In the United States, authorities are working to move residents of Los Angeles County out of the way as four wildfires burn — all of which are 0% contained.
Strong winds and a lack of resources are presenting challenges to crews battling the flames, which continue to spread quickly.
Five people died as a result of the Eaton fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told the news affiliate CNN KABC, this Wednesday (8).
Authorities said at a news conference earlier that two people had died. THE CNN has contacted the sheriff’s office for more information
See the updated status of each of the Los Angeles fires here:
• The Palisades is the largest fire in the county right now, burning more than 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares), officials said. Most of the fire is in Pacific Palisades, an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood between the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu. He destroyed at least a thousand structures.
• The Eaton Fire has burned about 10,600 acres (4,289 hectares), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire (Cal Fire). At least two people died. More than 100 structures were destroyed, and more than 13,000 are still at risk.
• The Woodley Fire began Wednesday and has burned at least 30 acres (12 hectares), firefighters said. The area was revised after a previous Cal Fire report said the fire had burned 75 acres (30 hectares).
• The Hurst Fire, which started Tuesday night, has burned more than 505 acres (204 hectares), the California Fire Department said.
What else we know:
Fighting the flames
Aerial operations to combat the Palisades Fire have resumed after being temporarily suspended due to extreme wind conditions, Mayor Karen Bass said.
The California National Guard has deployed military personnel, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
The World Central Kitchen team is in Southern California to provide meals to first responders and families, it said in a statement.
Withdrawal orders
An analysis of the CNN suggests that approximately 155,000 people in Los Angeles County were under mandatory evacuation orders for the Eaton, Palisades and Hurst fires.
That’s double what officials estimated Wednesday morning, which was that at least 70,000 people were under evacuation orders.
There were a “significant number of injuries” from people who did not leave their homes and first responders battling the fire.
Features
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and President Joe Biden have said the federal government is providing resources.
All hydrants temporarily went dry in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood overnight Wednesday, according to Janisse Quiñones, executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Officials said the county was not prepared “for this type of widespread disaster.”
Power outages
More than 1.5 million homes, businesses and other energy consumers were without electricity as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the website PowerOutage.us. Almost all of them were in Southern California.
Most of the power outages occurred in hard-hit Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
And many consumers had their electricity cut off on purpose to prevent electrical systems from catching fire.
Firefighters on site
Some firefighters are working 36- and 48-hour shifts to battle the growing fires, said Brian Rice, president of California Professional Firefighters.
Brent Pascua, a Cal Fire battalion chief, said crews are tired, but “we will hold our position and protect everything we can.”
This content was originally published in What is known about the Los Angeles fires that are spreading out of control on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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