Firefighters race to beat LA blazes as winds grow and death toll hits 16

Aircraft dropped water and fire retardant on steep hills to stem the eastward spread of the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles on Saturday as on-the-ground firefighting intensified amid warnings of wind gusts of up to 110 kph that could make matters worse.

Over the past 24 hours, the Palisades Fire spread over an additional 400 hectares, consuming more homes, officials reported.

Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County neighborhoods since Tuesday have killed at least 16 people as of late Saturday, the Washington Post and other media reported, citing the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office. 

The blazes have damaged or destroyed 12,000 structures, fire officials said. At least 13 people are estimated to be missing.

The death toll is expected to mount when firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches.

Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins told a press conference that while 11 per cent of the Palisades Fire was now contained, it has burned over 8,900 hectares.

Hopkins said the Palisades Fire had spread into the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and threatened to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood where celebrities live and play, and the San Fernando Valley. It also inched towards the north-south 405 freeway.

The National Weather Service warned of worsening Santa Ana winds that it predicted would pick up Saturday night into Sunday morning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and again on late Monday through Tuesday morning, bringing sustained winds up to 50 km/h and wind gusts up to 110 km/h.

"We're in a continued period of critical fire weather through Wednesday," said NWS meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld. Conditions were expected to moderate by Thursday.

Evacuation orders throughout the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents, putting 57,000 structures at risk. Another 166,000 residents have been warned that they may have to evacuate, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.

But significant progress was reported in bringing electrical power back to Los Angeles neighborhoods. Southern California Edison CEO Steven Powell told reporters there are now about 50,000 customers without power, "down from over half a million just a couple days ago."

Powell said there was no evidence that any of Edison's equipment caused the Hurst fire but that the investigation was continuing.

As state and local officials grappled with the worst cluster of fires in Los Angeles history, President Joe Biden spoke by phone with some of them to get an update on their efforts. He was also briefed by senior aides on federal resources that were being dispatched.

Biden’s major disaster declaration unlocked federal assistance for those affected by the wildfires, clearing the way for FEMA to provide support. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were at the Pasadena Convention Center helping residents navigate FEMA aid applications.

Support can range from funding for home repairs to money to replace lost food or medication, said FEMA spokesperson Michael Hart, adding that assistance can be provided within days.

Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger told reporters she had invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit the county to get a first-hand look at the destruction.

Luna said the sheriff's office has dispatched 40 search and rescue team workers to work jointly with other agencies, including the use of cadaver dogs to search for remains of victims and help reunite separated families.

"LA County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

The fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the infernos eased on Friday night. But the Palisades Fire on the city's western edge was heading in a new direction as winds came off the Pacific Ocean.

The fire has razed whole neighbourhoods, leaving the smoldering ruins of what had been people's homes and possessions.

Before the latest flare-up, firefighters had reported progress in subduing the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the metropolis after it burned out of control for days.

In Altadena, official Don Fregulia said managing the Eaton Fire and its impact will be a "huge, herculean task" that he said will take "many weeks of work."

The two big fires combined have consumed over 14,500 hectares, or 145 square km, 2-1/2 times the land area of Manhattan.

Seven neighbouring states, the federal government and Canada and Mexico have rushed aid and firefighters 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.

Officials have declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.

HOMES REDUCED TO ASH

Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighborhoods on Friday 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," Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the rubble where her house once stood.

Foster's 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to get inside but "I just became sick. I just couldn't even... Yeah, it's hard."

In Rick McGeagh's Palisades neighborhood, 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.

On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, diapers 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.

BILLIONS IN LOSSES

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.

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 $135 billion to $150 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.

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.

Law enforcement officials were warning residents to adhere to curfews, amid arrests with charges of burglary, looting and the possession of concealed firearms.

"You go out there and you violate this curfew, you are going to spend time in jail," Luna warned.