Los Angeles wildfire switches direction, posing new threat

Highlights: 

• Death toll rises to 11 with more fatalities expected
• Some 10,000 structures burned as neighbourhoods turn to ash
• Thousands homeless, public health emergency declared over smoke
• Insurers face billions in claims, Biden pledges federal support

The largest of the raging wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles this week was reported to have shifted direction on Saturday (11 January), triggering more evacuation orders and posing a new challenge to exhausted firefighters.

Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County neighbourhoods since Tuesday (7 January) have killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures. The toll is expected to mount when firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches.

The fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the infernos eased on Friday night (10 January). But the Palisades Fire on the city's western edge was heading in a new direction, prompting another evacuation order as it edged towards the Brentwood neighbourhood and the San Fernando Valley foothills, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"The Palisades fire has got a new significant flare-up on the eastern portion and continues to northeast," LA Fire Department Captain Erik Scott told local station KTLA, according to a report on the LA Times website.

The fire, the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles, has razed whole neighbourhoods to the ground, leaving just the smouldering ruins of what had been people's homes and possessions.

Before the latest flare-up, firefighters had reported progress in subduing the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the metropolis after it burned out of control for days. On Friday night, the Palisades Fire was 8% contained and the Eaton Fire 3%, state agency Cal Fire said.

The two big fires combined had consumed 35,000 acres (14,100 hectares), or 54 square miles - 2-1/2 times the land area of Manhattan.

Some 153,000 people remained under evacuation orders, and another 166,800 faced evacuation warnings with a curfew in place for all evacuation zones, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Seven neighbouring states, the federal government and Canada, have rushed aid to California, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardant on the flaming hills and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.

The National Weather Service said that conditions in the Los Angeles area would improve through the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 20 mph (32 kph), gusting between 35 mph and 50 mph,

"It's not as gusty, so that should help firefighters," NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli said, adding that conditions were still critical with low humidity and dry vegetation.

Cal Fire said there was a chance of strong winds again on Tuesday.

"There will continue to be a high likelihood of critical fire weather conditions through next week," it said.

Officials have declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.

HOMES REDUCED TO ASH
Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighbourhoods on Friday were shocked to find brick chimneys looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles as acrid smoke lingered in the air.

"This was a house that was loved," Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the rubble where her house once stood.

Foster's 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to get inside but "I just became sick. I just couldn't even...Yeah, it's hard."

In Rick McGeagh's Palisades neighbourhood, only six of 60 homes survived, and all that remained standing at his ranch house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.

"Everything else is ash and rubble," said McGeagh, 61, a commercial real estate broker who, along with his wife, raised three children at their home.

On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, diapers and bottled water.

Denise Doss, 63, said she was anxious to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if anything was salvageable, but officials stopped her due to safety concerns.

"At least to say goodbye until we can rebuild. I will let God lead me," Doss said.

BILLIONS IN LOSSES
Many Altadena residents said they were worried government resources would go to wealthier areas and that insurers might short-change those who cannot afford to contest denials of fire claims.

Beyond those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poorer air quality, as the fires lofted traces of metals, plastics and other synthetic materials.

Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners' insurance costs.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara called on insurers on Friday to suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations that homeowners received before the fires began and to extend the grace period for payments.

President Joe Biden has declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would reimburse 100% of the recovery for the next six months.