SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Christopher Weber, Julie Watson and John Seewer
Los Angeles: Easing winds delivered a brief but much-needed reprieve to firefighters as they battled two massive blazes burning in the Los Angeles area, and the National Weather Service pushed back its unusually dire warning of critical fire weather until early the following day.
Forecasters said the winds were below danger levels in the evening, but they were expected to strengthen overnight with potentially fire-fuelling gusts. Red flag warnings remained in effect from Central California to the Mexican border until at least Thursday AEDT.
The devastation of the Palisades Fire is seen at sunset in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.Credit: AP
Winds increased but not to the near-hurricane-force levels that were predicted to happen earlier in the day. Still the danger was not over, officials said.
“Key message: We are not out of the woods yet,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles said in a post on social media. “The winds underperformed today, but one more enhancement could happen tonight-tomorrow.”
This round of Santa Ana winds was not expected to be as mighty as last week, but they could carry fire-sparking embers for miles and stoke new outbreaks in a region where at least 25 people have already been killed.
Firefighters made more progress on the Palisades Fire, the largest and most stubborn blaze. CalFire Operations Section Chief Christian Litz said he took a helicopter ride around the perimeter and saw no active flames, though it was far from over.
James Lyons, an engineer with the Apple Valley Fire District, sprays hot spots at a home burned by the Palisades Fire.Credit: AP
Nearly 90,000 households lost electricity as utilities shut off power to prevent their lines from sparking new blazes.
A state of alert
Weary and anxious residents were told to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice. They remained vigilant, keeping an eye on the skies and on each other: Police announced roughly 50 arrests, for looting, flying drones in fire zones, violating curfew and other crimes.
Of those, three people were arrested on suspicion of arson after being seen setting small fires that were immediately extinguished, LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. One was using a barbecue lighter, another ignited brush and a third tried to light up a trash can, he said. All were far outside the disaster zones. Authorities have not determined a cause for any of the major fires.
Firefighters from the California Conservation Corps work to contain the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California.Credit: Bloomberg
Among nine people charged with looting was a group that stole an Emmy from an evacuated house, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
The biggest worry remained the threat from intense winds. Now backed by firefighters from other states, Canada and Mexico, crews were deployed to attack flareups or new blazes. The firefighting force was much bigger than a week ago, when the first wave of fires began destroying thousands of homes in what could become the nation’s costliest fire disaster.
Kaylin Johnson and her family planned to spend the night at their home, one of the few left standing in her neighbourhood in Altadena, near Pasadena. They intended to keep watch to ward off looting and to hose down the house and her neighbours’ properties to prevent flareups.
“Our lives have been put on hold indefinitely,” Johnson said. “But I would rather be here and not leave than to not be allowed back at all.”
Packed and ready to go
Residents said they were ready to make a hasty escape.
Javier Vega, who said he feels like he has been “sleeping with one eye open,” and his girlfriend have planned out how they can quickly pack up their two cats, eight fish and leopard gecko if they get orders to evacuate.
“Typically on any other night, hearing helicopters flying overhead from midnight to 4:00 in the morning, that would drive anyone crazy,” Vega said. But figuring they were helping firefighters to keep the flames from threatening their neighbourhood, he explained, “it was actually soothing for me to go to sleep.”
With almost no rain in more than eight months, the brush-filled region has had more than a dozen wildfires this year, mostly in the greater Los Angeles area.
The four largest fires around the nation’s second-biggest city have scorched more than 16300 hectares, roughly three times the size of Manhattan. Of these, the Eaton Fire near Pasadena was roughly one-third contained, while the largest blaze, in Pacific Palisades on the coast, was far less contained.
The death toll is likely to rise, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. Nearly 30 people were still missing, he said Tuesday. Some people reported as missing earlier have been found.
Just under 90,000 people in the county remained under evacuation orders, half the number from last week.
Hollywood’s awards season has been put on hiatus because of the crisis. The Oscar nominations have been delayed twice, and some organisations postponed their awards shows and announcements without rescheduling.
AP
