California (LA) Wildfire: At least 16 people have died and over 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the wildfires raging across Los Angeles. Authorities have warned that conditions will worsen in the coming days. The fires continue to disrupt daily life, causing school closures and canceling entertainment, sports, and community events.
The Palisades Fire continued its eastward spread on Saturday despite extensive aerial firefighting operations, posing a threat to the Getty Center art museum and advancing north toward the San Fernando Valley.
Winds gusting up to 120 km/h are forecasted for the coming days. “Our concern is winds picking up tonight and then on Monday through Wednesday. The general duration of this is not looking good,” a meteorologist was quoted as saying by the LA Times.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the U.S., closed schools on Thursday and Friday due to hazardous air quality. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho highlighted that traveling to school was riskier than staying home, especially for students with respiratory issues. Some schools near evacuation zones also faced power outages and low attendance before the closures were announced.
“We had to evacuate, so our lives are a mess, and the whole city is at a standstill,” said Pacific Palisades resident Kenneth, who only gave his first name to Xinhua, “but at least we’re still alive.”
Around Los Angeles, six major wildfires — the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Kenneth Fire, Hurst Fire, Woodley Fire, Lidia Fire, Sunset Fire, and Tyler Fire — have burned nearly 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 12,000 buildings, including homes and businesses. The Palisades and Eaton fires are the main focus due to their extensive damage.
The flames were being fanned by light breezes on Saturday, but the National Weather Service warned that locally strong Santa Ana winds could soon return, posing a major challenge for firefighters. These winds, notorious for transforming wildfires into devastating infernos, have previously leveled entire neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, which has not experienced significant rainfall in over eight months.
Accusations of leadership failures and political blame have surfaced as investigations get underway. On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom directed state officials to investigate why a 440-million-liter reservoir was not operational and why some fire hydrants had run dry. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley criticized city leaders for not allocating enough funds for firefighting efforts and highlighted the lack of water as a major issue.
One of the biggest, the Palisades fire, has burned over 21,300 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 5,300 structures so far. On the east side of Los Angeles, fires in Eaton Canyon and Highland Park have affected schools and homes, with reports of damage to two elementary schools and parts of Palisades Charter High School. The Eaton Fire has consumed nearly 14,000 acres, with up to 5,000 structures damaged or destroyed.
The entertainment industry has been severely impacted by the fires, power outages, and toxic air quality. Multiple film and TV shoots currently in production have been canceled, as well as many premieres and events due to the uncertain spread of the fires and air quality concerns.
The government has yet to release an official estimate of the damage caused by the wildfires, but private assessments suggest the total could climb to tens of billions of dollars. AccuWeather estimates place the potential damages and economic losses between $135 billion and $150 billion, which could make these wildfires the costliest in U.S. history.
