Key events
Weather forecasters in Los Angeles are expecting fast, dry winds to return towards the end of the weekend, threatening to fuel the devastating wildfires.
As our latest full report details, urgent “red flag” alerts – meaning critical fire weather conditions – announced by the US National Weather Service said moderate to strong wind and low humidity would continue on Friday morning as five fires raged across the city.
Barbara Bruderlin, the head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, described the impact of the fires as “total devastation and loss”.
There are areas where everything is gone. There isn’t even a stick of wood left. It’s just dirt.
The psychological toll from the wildfires on a traumatized Los Angeles county of nearly 10 million people has yet to be assessed.
Reuters reports that Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighborhoods 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,” Pacific Palisades resident Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the ashy rubble where her house once stood as smoke rose from neighboring homes and planes dropped water nearby.
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 neighborhood, 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. Doss said:
At least to say goodbye until we can rebuild. I will let God lead me.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the California wildfires that have devastated six neighborhoods of Los Angeles county, killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
Firefighters finally started gaining control over two major wildfires on the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles on Friday as fierce winds that supercharged the fires for days eased.
With thousands of people suddenly homeless and the thickening smoke leading US officials to declare a public health emergency, firefighters said they were making progress in arresting the Palisades fire on the western edge of the city and the Eaton fire in its foothills, Reuters reported.
After burning out of control for days, despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters attacking the blazes from the air and on the ground, the Palisades fire was 8% contained and the Eaton 3%. Cal Fire had listed containment levels of both fires at 0% until Friday.
Even so, the two big fires combined had consumed 35,000 acres (14,100 hectares) or 54 square miles.
About 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 neighboring 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.
Six wildfires are currently raging in Los Angeles county. They included at last count:
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The Palisades fire, at 21,317 acres and 8% containment
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The Eaton fire, at 13,690 acres and 3% containment
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The Kenneth fire, at 1,052 acres and 50% containment
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The Hurst fire, at 771 acres and 37% containment
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The Lidia fire, at 395 acres and 98% containment
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The Archer fire, at 19 acres and 0% containment
In other developments:
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Six deaths have been confirmed in the Eaton fire and five in the Palisades. As family members have been alerted to the loss of their loved ones, six of the victims have been publicly identified. Law enforcement officials expect the death toll to rise once weather and fire conditions allow cadaver dogs and detectives into the burn zones.
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Conditions in the Los Angeles area were forecast to improve through the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 20mph (32km/h), gusting between 35-50mph, according to the National Weather Service, a respite from recent wind gusts of 80mph. “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.
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Forecasters predicted another red flag warning would be issued for Monday.
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Fire chief Kristin Crowley criticised city officials over water supply issues and budget cuts that she says hindered her department’s ability to fight the Palisades fire. The water supply has become a focal point, with California governor Gavin Newsom calling for an investigation into the shortage.
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Newsom has invited Donald Trump to visit the state and tour the the LA wildfires’ devastation. Trump visited the state six years ago in the wake of the Camp fire, the most destructive fire in California history, which hit the town of Paradise.
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The state of California issued a one-year moratorium preventing insurance companies from canceling or refusing to renew home policies in zip codes impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
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Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison’s utility infrastructure sparked a brush fire that is still burning in a Los Angeles suburb, SCE said on Friday, adding no determination has been made. SCE, a unit of US utility Edison International, said in a filing to its regulators that a downed conductor was discovered at a tower associated with its Eagle Rock – Sylmar 220 kV circuit. “SCE does not know whether the damage observed occurred before or after the start of the fire,” it said.
