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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
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At least seven people have been killed and countless others injured as fast-moving wildfires continued to tear across the outskirts of Los Angeles, leaving thousands of firefighters battling desperately 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 60 mph are continuing to challenge firefighting efforts. Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said fire-ravaged neighborhoods in west L.A. “look like a bomb was dropped in them.”
Police announced the arrest of an arson suspect early Thursday evening who allegedly attempted to light a fire in Woodland Hills near the area’s newest blaze, the Kenneth Fire. Neighborhood residents reportedly held the man down until police arrived.
The new Kenneth Fire broke out north of the Palisadesfire hours earlier on Thursday, threatening homes near Calabasas and Hidden Hills. The blaze is believed to have been started intentionally, and a suspect is in custody, per the LAPD.
The Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive the city has seen, is at six percent containment. The fire has scorched 19,978 acres, while the Altadena and Pasadena-based Eaton fire has burned 13,690 acres.
As deadly wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles County, the outbreak of a new inferno in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday afternoon led to the spread of fake pictures and video across social media claiming that the iconic Hollywood sign is ablaze.
Those images are fake and, at the time of writing, the legendary landmark is safe from the flames as the fire woud have to cross over a freeway in order to impact the sign. The fire has however impacted the lights that illuminate the sign, affecting its visibility.
At least five people have been killed by the out-of-control fires so far, with more than 1,000 structures destroyed and at least 150,000 residents forced to flee their homes.
Emergency responders are battling to rein in the destruction, although their efforts are not being helped by strong winds and dry conditions on the ground.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
Fake news swirls around legendary landmark as deadly wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles
The upcoming NFL wild card round playoff matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams has been moved to Arizona from L.A., as fires continue to ravage the California city.
“The decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs, and the NFL Players Association,” the NFL said in a statement on Thursday.
The game, slated for Monday, will take place at State Farm Stadium, the home arena of the Arizona Cardinals instead.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, a major utility for Los Angeles, reportedly doesn’t have plans to proactively shut off parts of the power system during windstorms to cut down on fire risk, a common practice in the wider industry, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“LADWP worked closely with the Los Angeles Fire Department to develop this emergency protocol that reduces fire risk while continuing vital functions powered by electricity,” a spokesperson for the utility told the paper.
The spokesperson added that the utility takes other safety steps like disabling technology that automatically resotres power to lines after outages to prevent sparking.
The causes of the blazes around L.A. are still being investigated.
Water-dropping planes have been a key part of the response to the L.A. fires so far.
Throughout the day, daring pilots have been guiding the “super scooper” planes just above the surface of the ocean, grabbing hundreds of gallons of sea water, then heading towards the hills where the fires around L.A. are raging.
Shazam! star Zachary Levi has faulted governmental leaders for the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, declaring that they must be held responsible for “criminal negligence.”
The 44-year-old Hollywood actor and vocal Donald Trump supporter recently appeared on Fox News’ Jesse Waters Primetime show, where he slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom for doing “nothing” to avoid these natural disasters.
“This is the most devastating fire in Los Angeles history,” Levi said. “My family’s from Ventura, California. I grew up there most of my life, and then I was in L.A. for 15 years.”
Inga Parkel has the story.
‘Shazam!’ star has been an avid proponent of Donald Trump
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