Investigations have begun into an array of wildfires that have engulfed Los Angeles County over the past week, killing 16 people and prompting government health officials to declare a public health emergency.
Home to many of Hollywood’s elites, the county has now been destroyed by six wildfires that have simultaneously wreaked havoc through the area, devouring nearly 10,000 structures since Jan. 7, as firefighters work tirelessly day and night to keep them under control.
With strong wind gusts of 100 miles per hour and sustained winds of 83 miles per hour in some places, the rampaging inferno has consumed more than 53 square miles in total, a size larger than the city of Bristol.
An AccuWeather report estimates the fire damage at between $135 billion and $150 billion, making it one of the most destructive wildfires in modern U.S. history and the worst in Los Angeles’s history.
The Eaton Fire started around 6:23 p.m., about 23 miles east of Palisades, in the Altadena/Pasadena area north of Los Angeles, and as of Jan. 12, has covered 14,117 acres and is 27 percent contained.
The Hurst fire followed in the evening around 10:25 p.m. near Santa Clarita and, as of Jan. 12, has covered 799 acres and is 89 percent contained.
The Kenneth Fire started around 3:35 p.m. on Jan. 9 in the West Hills area of Los Angeles, and as of Jan. 12 has covered 1,052 acres and is 90 percent contained.
Other smaller fires have also started over the country over the past few days and have since been contained.
As of Jan. 11, 153,000 residents have been evacuated, and another 166,000 have been given warnings, with around 57,000 additional structures at risk as the fires continue to spread.
A curfew order has been put in effect by authorities in the Palisades and Eaton fire areas between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. to prevent looters.
“You go out there and you violate this curfew, you are going to spend time in jail,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told Reuters.
A suspect was interrogated on Jan. 9, over the Kenneth fire after a 911 call about a suspicious person trying to start a fire, but officers found no evidence to charge him with arson, according to Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Dominic Choi. The suspect was arrested, however, on a felony probation violation, and the fire investigation is ongoing, according to Choi.
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California on Jan. 8. He approved federal disaster assistance to the state and said the U.S. government would reimburse 100 percent of the recovery for the next six months.
Biden met with California State Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 8 to discuss water supplies after reports of water shortages in hydrants across the city and generators were brought in.
The National Guard and fire-fighter resources from surrounding states and Canada have been brought in to assist.
