water from fire hoses and broken pipes has saturated the ground, adding more stress and heartache to people suffering the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles history.

With wildfires burning for a 10th day, firefighters expressed relief over withstanding recent red flag conditions of high desert winds and low humidity without either of the two monster fires growing.

But the National Weather Service warned that the respite of ocean breezes and cloud cover will be short, as hazardous fire weather was forecast to return on Sunday.

Frustrated evacuees are eager to return home to assess the damage and salvage any keepsakes or medicine, but officials said it was too dangerous or too taxing on first responders who were still dealing with the immediate disaster, which has killed at least 25 people.

“You can see the emotional toll that this disaster has taken on people, as I spoke to people who had lost their homes or who were not sure the status of their homes or missing pets. The toll you can see mounting on them,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.

The Palisades Fire on the west side of Los Angeles has consumed 23,713 acres (96 sq km) and was 22% contained, meaning firefighters had control of that percentage of the perimeter.

The Eaton Fire, which has burned 14,117 acres (57 square km) in the foothills east of town, was 55% contained, Cal Fire said.

Together the two fires have charred 59 square miles (152 sq km) - an area larger than Paris or nearly three times the size of Manhattan. A series of smaller wildfires in Southern California have been brought completely or mostly under control.

At least 12,000 structures - many of them homes - have been leveled or damaged, leaving 82,400 people still under evacuation orders and another 90,400 under evacuation warnings.

Some people defied evacuation orders and died. Others found it impossible to abandon distressed neighbors and fought the flames with buckets.

John Carr said he stayed in his home in Pacific Palisades to protect it because rebuilding would be too expensive. As the fire began to encroach on his backyard, Carr said he sprang into action, jumping fences to tackle spot fires from all directions using his hose, not only on the flames but also himself.

Los Angeles County officials said some people in evacuation zones would be let home sooner than a week but for others it may take even longer, as officials attempted to recover and identify charred human remains.

Private forecaster AccuWeather projects damage and losses at more than $250 billion, which would make the Los Angeles fires the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

The devastation has also complicated the city’s preparation to host major sporting events such as part of the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympic Games. Experts say a relocation of the Olympics would be unlikely.