Tragically, at least five individuals have lost their lives and 130,000 residents are facing evacuation as wildfires continue to wreak havoc in the Los Angeles region, which started on Tuesday. Strong winds and low humidity levels have intensified these fires.
Currently, six wildfires are active in Los Angeles County. The largest two, the Eaton fire (situated north of Pasadena and in Altadena) and the Palisades fire (extending from Malibu to Santa Monica), have forced over 70,000 and approximately 60,000 people to evacuate, respectively. The Eaton fire has scorched 10,600 acres while the Palisades fire has burned 15,800 acres, with both fires showing no signs of containment at this time.
The latest fire, named the Sunset fire, erupted in a densely populated area of the Hollywood Hills, leading to even more evacuations. Meanwhile, the Hurst and Lidia fires have burned 700 and 340 acres, respectively. The Woodley fire has been controlled at 30 acres.
Firefighting teams faced challenges due to “dry” fire hydrants, which either had low water pressure or were completely out of water.
Billionaire real-estate mogul Rick Caruso, who was a candidate in the 2022 mayoral election in Los Angeles, attributed these dry hydrants to poor city management. “There’s no water in the Palisades. There’s no water coming out of the fire hydrants. This is an absolute mismanagement by the city. Not the firefighters’ fault, but the city’s,” Caruso told Fox 11 Los Angeles, noting that his daughter lost her home in the fire.
“We have a mayor who is out of the country while our city is burning, and there are no resources to combat the fires,” Caruso added. “It feels like we’re living in a third-world country.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had traveled to Ghana for a presidential inauguration and returned just on Wednesday. She faced criticism, even from some left-leaning individuals, for not coming back sooner, especially since the National Weather Service issued warnings about strong winds and “extreme fire conditions” last Thursday, followed by a “fire weather watch” on Tuesday.
In response, President Joe Biden, who had met with local law enforcement in Los Angeles before heading back to Washington earlier on Wednesday, announced that he would be canceling a scheduled trip to Italy to focus on the ongoing wildfire crisis.
