LOS ANGELES (AP) – Many watched their homes burn on television in a state of shock.
Since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles (LA), scores of residents have returned to their still smouldering neighbourhoods even as the threat of new fires persisted and the nation’s second-largest city remained unsettled. For some, it was a first look at the staggering reality of what was lost as the region of 13 million people grapples with the gargantuan challenge of overcoming the disaster and rebuilding.
Calmer winds enabled firefighters to start gaining some control of the biggest blazes in metropolitan LA on Friday before gusty weather returns over the weekend to an area that hasn’t seen rain in more than eight months. But by Friday evening, new evacuations were ordered in an area that includes part of Interstate 405 after a flare up on the eastern side of the Palisades Fire.
Bridget Berg, who was at work when she saw on TV her house in Altadena erupt in flames, came back for the first time with her family two days later “just to make it real”.
Their feet crunched across the broken bits of what had been their home for 16 years.
Her kids sifted through debris on the sidewalk, finding a clay pot and a few keepsakes as they searched for Japanese wood prints they hoped to recover. Her husband pulled his hand out of rubble near the still-standing fireplace, holding up a piece of petrified wood handed down by his grandmother.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Berg said as much to herself as others as she took stock of the destruction, remembering the deck and pool from which her family watched fireworks. “It’s not like we just lost our house – everybody lost their house.”
Since the fires first began popping up around a densely populated, 40-kilometre (km) expanse north of downtown LA, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. No cause has been identified yet for the largest fires.
CITY ACCUSED OF FAILING TO PROVIDE ENOUGH MONEY FOR FIREFIGHTING
Allegations of leadership failures and political blame have begun and so have investigations. Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 440 million-litre reservoir was out of service and some hydrants ran dry, calling it “deeply troubling”.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said city leadership failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. She also criticised the lack of water.
“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” she said.
At least 11 people have been killed, with five from the Palisades Fire and six from the Eaton Fire, according to the LA County medical examiner’s office. Officials said they expected that number to rise as cadaver dogs go through levelled neighbourhoods to assess the devastation to an area larger than San Francisco.
Officials on Friday set up a center where people could report those missing. Tens of thousands of people remained under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 145 square km.
The disaster took homes from everyone – from waiters to movie stars. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage, but private firms have estimated it will climb into the tens of billions. The Walt Disney Co announced on Friday it will donate USD15 million to respond to the fires and help rebuild.
The flames hit schools, a synagogue, libraries, boutiques, restaurants, banks and local landmarks like the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and a Queen Anne-style mansion in Altadena that dated back to 1887 and was commissioned for wealthy mapmaker Andrew McNally.
MEGHAN AND HARRY VISIT
On Friday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited the Pasadena Convention Center to help hand out food to evacuees.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live about 145-km north of the Los Angeles area, also listed organisations supporting fire victims on their website.
BELOVED LONGTIME HOMES REDUCE TO ASH
Neighbours wandered around ruins Friday as they described now-vanished bedrooms, recently remodeled kitchens and outdoor living spaces. Some talked about the gorgeous views that drew them to their properties, their words contrasting sharply with the scene of soot and ash.
In the coastal community of Pacific Palisades, Greg Benton surveyed where he lived for 31 years, hoping to find his great-grandmother’s wedding ring in the wreckage.
“We just had just had a holiday morning right over here, right in front of that chimney. And this is what’s left,” he said, pointing to the blackened rubble that was once his living room.
“It’s those small family heirlooms that are the ones that really hurt the most.”
PROGRESS MADE ON FIGHTING THE EATON FIRE
Firefighters on Friday afternoon had made progress for the first time on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures. Officials said on Friday most evacuation orders for the area were lifted.
LA Mayor Karen Bass, who faces a critical test of her leadership as her city endures its greatest crisis in decades, said several smaller fires also were stopped.
Crews on Friday had been gaining ground on the Palisades Fire, which burned 5,300 structures and is the most destructive in LA’s history.
