Wildfires kill 10, reduce 10,000 homes to cinders in Los Angeles

The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.

The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and then moved into neighbouring Ventura County by the evening.

Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed 10 people so far.

Residents embrace outside a burning property.

"We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen from Thursday evening till Friday morning.

The orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 structures.

Local landmarks gutted

All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile (40-kilometre) band north of downtown, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation's second-largest city.

Dozens of blocks were flattened to smouldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. 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.

A man walks up Fair Oaks Ave. past burnt homes after the Eaton Fire in Altadena.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries burned. The Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s, also burned. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.

Firefighters make some progress

Firefighters made significant gains on Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.

Fire officials don’t yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.

Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting the Southern California hillsides.

Right now, it’s impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than "total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

Robert Lara, left, looks for belongings along with his stepfather after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena.

"There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said.

Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five.

Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Amputee, son with cerebral palsy perish

Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to come, but they did not make it out, 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 on 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 rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained.

180,000 told to evacuate

At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometres) – roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, will be closed on Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts, and classes will not resume until the conditions improve, officials said.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said. National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. The county sheriff said to protect properties they'll be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6 pm until 6 am.

Flames destroyed the homes of several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.

Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a "fund of support” for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city’s wealthy to its working class.

Sentimental memorabilia gone

California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data.

Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimetres) of rain since early May.

Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.

"All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone,” he said.

Associated Press