Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Death toll continues to climb as more than 7,500 firefighting personnel are deployed across California, with two of the most ferocious fires at zero percent containment
Independent Premium
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
At least five people have been killed and many others severely injured as several fast-moving wildfires have torn across the Los Angeles County area, leaving thousands of firefighters attempting to extinguish the blaze.
Officials said Thursday that while progress had been made on the Sunset, Woodley, Hurst, and Sunswept Fires, more “extreme fire behavior” and wind gusts up to 60mph are continuing to challenge firefighting efforts.
“Significant fire growth remains likely with ongoing or new fires,” forecasters warned.
The Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive natural disasters the city has seen, is still not contained. The fire has burned more than 17,200 acres, while the Altadena and Pasadena-based Eaton fire has scorched some 10,600 acres.
The causes of all of the wildfires are under active investigation, but thousands of buildings and businesses have been destroyed.
Nearly 180,000 residents of the cunty are under evacuation orders and nearly 200,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Even more California customers were left without power on Thursday, with nearly 420,000 outages reported by tracker PowerOutage.us.
Sheriff Robert Luna said that deputies were touring the affected areas.”
“Some of ‘em looked like a bomb was dropped in ‘em,” he said.
“Up and down each one of the blocks I traveled, those houses no longer exist. They are basically rubble,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters on Thursday.
“It looked apocalyptic. Not since the 1990s when Los Angeles was hit with the fires, the flood, the earthquake and the riots, have I seen such disaster occur here in our city.”
A post shared by Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis)
“My friends have been affected by it,” Succession star Kieran Culkin said of the wildfires.
The Los Angeles wildfires may to be the costliest in the nation’s history, analysts told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
Total economic losses from the fires are close to $50 billion, double the estimate of a day earlier, JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar told the publication.
Insured loss estimates could increase “if the fires are not controlled,” he said.
Although, that sum is less than preliminary damage and economic loss estimates from media forecaster AccuWeather.
There are currently 118 crews deployed to restore power in Los Angeles County.
“If you see a wire down, please call 911 and we will send crews immediately to make the area safe,” Janisse Quiñones, CEO and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said Thursday.
“Some customers may experience some longer outages because some power equipment has been damaged or “compromised” by the fires,” she added.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in