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California wildfires: 11 dead as hundreds of thousands flee deadly blazes California wildfires: 11 dead as hundreds of thousands flee deadly blazes
(about 1 hour later)
Emergency services in the US are battling to prevent multiple forest fires sweeping across the state of California, as hundreds of thousands of people including Hollywood stars are evacuated from their homes. Under a white plume of smoke and grey hazy skies, officials from Los Angeles and Ventura counties announced that two people had died in the historically destructive Woolsey fire.
At least 11 people have been confirmed dead, with scores more reported missing amid fears the number of fatalities could rise. That took the toll from fires in California to 11. Many more have been reported missing. About 500 miles to the north, nine people were confirmed dead in and around the town of Paradise, where more than 6,700 homes and businesses burned.
Los Angeles county sheriff’s chief John Benedict said on Saturday morning two people had been found dead in the fire zone of the Wolsey fire, a southern California blaze. Nine people have been found dead in fires in northern California. The southern California deaths were the first from a pair of wildfires burning north and west of downtown Los Angeles that have torn through 109 sq miles and destroyed more than 150 homes. In LA, officials reported that the Woolsey fire remained 0% contained, but that the dry Santa Ana winds that spread the flames across 70,000 acres over the previous two days had slowed, giving firefighters a better chance of making progress on perimeter control into the weekend.
Benedict gave no details on the deaths. He said sheriff’s detectives were investigating. “We had a tough night in relation to this firefight,” the Los Angeles county fire chief, Daryl Osby, told a scrum of reporters gathered in Thousand Oaks, explaining that more homes were lost to the flames before morning. No official count was available, but he said there had been significant structure loss and that damage assessment teams would be working throughout the day.
According to LA county fire chief Daryl Osby, the fire was still at 0% containment and 900 firefighters were battling the blaze. An estimated 70,000 acres have been scorched with significant structure loss, but no exact number of lost homes was available. “From our perspective,” he said, “although we did lose a lot of homes, we saved thousands.”
“From our perspective,” Osby said, “although we lost a lot of homes we saved thousands of homes.” Calling the fire conditions the most extreme and toughest he had seen in his career, Osby said 900 firefighters battled the blaze through the night and that all local agency resources were deployed. Back-up from Arizona was on the way, he said, and they would soon ask for more help from state and federal agencies.
Resources were limited, he said, and agencies may still ask for state and federal assistance. Firefighters were reporting the most extreme conditions they had seen, from a fire fueled by dry winds and heat and made worse by years of drought. The Ventura county fire chief, Mark Lorenzen, echoed Osby, saying the agencies “made heroic efforts in saving lives and saving property”.
There was a lull in the strong Santa Ana winds Saturday, but officials were expecting conditions to worsen over the weekend through the beginning of next week. In Ventura county, 95,000 residents had been evacuated and 50 homes had been destroyed or damaged. There were two incidents of looting, with arrests for each. Ventura fire chief said “last night was a tough night”. As winds died down Saturday morning, he added that “we know Mother Nature has given us some reprieve today” but asked residents to nonetheless remain vigilant. “We know Mother Nature has given us some reprieve today,” he said, “but I need everyone to remain vigilant.”
The Los Angeles-area fire broke out on Thursday and jumped a major north-south artery to reach the Santa Monica Mountains towards Malibu, where flames driven by winds gusting up to 50mph raced down hillsides and through canyons toward multi-million dollar homes. Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration to ensure federal funds were available, but he also rebuked agencies in the state. Tweeting in the early hours of Saturday, the president wrote: “There was no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor.” He also threatened to withhold the funds, due to “gross mismanagement of the forests”.
Evacuation orders were issued for the city, which is home to 13,000, among them some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Thousands of residents took to the Pacific Coast Highway to head south or took refuge on beaches, along with their horses and other pets. Some of the evacuation orders were for residents within the city of Los Angeles, specifically in the West Hills area. More than 200,000 people have had to flee their homes since two fires erupted in the area on Thursday. Flames from the Woolsey fire, the worse of the two, forced evacuations from Malibu to West Hills and into parts of Thousand Oaks, a community still reeling from the deaths of 12 people in a shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill the day before the fire broke out.
About 500 miles to the north, nine people were dead in and around the town of Paradise, where more than 6,700 homes and businesses burned. The flames descended on Paradise so quickly that many were forced to abandon their cars and run for their lives down the sole road through the mountain town. “It has been a brutal, hellish three days for Thousand Oaks,” city councilwoman Claudia Bill-de la Peña said, thanking surrounding communities, agencies, law enforcement and fire officials for their support.
