Firefighters are finally starting to gain control over two major wildfires on the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles as fierce winds that supercharged the fires for days are easing — for now.
Six simultaneous wildfires have since Tuesday, killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures.
Those totals are expected to grow once it is safe enough for firefighters to conduct house-to-house searches.
With thousands of people suddenly homeless and the thickening smoke, US officials have declared a public health emergency.
Firefighters on Friday (local time) reported progress against the Palisades Fire on the western edge of the city and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the sprawling metropolis.
After burning out of control for days, despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters attacking the blazes from the air and on the ground, the Palisades Fire was 8 per cent contained and the Eaton Fire 3 per cent.
Cal Fire had listed containment levels of both fires at 0 per cent until Friday.
Even so, the two big fires combined had consumed 14,100 hectares.
The Eaton fire is estimated to have destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 buildings, while the Palisades fire destroyed or damaged approximately 5,000 structures.
A home burns in the Pacific Palisades. The Palisades fire is estimated to have destroyed or damaged approximately 5,000 structures. Source: AAP / Michael Nigro/Sipa USA
Three much smaller blazes, the Kenneth Fire (4 sq km), the Hurst Fire (3 sq km) and the Lidia Fire (1.6 sq km) have been partly contained — by 35 per cent, 37 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively, as of Saturday morning (AEDT).
Some 153,000 people remained under evacuation orders, and another 166,800 faced evacuation warnings, with a curfew in place for all evacuation zones, Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna said.
Seven neighbouring states, the federal government and Canada have rushed aid to California, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardant on the flaming hills and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
Conditions in the Los Angeles area will improve through the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 30km/h.
The death toll from the fire has climbed to 10 but officials said the number may rise when investigators can access destroyed homes. Source: AAP / Michael Nigro/Sipa USA
However, forecasters predicted another red flag warning would be issued for Monday.
On Friday (local time), the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the death toll had risen by one to 11.
Luna had earlier told reporters he did not want to pronounce an exact number until it was safe for human remains detection teams to conduct house-to-house searches.
Based on the widespread devastation, Luna said he expected the number to grow.
“It looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don’t expect good news, and we’re not looking forward to those numbers,” he said.
LA officials also said that there had been a “high number of significant injuries” to residents who had not evacuated the Palisades fire.
‘Everything is ash’
The psychological toll on a traumatised county of nearly 10 million people has yet to be assessed.
Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighbourhoods were shocked to find brick chimneys looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles as acrid smoke lingered in the air.
“This was a house that was loved,” Pacific Palisades resident Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the ashy rubble where her house once stood as smoke rose from neighbouring homes and planes dropped water nearby.
In Rick McGeagh’s Palisades neighbourhood, only six of 60 homes survived, and all that remained standing at his ranch house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.
“Everything else is ash and rubble,” said McGeagh, 61, a commercial real estate broker, who, along with his wife, raised three children at their home.
More than 150,000 people remain under evacuation orders as fires continue to burn around Los Angeles. Source: AAP / Michael Nigro/Sipa USA
On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, nappies and bottled water.
Denise Doss, 63, said she was anxious to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if anything was salvageable, but officials stopped her due to safety concerns.
“At least to say goodbye until we can rebuild. I will let God lead me,” Doss said.
Many Altadena residents said they were worried government resources would go to wealthier areas and that insurers might short-change those who cannot afford to contest denials of fire claims.
The sun rises in the Pacific Palisades on Thursday. Source: AAP, AP / Damian Dovarganes
Beyond those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poorer air quality, as the fires lofted traces of metals, plastics and other synthetic materials.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at US$135 billion to US$150 billion ($218 billion to $242 billion), portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners’ insurance costs.
California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara called on insurers on Friday to suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations that homeowners received before the fires began and to extend the grace period for payments.
US President Joe Biden has declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would reimburse 100 per cent of the recovery for the next six months.
In a call with Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, he reiterated his pledge to provide California with resources to fight the blazes and rebuild.
“This is not going to be over, even when all the fires are out, it’s just going to be beginning … so we’re going to be around a long while to help,” Biden told an Oval Office briefing.
Australians caught up in fires
A number of Australians, including actors and other celebrities, have been caught up in the emergency.
Actor Rebel Wilson, who has a home in a fire-affected part of the city, shared a message on her Instagram story, “Cannot believe this … thank you Ornela for saving our cat!”
Podcaster Kath Ebbs posted on social media on Wednesday that she was preparing to evacuate with JoJo Siwa, an American musician.
Ebbs later posted that the pair did not have to evacuate in the end but are “still on high alert and honestly just in complete shock about what is happening”.
ARIA Award-winning musician G Flip and wife, reality TV star Chrisell Stause, were forced to evacuate their home on Thursday.
Stause later posted to Instagram stories that their neighbourhood was safe “for now” but said it was “Impossible to sleep while your city burns”.
Chef Curtis Stone and his family also revealed on Instagram stories that they had been forced to evacuate this week.
Stone’s wife, actress Lindsay Price posted on her Instagram stories that the family had been forced to evacuate and said they were “Praying for our beloved neighbourhood of Palisades and all of LA”.
On Thursday, Stone posted a photo to Instagram of smoke blanketing the city.
“This was the first thing I saw this morning at 7am in Hollywood. God bless our firefighters and all the responders,” he wrote.
With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
