LOS ANGELES (AP) — A growing force of firefighters moved into the Los Angeles area Monday as more powerful winds were expected to trigger new wildfires that could set back the recent progress made in containing blazes that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Crews and equipment arrived from across the U.S., and from Canada and Mexico — including water trucks and planes that drop firefighting chemicals — as the National Weather Service warned that the coming days could become “particularly dangerous.”
It predicted severe fire conditions will last through Wednesday, with wind gusts in the mountains reaching 65 mph. The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, warned fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting Sunday night.
The relative calm Sunday allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas. But even as containment increased in the worst of the fires, more bad news emerged from the ashes: The death toll surged late Sunday with an update from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. At least 16 people were missing, a number authorities said was also likely to rise.
Fierce Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around the nation’s second-largest city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
In less than a week, four fires around the nation’s second biggest city have ignited more than 62 square miles, roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
Most of that destruction has been from the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire, in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast. Firefighters have made progress on both fronts in recent days, with the Eaton Fire roughly one-third contained.
The returning high winds could trigger explosive growth of the existing fires and new outbreaks in areas untouched so far, creating new challenges for firefighting crews already stretched thin.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help firefighters fend off flames spread by renewed gusts. “We are prepared for the upcoming wind event,” Marrone said.
Fire retardant dropped by aircraft will act as a barrier along hillsides, officials said.
A group of artists, musicians, and friends in Topanga Canyon banded together to stop fires breaking out in new areas by turning off gas lines and propane tanks.
“We helped hopefully save a couple houses and we put out a couple spot fires, Derek Mabra said as he drove along the coast looking at the destruction. “It’s complete and total devastation.”
Residents check on their homes
Some residents have been able to return to their homes to survey the damage.
Jim Orlandini, who lost his hardware store in Altadena, a hard-hit neighborhood next to Pasadena, said his home of 40 years survived.
