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A day of small victories by firefighters against raging Los Angeles wildfires threatened to be reversed as winds that have spread multiple blazes across the region picked up again late on Thursday, putting several densely populated neighbourhoods at risk.
The Santa Ana winds that have spread embers across the region abated on Thursday morning, allowing authorities to beat back a new fire in the Hollywood Hills that forced evacuations near some of show business’s best-known locales, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But gusts picked up again later in the day, making it difficult to clamp down on the biggest wildfires that remain in Pacific Palisades, further to the west of downtown Los Angeles, and near Pasadena to the north.
A new fire, dubbed Kenneth, erupted in the San Fernando Valley and spread rapidly on Thursday, prompting an evacuation order in the afternoon. An additional 900 firefighters were deployed to fight it.
Weather conditions will remain dry and windy at least until Friday, according to forecasters.
About 180,000 residents are still under evacuation orders across Los Angeles county, and an additional 200,000 are in areas under warning. The multiple blazes spreading across more than 28,000 acres have resulted in the deaths of at least five people. About 10,000 structures have been burnt, officials said on Thursday.
“This is absolutely an unprecedented, historic firestorm, but we are all hands on deck,” Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, said during a press conference. “First and foremost, we need to stay united. We need to stay strong. A united LA is the way we will recover.”
Bass has drawn criticism for her handling of the fires. She was in Ghana as part of a delegation for the inauguration of its new president when the fires broke out on Tuesday. She did not arrive in Los Angeles until Wednesday.
The return of high winds helped spark new fires. An extension of the existing Eaton fire menacing Pasadena tore through Mount Wilson on Thursday around noon. The area is home to a historic observatory and antennas that local television stations rely on.
Two people have been confirmed dead in Pacific Palisades and three in Altadena, said Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna, warning that the toll was likely to grow. “We’re not looking forward to those numbers,” he said on Thursday evening.
Police presence in areas gutted by fires was increased overnight to stave off burglary, a common concern after natural disasters when entire neighbourhoods are left empty. Officials said on Thursday they had arrested 20 people for looting — a figure they expected to rise. Law enforcement officials said they planned to impose a curfew in areas badly damaged by fire.
“We continue to conduct roving patrols,” said Luna. Officials are “providing security in evacuation areas to prevent anyone who may attempt to engage in criminal behaviour like looting”.
The blaze threatening Hollywood, which broke out on Wednesday night, was one of the few success stories for struggling firefighters. By Thursday morning, an evacuation order for the area had been lifted and the fire had largely been beaten back. It was the first sign that diminishing winds and new resources might help authorities get an upper hand.
“We’re through the critical wind event,” Margaret Stewart, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles fire department, told local television station KTLA on Thursday morning. “We anticipate that same operation throughout today and while we don’t yet have containment, we are working towards it.”
During the pause in the winds, Pacific Palisades residents began to get a glimpse of the destruction’s scale. Many streets looked as though a bomb had been dropped, with entire blocks razed to the ground.
Strewn metal appliances and fireplaces were some of the only remnants in residential neighbourhoods. Many of the businesses in Pacific Palisades, including its two grocery stores, were destroyed.
The fires have weighed on the entertainment industry. Work in Hollywood has halted, and pre-Oscar screenings and celebrations have been postponed. Warner Bros shut down production in Burbank because of the fires, and Paramount postponed the premiere of its film Better Man.
The fires have also become a political flashpoint, as Republicans, including president-elect Donald Trump, have blamed Democratic leadership in Los Angeles and California, as well as President Joe Biden, for failing to adequately prepare.
“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign,” he added, referring to the state’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. “This is all his fault!!!”
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