Firefighters face worsening conditions as strong winds threaten to escalate LA fires
Over 8,500 brave firefighters are on the ground, but sadly, 25 lives have been lost. Officials are sounding the alarm that the winds could pick up on Wednesday, making the situation even more dangerous.
The fires have been raging for over a week, destroying more than 12,000 homes and structures. Preliminary estimates suggest that the economic impact could be one of the worst in U.S. history.
Goldman Sachs even mentioned that this disaster could rank among the top 20 costliest natural disasters based on GDP.
During a press conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell shared that 34 people are missing, with 21 found safe. Unfortunately, two of the remaining missing individuals are likely deceased but haven’t been identified yet.
On Tuesday night, the LA County Fire Department extended a red warning for the Eaton Fire, anticipating strong winds that could worsen the situation.
Sheriff Robert Luna warned that the next 24 hours would be critical, with high winds expected. The National Weather Service also indicated that dangerous fire weather conditions might last into next week.
As of early Wednesday, the Palisades and Eaton Fires were only 18% and 35% contained, while the Hurst Fire was nearly fully under control.
Despite the ongoing battle against the flames, LA officials are already planning for recovery. Mayor Karen Bass has issued an executive order to speed up building permit reviews to help the city bounce back.
Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom has taken steps to prevent land developers from making lowball offers on properties affected by the fires.
Southern California Edison reported that over 70,000 customers were without power, and it could take days to restore service due to the hazardous conditions. So, folks should be ready for possible extended outages.
