Los Angeles Authorities are now hopeful that dropping winds will allow them to start containing the fires via aerial water bombing.
Right now fires are mostly burning out of control. Almost 180 thousand people are currently under evacuation orders.
At least five people have been killed and thousands of homes and properties destroyed as five fire fronts burn around the city’s edges.
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LA Mayor Karen Bass said, “Historic winds and extensive drought have created a perfect storm that has driven people from their homes and have taken people’s homes, and that has taken people’s lives.”
The wildfires in LA are said to be some of the most costly in US history. J.P. Morgan estimates the economic losses from the blazes will be around $50 million USD.
Fire hydrant allegations
Further questions are being asked about allegations LA’s fire hydrants had run out of water and the city’s Fire Department had been hit by budget cuts.
The mayor has promised a full review once the emergency is brought under control.
City Council member Traci Park, who represents Pacific Palisades, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the water supply issues.
“The chronic under-investment in the city of Los Angeles in our public infrastructure and our public safety partners was evident and on full display over the last 24 hours,” Park said.
Trump, Joe Biden and California Govener
Donald Trump has also weighed in, saying Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom shoulder the blame for the devastation, claiming the state’s environmental policies that divert fresh water to preserve wetlands and wildlife were to blame for hydrants running dry.
Newsom has responded, speaking to CNN in front of burning homes.
“People are literally. Fleeing people have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder. Churches burned down. This guy wanted to politicise it,” Newsom said.
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