Authorities in the western U.S. state of California say at least 10 people have been killed in massive wildfires that have ravaged the city of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner late Thursday announced the new death toll, which doubled from earlier reports. Officials warn that number could increase once the fires have been brought under control and workers can comb through the ruins.
Firefighting operations continued into the night, with water-dropping helicopters taking advantage of a temporary lull in winds.
President Joe Biden told a White House briefing Thursday afternoon that federal resources and additional funding have been made available to California to fight the wildfires that he described as the “worst fires to ever hit Los Angeles.”
The money will be used, the president said, to cover all of the costs for 180 days for temporary shelters, the removal of hazardous materials, first responder salaries and measures to protect life.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a former U.S. senator for California, also spoke at the briefing.
Harris described the situation in California as “apocalyptic” and “something that is going to have an impact for months and years to come.”
The vice president has a home in an evacuation zone, but it was not immediately clear whether her house sustained any damage.
While the death toll from the Los Angeles wildfires stands at five, Southern California officials say that number will likely increase once the fires have been brought under control and workers can comb through the ruins.
Authorities said the wildfires burning in and around the city of Los Angeles have prompted the evacuation of nearly 180,000 people, destroyed thousands of homes, and burned tens of thousands of hectares of land.
“This is absolutely an unprecedented, historic firestorm,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.
At a news briefing Thursday, Los Angeles city and county officials provided an update on the fires and the efforts to bring them under control.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters the fierce winds that had driven the fires calmed enough to allow firefighters to increase containment and air operations to resume.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said it is fighting five active wildfires in the Los Angeles area: the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Sunset fires, with the Palisades and Eaton fires being the largest.
The sparking of a sixth fire — the Kenneth Fire, near Woodland Hills — was announced Thursday, and a mandatory evacuation order was in effect for that area, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in its last report that the fires had burned more than 11,750 hectares of land, an announcement made before the addition of the Kenneth Fire.
Some people are apparently preying on the devastated neighborhoods, and at least 20 people have been arrested in recent days for looting.
“I promise you, you will be held accountable,” Los Angeles Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a press conference Thursday.
“Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis,” Barger said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Lidia fires have prompted the evacuation of nearly 180,000 residents, and another 200,000 residents are under evacuation orders.
Fire Chief Crowley called the Palisades Fire alone “one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.” Officials said Thursday that more than 5,000 homes and other structures have been lost in Palisades.
A leading national credit rating service echoed that view. In a statement Thursday, Morningstar-DBRS credit service said preliminary estimates show the fires could result in more than $8 billion in property losses.
Citing local fire officials, Morningstar-DBRS said the fires have already destroyed more than 1,100 homes and threaten more than 28,000 structures. The organization, which monitors and evaluates risk, said it expects the wildfires to have an adverse but manageable impact on California property insurers.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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