The fire continues to ravage the outskirts of Los Angeles, covered in acrid whitish smoke. The main fires remained out of control on the evening of Thursday, January 9, in the Californian megacity, which has now recorded at least ten deaths and where military reinforcements will be deployed.
“It feels like the apocalypse,” Oren Waters told AFP, in front of his house reduced to ashes in the town of Altadena, north of Los Angeles. “To come back and see this is unimaginable.” In the northwest of the second largest city in the United States, the outbreak which devours the upscale district of Pacific Palisades, with the villas of multimillionaires and celebrities, located between Malibu and Santa Monica, was still not contained on Thursday evening. And this, despite the reinforcement of helicopters dropping water, thanks to a temporary lull in the violent winds which fanned the flames.
No more than the fire which ignited Altadena, even if its spread was “considerably stopped” during the previous night, according to the firefighters. Around 180,000 people remain under evacuation orders. The razed or damaged buildings number in the thousands and the toll has risen to at least ten deaths, the authorities announced Thursday evening.
The army sent as reinforcements
US President Joe Biden deplored “very widespread” and “devastating” fires during a crisis meeting a few days before the end of his mandate. AFP journalists flew over Malibu and Pacific Palisades on Thursday: instead of sumptuous villas with breathtaking views of the ocean, there are often only scrap metal skeletons, filled with ashes.
The two largest fires burning in Los Angeles remain “zero percent” contained as of Jan. 9 despite firefighting operations, authorities said.
© / AFP
Several hundred military reinforcements must arrive on site, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday evening. The Democrat ordered the deployment of the National Guard, with a dual mission: to assist the thousands of firefighters fighting the fire, and to restore order, because the region is the victim of looting. At least 20 people have been arrested for this reason in recent days. “Let’s be clear: looting will not be tolerated,” he insisted.
In the middle of the ruins of Altadena, some improvise as vigilantes and patrol to protect what remains of their neighborhoods. A curfew was declared in evacuated areas of the coastal city of Santa Monica. “I didn’t save this damn house so that some idiot would come and steal from me. There’s no way,” said Nicholas Norman, who will spend the night in front of his home, after keeping the flames with buckets of water.
Hollywood spared by flames
“I don’t know if anyone will be able to come back for a while,” sighs Kalen Astoor, another resident, devastated by the panorama of “death and destruction” offered by Altadena. The gusts which blew up to 160 km/h in recent days, dragging embers for kilometers, have calmed down. But the wind has not disappeared and the hills remain ultra-dry: conditions remain “critical”, according to the authorities.
“The winds retain their historic character. It is absolutely unprecedented,” warns Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The weather alert will last until Friday, and “significant development of fires remains likely”, according to the weather services. Thursday afternoon, another outbreak broke out near Calabasas and the wealthy Hidden Hills neighborhood, where star Kim Kardashian lives.
The legendary Hollywood district, threatened for a time by the flames, can breathe: the fire in its hills was brought under control by firefighters, according to local authorities, and the evacuation order lifted Thursday morning. Californians are being urged by authorities to save water, as some reservoirs supplying fire hydrants have been emptied by the fight against the flames.
Conspiracy theory
President-elect Donald Trump spread false information on his Truth Social network, claiming that California is running out of water because of Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect a “useless fish.” In fact, most of the water used by Los Angeles comes from the Colorado River, and is used primarily by the agricultural sector.
“Climate change is a reality,” reaffirmed Joe Biden, who will cede power on January 20 to his climate-skeptical successor. The fires are disrupting the cinema industry: several film and series shoots have been stopped, and the Oscar nominations have been postponed by two days, to January 19. Closed for the last two days, the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park will reopen this Friday.
The hot, dry Santa Ana winds currently blowing are a classic of California’s autumns and winters. But this time they reached an intensity not seen since 2011, according to meteorologists. A nightmare for firefighters: California is coming out of two very rainy years which gave rise to lush vegetation, now dried up by a glaring lack of rain for eight months. Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.