The flames destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in the area.
Fires in the American city of Los Angeles have claimed at least ten lives, the local coroner reported on Thursday. The flames have already destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in the area from the coast of the Pacific Ocean to Pasadena, including 5,300 buildings in the west in the Pacific Palisades district, writes TASR according to the report of the AP agency.
“On January 9, at 9:00 p.m., the Department of Medical Examiners received (local time) notification of ten deaths related to the fires,” the announcement said. “In all cases, identification is pending and the next of kin will be contacted,” the coroner added.
Firefighting operations continued at night
Large-scale firefighting operations continued at night. Thanks to the temporary calm of the wind, they were supported from the air by helicopters with water, but despite this, new fires were still breaking out.
They plan to impose a nighttime curfew as a result of the looting, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. According to him, the American National Guard patrols the affected areas. “We are deploying everything at our disposal, including members of our National Guard, to ensure the protection of communities in the coming days,” said California Governor Gavin Newson. ” he emphasized. At the same time, the sheriff made it clear that they will detain all persons who have no business being there in the evacuation zones, writes the AFP agency.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the highest level of fire danger has been declared for much of Los Angeles County and will remain in effect until at least Friday evening local time.
AccuWeather, a private weather company, raised its estimate of damage and economic losses to $135-150 billion.
Meteorological services have been predicting the risk of forest fires in California for several days. This is a situation that is surprising in the middle of winter and made worse by the seasonally hot and dry Santa Ana winds that usually appear in the fall and winter.
