Authorities have warned that the worst is yet to come as the out-of-control wildfires raged for a second day on Wednesday, killing at least two people, reducing more than 1,000 buildings to ashes and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. homes.
While winds were expected to calm by late morning in California, even weakened winds will continue to be dangerous overnight, with extreme wildfire weather conditions likely to persist into the afternoon.
Fierce gusts hampered firefighting efforts, with many homes destroyed along the Pacific Coast, thousands of buildings at risk and evacuation zones widening by the hour.
“This is going to be devastating, a devastating loss, for all of Los Angeles,” said Traci Park, the Los Angeles city councilwoman whose district includes Pacific Palisades, the site of the largest fire.
That fire, called the “Palisades Fire,” started Tuesday morning in the neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles and had expanded to nearly 1,200 acres (more than 1,600 football fields) by evening, burning with a volatile which surprised the authorities.
