Fire fighters spread out across Southern California to combat a wave of deadly fires that have destroyed thousands of structures, killed at least five people, and put the region in crisis, a new fire in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles grew fiercely on Thursday evening, encroaching on over 900 acres in a matter of hours.
North of Calabasas, near West Hills, the most recent fire, known as the Kenneth fire, started. In addition to fighting the new fire, firefighters were still unable to put out the two biggest fires that have been raging in the area this week.
At a press conference Thursday night, Los Angeles fire chief Kristin M. Crowley stated that the Kenneth fire demonstrates that “we are absolutely not out of this extreme weather event.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass predicted that the most recent fire would “rapidly spread.”
With a total area of around 20,000 acres, the Palisades fire is the biggest of the fires and has burned over 5,000 buildings, including those in Pacific Palisades on the west side of Los Angeles.
According to fire officials, the Eaton fire, which raged across 13,600 acres northeast of the city in Altadena and Pasadena, has also burned up to 5,000 buildings. Both flames would then rank among the top five most destructive in California history.
President Biden promised the full support of the federal government and his successor’s administration to assist stop the rapidly spreading fires when he declared on Thursday that the federal government will cover all of the region’s firefighting expenses for the next 180 days.
In and around Los Angeles, more than 29,000 acres—roughly twice the size of Manhattan—have burnt in various spots thus far. Some places “look like a bomb was dropped in them,” according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, who also stated, “I think the death toll will rise.”
On Thursday evening, forecasters warned that Santa Ana winds will increase from moderate to severe, reaching 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts as high as 60 m.p.h. Over the weekend and perhaps the next week, strong winds may return. Learn more about the most recent prediction.
