Death toll rises to 10 as wildfires turn LA into ‘war zone’ with 10,000 homes burned down & $150billion worth of damage
RAGING wildfires ripping through Los Angeles have killed ten people and destroyed 10,000 homes.
Out-of-control flames have been tearing through neighborhoods for days as fierce winds threaten to fuel the towering infernos.
Fire responders and cadaver dogs continue to comb through charred debris in a desperate search for victims after the most devastating blaze in LA's history.
So far, authorities have confirmed ten deaths - but it is feared the toll could be much higher as the flames wreak havoc.
More than 180,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes - with a further 200,000 warned they may need to quickly evacuate.
The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city's western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena have consumed some 53 square miles.
More on the wildfires
Neighborhoods have been reduced to ash, with celebrities including John Goodman and Leighton Meester watching their pads burn down.
A third fast-moving inferno dubbed Kenneth Fire has sparked mass evacuations in Calabasas and Hidden Hills.
It is being investigated as arson - with one suspect arrested.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said areas of the city "look like a bomb was dropped in them" - branding the fires a "crisis".
Kenneth Fire ignited on Thursday afternoon after five separate fires sparked on Tuesday morning - causing mass destruction.
The devastating fires are set to have a costly impact on the city and its residents - with private forecaster Accuweather estimating the total damage and economic loss up to $150 billion.
announced on Thursday that the federal government will cover 100 per cent of the cost of the fires.
The outgoing president said the costs will include first responders' salaries and shelters that are housing displaced residents.
Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees.
By the evening, the blaze had moved into neighboring Ventura County before rapidly spreading overnight to more than 800 acres.
About 400 firefighters remained on the scene overnight to guard against the fire flaring up.
The LA Fire Department initially issued mandatory evacuation orders for the area known as Hidden Hills, but has since downgraded that to warnings.
'War zone' LA feels 'broken' as fires still ravage the city - but we will rebuild
The U.S. Sun's Assistant Editor for Exclusives Katy Forrester is an LA resident and she witnessed first-hand the horror as flames engulfed the city. She said the city feels like a "war zone
EVERY year Los Angeles braces itself for wildfires. It is not uncommon to see flames torching the hills and even houses burning to the ground.
But many residents have never witnessed anything as devastating as this week. And it’s nowhere near over.
I spent time near Pacific Palisades, where thick smoke filled the air, and saw desperate families fleeing the city while others begged police to give them access to their properties as roads were blocked off.
“Everything is gone” was heard many times, as thousands of people were left homeless and with few possessions.
I was lucky to only have the power go out in my home, but I’ll never forget what I witnessed traveling throughout the city.
It was like a war zone.
During a visit to a shelter, I spoke with a resident who has lived in his home for almost 30 years and is battling cancer. He stayed long after he was told to pack up and go.
It was only when flames began leaping around his building that he finally gathered his belongings and ran out.
I reported from Altadena, where buildings were still engulfed in flames, and few fire trucks were in sight as emergency services were overwhelmed.
Cars and school buses were completely torched, and heartbroken families stood around in shock, not being able to process what had happened.
As the sun went down, I drove back home towards the city center, which I felt was safe, until I saw orange flames leaping behind buildings just minutes from my house.
I felt sick. I’ve never known wildfires so close to Hollywood, and suddenly, phones were blaring with emergency notifications to evacuate the area.
Traffic lights and street lamps were out, and areas filled with fallen trees from the strong winds became gridlocked.
I feel extremely lucky I live minutes outside of the evacuation zone, but friends panicked and fled their homes.
Although many worldwide will merely shrug when they hear wealthy people have lost their homes, the reality is very different.
The city as a whole feels broken, everyone from single mothers to elderly people have been through hell.
And people are angry.
Dozens have spoken of their insurance policies being canceled just months before the fires, while others are reeling over alleged corruption and mismanagement.
They may be angry. But they are also hopeful. The people of Los Angeles are made of strong stuff.
We will get through this. And we will rebuild.
MOST DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN LA HISTORY
The Palisades Fire is the most destructive in Los Angeles's history and has burned almost 20,000 acres alongside the coast.
Parts of Sunset Boulevard have been torched in that blaze, leaving one of the world's most iconic streets in rubble and buildings gutted.
Palisades - the largest fire - has destroyed more than 5,000 homes and structures in its path.
Meanwhile, the out-of-control Eaton Fire has now wrecked up to 5,000 houses as the blaze spread to almost 14,000 acres on Thursday.
Other fires in the region include the SunSet Fire, which is ravaging Hollywood Hills.
Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire and county officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five.
The remains of three victims are still being identified, the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner said.
Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy.
They were waiting for an ambulance to come and did not make it to safety when the flames roared through, Mitchell's daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.
Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire.
Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from the rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu.
A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained identifiable in the home along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Some 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from the Eaton Fire - which is burning near denser suburbs than the Palisades blaze.
All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the LA area are located in a roughly 40km band north of downtown, spreading a sense of fear across the nation's second-largest city.
Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades.
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Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained.
In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
Celebrities lose homes to wildfires
The wildfires haven't spared the homes of the rich and famous with Hollywood A-listers tragically seeing their houses turned to smouldering rubble.
Those who have had their homes burned down include:
- John Goodman
- Anthony Hopkins
- Paris Hilton
- Leighton Meester and Adam Brody
- Billy Crystal
- Miles Teller
- Eugene Levy
- Anna Faris
- Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag
- James Woods
- Hunter Biden
Other celebrities have been forced to flee their homes after evacuation orders were issued around the Palisades fire and the Sunset fire.
They include:
- Mark Hamill
- Mandy Moore
- Tom Hanks
- Reese Witherspoon
- Ben Affleck