California has seen deadly blazes over the years – Camp fire decimated Paradise town in 2018 and Tubbs fire burned 36,810 acres in 2017
The destruction caused by the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles is the worst the city has seen in recent history.
The wildfires, which began on 7 January, have torched the US’s second largest city, leaving at least 11 dead and over 10,000 structures destroyed. Roughly 150,000 Los Angeles county residents remain under evacuation orders.
Palisades, the first and largest fire, is spreading west of Los Angeles. Burning across 21,317 acres, the fire had only been 8% contained as of Friday afternoon, meaning firefighters have created control lines – usually wide trenches – around 8% of it. Officials say initial estimates indicate it has destroyed at least 5,300 structures between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Firefighters estimate it’s the third-most destructive wildfire in California’s history.
The Eaton fire, burning across Pasadena and Altadena areas in the north-east has blazed nearly 14,000 acres and has only been 3% contained. It has so far destroyed 5,000 structures, ranking it as the fourth most destructive wildfire in California’s history.
The other fires currently burning across Los Angeles include Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia. Kenneth, a brush fire which emerged in the Woodlands Hills area on Thursday, has burned across 1,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. As of Friday morning, it has been 35% contained. Meanwhile, the Hurst fire, which is burning across 771 acres across the northernmost suburb of Los Angeles, has been 37% contained as of Friday morning. Over in Antelope Valley, the Lidia fire has burned across 395 acres and is 75% contained as of Friday morning.
Continue reading...