Know about Los Angeles area fires

The wildfires that started on January 7, were fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds. The Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, and Hurst fires have consumed about 163 square kilometers. Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the fires

LOS ANGELES: Wildfires, which have turned into infernos, have burnt homes and businesses in Los Angeles for a week, killing at least 25 people, displacing thousands of others, and destroying more than 12,000 buildings.  Around 30 people are still missing.

The blazes started on January 7, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds. The Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, and Hurst fires have consumed about 163 square kilometers. Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the fires.

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AccuWeather puts the damage and economic losses at $250 billion to $275 billion.

Here’s what to know about the fires

In the mountains surrounding LA, dry winds are blowing at the speed of 80 kph, which are likely to increase with the potential for more powerful gusts across the mountains into coastal and valley areas.

A red-flag warning has been in effect, but the weather service has issued a rare warning about a “particularly dangerous situation” related to severe fire conditions.

The Santa Ana winds have turned seasonal wildfires into infernos that have leveled neighbourhoods in and around Los Angeles where there has been no significant rainfall in over eight months.

Southern California’s winds typically flow onshore from the Pacific, carrying moist air onto land. The Santa Ana winds are warm currents that move in the opposite direction. They usually occur from September through May.

Though Biden has announced to cover 100 per cent of firefighting recovery,  the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers up to $770 to help cover the evacuees’ immediate needs, but its larger grants generally aren’t available until after insurance companies pay out.

Businesses can borrow up to $2 million, while homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 for rebuilding and another $100,000 for personal property.

LA County Recovers, a government-run program, posted interactive maps on its website that show the damage.  Addresses may be entered into a search bar to find a specific location. Users can also see photos of the damaged buildings.

Nine people have been charged with looting, including a group that stole an Emmy award from a house that had been evacuated. Another pair took more than $200,000 worth of items.

Price gouging has become an issue with hotels, short-term rentals and medical supplies. Scammers are also soliciting donations for bogus relief efforts.

Three were arrested outside the fire zones for starting small fires. The fires were spotted by alert citizens and quickly extinguished. One person was using a barbecue lighter to start fires. Another lit a trash can on fire. The third was caught lighting brush on fire.

Sewer, water and power infrastructure across the region has been significantly damaged, and several utilities have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise, which may take weeks or months. As toxic chemicals can get into damaged drinking water systems, experts say filtering or boiling won’t help.

About 88,000 people from highly populated neighborhoods including Pacific Palisades, Altadena and others remained under evacuation orders. Another 84,800 might be ordered to evacuate.

More than 80,000 households were without power across California.

Thousands have fled and many have lost their homes, including Hollywood stars Billy Crystal and Mandy Moore, and Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.

Fires have also burned through more affordable communities such as Altadena, which has served generations of Black families.

The fires have also destroyed several places of worship, including a mosque, a synagogue, a Catholic parish and a half-dozen Protestant churches.

A person whose home was destroyed in the Eaton blaze claims in a lawsuit that Southern California Edison’s equipment sparked  the fires.

Lightning is the most common source of fires in the US, according to the National Fire Protection Association, but investigators quickly ruled that out. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in eastern Los Angeles County.

The next two most common causes are fires that are intentionally set or caused by electricity lines.