In an interview with the Guardian, Sgt Eric Buschow of the Ventura sheriff’s department said: “What makes this different for us is that one-two-punch. We had a horrific situation over at the Borderline Bar & Grill, and then just hours later, two big wildfires started.”
Even though they are accustomed to fires in this area, Woolsey has been more destructive than most.
It has been a brutal, hellish three days for Thousand Oaks
“It is changing constantly,” Buschow said, explaining that though winds had died down, dry conditions were fueling the fire. “Hopefully they will make some progress today but the bad news is that by tomorrow that weather is supposed to be back with the big winds. My understanding is we are going to be at red flag conditions through Tuesday.”
Across town, in a hotel near the airport, families evacuated from Malibu gathered in the lobby, hoping they might be able to return home – and that their homes still stood. Walter Adrian, who left the previous evening with his girlfriend and son, said it was not the first time they had evacuated in the 10 years they had lived there. He was hopeful their home would be spared, as in past fires.
He described the fast decisions made in the moment they were forced to leave. They left their dogs with a friend, wished the best to a neighbor who decided – against orders – to stay behind, and packed quickly.
“You just pack whatever you can and sometimes you pack some stupid shit,” he said with a laugh, looking down at his Styrofoam cup of hotel-made tea. “But, then you quickly realize what is important and what is not.”
In northern California, in the town of Paradise, the flames descended so quickly that many were forced to run for their lives down the sole road through the mountain town.
“This event was the worst-case scenario,” said Butte county sheriff Kory Honea. “It was the event we have feared for a long time. Regrettably, not everybody made it out.”“This event was the worst-case scenario,” said Butte county sheriff Kory Honea. “It was the event we have feared for a long time. Regrettably, not everybody made it out.”
“The fire was so close I could feel it in my car through rolled up windows,” said Rita Miller, who fled Paradise with her mother. “The fire was so close I could feel it in my car through rolled up windows,” said Rita Miller, who fled with her mother.
On the town’s outskirts, Patrick Knuthson, a fourth-generation resident, said only two of the 22 homes that once stood on his street were still there – his own and a neighbour’s. Patrick Knuthson, a fourth-generation resident, said only two of the 22 homes that once stood on his street were still there – his own and a neighbour’s.
“The fire burned from one house, to the next house, to the next house until they were pretty much all gone,” Knuthson said. “I lost my home in 2008, and it’s something you can’t really describe until you go through it.”“The fire burned from one house, to the next house, to the next house until they were pretty much all gone,” Knuthson said. “I lost my home in 2008, and it’s something you can’t really describe until you go through it.”
From France, Donald Trump blamed the fires on forest mismanagement and threatened to withdraw related federal funding. The southern California fire affected a number of celebrities. The singer Katy Perry, who lives in the Hollywood Hills, said Trump’s comments were “absolutely heartless”. “There aren’t even politics involved,” she said on Twitter. “Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters.”
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” the president wrote in a Twitter post. “Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments.”
Trump’s comments were described as “absolutely heartless” by the singer Katy Perry, who lives in the Hollywood Hills. “There aren’t even politics involved,” she said on Twitter. “Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters.”
Perry earlier praised the firefighters working to tackle the blaze, writing: “Immense gratitude to all the brave first responders out there putting their lives on the line for so many families.”
Among those forced to flee were Kim Kardashian, who urged people to pray for her home city of Calabasas, near Malibu. “Just landed back home and had one hour to pack up and evacuate our home. I pray everyone is safe,” she wrote on Instagram. Her husband, the rapper Kanye West, said their family was safe.
Will Smith said he was fleeing his home in Calabasas. In a post on Instagram, the actor said: “The smoke is really close now and for the first time I can see fire. Our house is right there. We are not in the evacuation zone but I don’t like it so we are going to go.”
Lady Gaga hailed the firefighters and emergency services as “true heroes”. She tweeted: “I am thinking so deeply for everyone who is suffering today from these abominable fires & grieving the loss of their homes or loved ones. I’m sitting here with many of you wondering if my home will burst into flames. All we can do is pray together & for each other. God Bless You.”
The blaze also threatened parts of Thousand Oaks, where a gunman killed 12 people earlier this week. One Direction star Niall Horan urged people to leave, writing in a tweet: “If you live in Thousand Oaks/Malibu area, please evacuate. The fires are at 0% containment and are getting more wild as the minutes pass.”
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