California firefighters prepared for the possibility of new or worse wildfires in Southern California on Tuesday amid warnings of high winds and dry conditions.
The National Weather Service said wind speeds could exceed 100 kilometers per hour on Tuesday, warning of extreme fire danger across large areas of Southern California.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marone said Monday that firefighters were “absolutely better prepared” than when the wildfires erupted last week, but gusty winds were preventing officials from improving their firefighting efforts. Can force critical aircraft to land.
Such restrictions were imposed over the past week as four major fires burned. In total, those flames have scorched an area of more than 160 square kilometers.
Firefighters have completely contained one blaze, while another blaze north of Los Angeles is 97% contained.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the two largest fires remain at risk, including the Palisades fire west of Los Angeles, which has burned 96 square kilometers and broke out late Monday night. Till now 14% had been controlled.
The second major fire was the Eaton Fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the eastern side of the city. Cal Fire said the fire was 33% contained and had burned 57 square kilometers.
At least 24 people have died in the fire, while authorities are searching for dozens of people reported missing.
About 100,000 people remain under evacuation orders in the area.
US President Joe Biden pledged additional federal support on Monday and said during a White House briefing, “We will continue to do everything we can to help you get through this.”
“This was a heartbreaking weekend for so many people in Los Angeles,” Biden said. “Ashes were falling like snow, houses were burnt to the ground.
Thousands of them have gone home. And we learned that we had lost many of our fellow Americans. So, let’s say again to the people of Los Angeles, we are with you.
The President also praised the work of emergency responders.
“Los Angeles is the City of Angels, and now you are the Angels,” Biden said. “You are literally an angel who saves lives, and we are indebted to you.”
Biden said the federal government is providing assistance with overtime pay for firefighters, debris removal and temporary shelters. He said the sector would need tens of billions of dollars to recover and called on Congress to “step up” and provide funding.
Some Republican leaders in Congress have suggested that federal aid should be given only with conditions, as they have criticized California leaders for accusing them of mismanagement of water and forest resources.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said in recent days that the state has increased its firefighting force and forest management efforts since he took office in 2019.
On Monday, a lawsuit filed against Southern California Edison claims the utility’s equipment sparked the deadly Eaton fire that started on Jan. 7.
Edison acknowledged that fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment may have started a smaller fire in the area that also broke out on January 7.
Authorities have not yet determined the official cause of the fire.
A lawsuit was also filed against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Monday. The lawsuit claims the utility failed to properly manage water supplies critical to fighting the deadly Palisades fire, which killed at least eight people and destroyed thousands of structures, according to a court filing.
Some information was provided by the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
