Entire Neighborhoods Burned Down: What's Happening In Los Angeles
- 10.01.2025, 13:30
The number of fire victims has increased.
A large-scale fire continues to rage in California. Los Angeles has found itself in a fire “trap”, rescuers have not yet been able to curb the elements, including due to strong winds. Entire neighborhoods in the city have burned down, Hollywood celebrities have lost their homes, the fire has reportedly spread to the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl concert hall.
At least ten people are known to have died in the fire. CNN is covering the natural disaster and the fight against it.
By the morning of January 10, it is known that at least ten people have died as a result of several large forest fires in Los Angeles. Such data was announced by the Los Angeles County Department of Forensic Science. The forensic experts did not name any names, citing the need to identify and notify next of kin.
Previously, the official information was that at least five people had died. However, it is not yet possible to establish the real number of victims: due to the fire, downed power lines and gas leaks, investigators cannot reach the places where the fire is raging, so, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, “frankly, we do not yet know” how many lives this disaster has claimed.
“In due course, we will be able to conduct a more thorough search in the affected areas. Some of them look like they were bombed,” he emphasized, expressing hope that the number of victims will not be very large.
Tens of thousands of people have already been evacuated from the disaster areas. Entire city blocks have burned: about 10,000 buildings are reported to have been destroyed by fire between the coastal Palisades district in the west of the city (where the most destructive fire ever to hit Los Angeles is raging) and Eaton in the east. The former district has been almost completely destroyed.
At the same time, the fight against the elements continues to be very difficult. Firefighters have made the greatest progress in the Hearst district, which has been burning since Tuesday: by Friday morning, the fire there was localized by about 37% (in total, the fire has spread to 771 acres). In the Lydia district, the fire on an area of almost 348 acres was contained by 60%
In the prestigious Pacific Palisades district, where the fire is raging on 19,978 acres, the fire was localized by 6%.
The most difficult areas to contain the fire are Eaton (13,690 acres) and Kennett (960 acres), where it is not possible to limit the spread of the fire at all.
In particular, the work of firefighters is hampered by strong gusts of Santa Ana winds. The Los Angeles Fire Department notes that about 2.3 thousand firefighters are fighting the fire in the Palisades alone; they came from all over the state. It is expected that more rescuers will appear as soon as the weather conditions improve.
The California National Guard will also be deployed to help at the scene of the natural disaster. In particular, the National Guard will help law enforcement agencies counter looters and scammers who “target vulnerable victims” — evacuated citizens.
It is also planned to deploy more firefighters, as well as to introduce a curfew in the affected areas where mandatory evacuation has been declared.
Meanwhile, in Altadena, the fires have mostly died down compared to Wednesday, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies.
The media write that the fire has almost completely destroyed the Malibu waterfront, which houses the most expensive real estate in California. In the suburbs of Los Angeles, a number of Hollywood stars have reportedly lost their homes due to the fire, including Anthony Hopkins, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, Ben Affleck, Paris Hilton, James Wood.
The fires have also reportedly spread to iconic places such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl concert hall, and have already engulfed tens of thousands of acres.
This fire is expected to cause record damage in history: more than $50 billion.