The known death toll in the fires that are ravaging Los Angeles County this week has risen to 10, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed on Friday, as firefighters struggling against high winds are hoping for a reprieve on the fourth day of seemingly unstoppable blazes that have destroyed entire neighborhoods and over 10,000 homes and buildings as residents flee the area for their lives.
The firefighters battling the unprecedented fires, the first of which began on Tuesday amid high wind official warnings, were able to stymie the new Kenneth Fire, which ignited in San Fernando Valley just two miles from a school that has become a makeshift shelter and moved toward Ventura Thursday night. On Friday morning, the Kenneth Fire was 35 percent contained; the Palisades Fire near the coastline was 6 percent contained; the Eaton Fire, which caused multiple deaths north of Pasadena, remained 0 percent contained. The Hurst Fire, south of Santa Clarita, was 37 percent contained.
On Thursday night, helicopters dropped water over the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles where hurricane-force winds in at least one area reached 99 miles per hour, spreading embers that have pushed the fire in all directions. One of the city’s firefighting planes was struck by a drone flown by a civilian and grounded, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Meanwhile, California National Guard troops arrived overnight to assist with road closure and were sent to Altadena, where they are reinforcing as Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies began to patrol and prevent potential looting; police said that 20 people were arrested this week for looting in the fires’ wake.
The massive Palisades Fire has the notoriety of being the most destructive in Los Angeles history. It has now laid waste to over 5,300 structures — meaning homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles —as it rapidly tore toward the coast and sent residents of some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods fleeing in their cars and for some, then by foot as the flames drew closer.
Meanwhile, the deadly 13,960-acre Eaton Fire has burned 5,000 structures and roughly 14,000 acres have been scorched in the area, officials said.
On Thursday, Accuweather increased the estimate of the fires’ damage and economic loss to the area to $135-$150 billion. All five current fires in Los Angeles now rank as the top five blazes in terms of how destructive they have been. So far, the wildfires have burned through more than 36,000 acres, which is roughly the size of Miami or two-and-a-half Manhattans.
Weather agencies announced on Friday that 2024 was officially the hottest year ever for Earth. The jump caused the figure to surpass the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
This is a developing story.
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