Los Angeles fires burn 10,000 structures as new blaze spreads

Third blaze breaks out in West Hills as authorities battle to bring existing fires under control.

Two wildfires in the Los Angeles area have killed at least 10 people and burned some 10,000 homes and structures, local officials have said, as a third blaze prompted the evacuation of thousands of more residents.

The latest blaze, the Kenneth fire, broke out in West Hills, a neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley, on Thursday afternoon as fire crews were still battling to bring the Palisades and Eaton fires under control.

“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.

At least 10 deaths had been reported as of 9pm local time, up from seven earlier in the day, according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner.

The latest evacuation orders came as officials confirmed that the Palisades and Eaton fires had each destroyed more than 5,000 structures, which includes homes as well as other property such as cars and sheds.

The two fires have consumed more than 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of land between them, according to the state wildfire agency Cal Fire.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna earlier told a news conference that he expected the then-reported death toll of seven to rise.

“It looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don’t expect good news, and we’re not looking forward to those numbers,” Luna said.

Nearly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders due to the fire, with another 200,000 residents subject to evacuation warnings, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

More than 285,000 residents are without electricity in Southern California, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide, while water and sewage infrastructure across the region have suffered extensive damage.

Dozens of blocks have been reduced to ash in the affluent communities of Malibu and Pacific Palisades since the start of the fires on Tuesday amid winds of more than 70mph (112km/h).

The National Weather Service has warned that winds are expected to pick up on Thursday evening after dropping earlier in the day.

Celebrities including James Woods, Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal are among those who have lost their homes in the fires.

“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

Reporting from the Pacific Palisades, Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds said the extent of the destruction was “hard to fathom”.

“The hillsides are burned. There’s a high school … that has been heavily damaged. You can see houses where there’s nothing left but the chimney remaining,” he said.

“It goes on – literally – for kilometre after kilometre, block after block after block.”

Authorities have not determined the cause of the fires but are investigating various possible sources of ignition.

While lightning is the most common cause of wildfires in the US, according to the National Fire Protection Association, there were no reports of lightning in the vicinity at the time the blazes began.

Other common causes include intentionally lit fires and power lines.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state’s National Guard was being deployed at the request of the LA County Sheriff’s Department to assist with rescue efforts and help keep order amid reports of looting.

“We’re throwing everything at our disposal – including our National Guard service members – to protect communities in the days to come,” Newsom said.

“And to those who would seek to take advantage of evacuated communities, let me be clear: looting will not be tolerated.”

US President Joe Biden, who is set to be replaced by President-elect Donald Trump in the White House on January 20, said the federal government would cover 100 percent of the cost of California’s recovery efforts for the next 180 days.

“I told the governor, local officials, spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires,” Biden said after meeting with senior advisers at the White House.

Biden said he hoped that the incoming administration of Trump, who has heavily criticised Newsom and Bass over their handling of the disaster, would continue to provide the state the assistance it needs.

“I pray to God they will,” he said.

Biden urged Congress to provide aid to cover the damage once a full accounting of the devastation had been done.

“I hope they’re ready to step up because we can afford it,” Biden said, adding that he hoped lawmakers would “not make a political deal out of this.

“I’m leaving this office very shortly, but it’s not about the politics,” Biden said.