A break in the strong winds that have fueled wildfires in Los Angeles for days has helped firefighters gain some control over two large wildfires on the city’s western and eastern sides.
On Friday, the “Palisades Fire” and “Eaton Fire” were 8% and 3% contained, respectively. These two fires are the largest of six separate fires that started in the Santa Ana gusts in the Los Angeles area.
Winds.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley reported that “the weather remained favorable throughout the night.”
Palisades and Eaton combined have burned 35,000 acres (14,100 ha), or 54 square miles of land.
Pacific Palisades is an affluent, residential, coastal district near Santa Monica in LA, home to over 20,000 people.
Overall, 13,000 structures are estimated to have been destroyed.
Wind conditions improved to about 20 mph and gusts between 35 mph to 50 mph on Friday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), compared to more than 80 mph a few days ago. Strong winds were recorded.
But forecasters have warned that strong winds are expected to return by Monday.
dvv/wmr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
