The Living Hell of Urban Wildfires

"We're looking for a little respite on Friday and Saturday from the Santa Ana winds but then they're going to pick up again Sunday through most of next week."

Meteorologist Rich Thompson

"[Right now, it's impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than] total devastation and loss."

"There are areas where everything is gone, there isn't even a stick of wood left, it's just dirt."

Barbara Bruderlin, head, Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce

"I've lived out here since the mid-80s and I don't think I've experienced anything as strong and forceful as these winds. I'm looking at a number of houses that have been destroyed of people I know."

"Not everybody who lives in California is a multimillionaire. There are a lot of [regular] folks here. If you're a person who doesn't have good finances, this is going to be devastating."

"I think this is a game changer for Los Angeles. People are going to have to re-evaluate where they live and I'll be surprised if they're going to rebuild in the areas quickly."

Hollywood Actor John Kapelos 

A still from a video that Kapelos took from his condo's rooftop on Tuesday near La Brea and Franklin Avenues, looking west from Hollywood toward the Pacific Ocean. (Submitted by John Kapelos)

"It's been scary. Looking around, you can see the smoke in the air and you're smelling it. Obviously the air quality is terrible right now."

"All these areas that are on fire, the majority of them are in the hills, so those are really narrow and winding roads, and a lot of people park on those streets and are trying to get out, so getting a firetruck up there would be an absolute nightmare. That really slows things down."

"I've had a few people I know who've lost their homes. Right now, they're just in shock because there's places they've been in for decades and all of a sudden everything is gone. Basically they just have what they could fit in their cars and nobody knows the next steps."

David Cooke, realtor, Toluca Lake neighbourhood

A man walks in front of the burning Altadena Community Church on Wednesday in in Pasadena, Calif., as wildfires continued to create devastation in the L.A. area. (Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press)

 To the present, 16 people have died in the blazes in the Los Angeles area. Entire neighbourhoods have been obliterated in America's second-largest city. Firefighters had  hoped for a break frmo fierce winds that fuelled the area's massive blazes. Over 10,000 homes have been burned, along with other structures since Tuesday. Fires first began appearing around the 40-kilometre expanse north of downtown Los Angeles, a densely populated area. 

 

Firefighters monitor the advance of the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on January 11.

Eric Thayer/AP

 

California is accustomed to massive wildfires. Even so the shock at the fierceness and swift spread of these fires are like none before them, with dozens of blocks of Pacific Palisades flattened, and smouldering -- rubble only remains. The 13 million inhabitants of Metropolitan Los Angeles awoke Friday to another day of high winds stoking the fires with the threat of new flare-ups. Earlier in the week hurricane-force winds ignited the nearby hillsides with embers.

The forecast by meteorologist Rich Thompson was for Santa Ana winds to pick up once more on Sunday and throughout the following week. Thursday afternoon, the San Fernando Valley Kenneth Fire saw new blazes where evacuees from another fire were taking shelter in a school. An aggressive response by firefighters managed to quell the flames in neighbouring Ventura County. Calmer winds and out-of-state crews helped firefighters beat back two devastating wildfires. 

Over 5,000 structures were burned in the Altadena area by the Eaton Fire. Finally, firefighters have seen progress in containing the Eaton blaze. The fire in Pacific Palisades, the largest in the Los Angeles area, destroyed over 5,300 structures, with firefighters establishing the first containment on Thursday. Even so, that blaze is considered the be the most destructive in the history of blazes in Los Angeles.

With the assistance of aircraft water drops, crews were able to knock down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills. The famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue was close to immolation near the heart of the entertainment industry. No figures have  yet been released on the cost of the damage to date, but AccuWeather on Thursday increased its preliminary estimate of the damage and economic fallout to a range of $135 billion to $150 billion.

 

A fire fighting helicopter drops water on the Palisades fire on January 11.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images