Firefighters battle devastating Los Angeles wildfires as winds calm somewhat

Debris covers the ground after the Palisades Fire ravaged a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday. (AP photo)
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters began to make progress battling the deadly and devastating fires in the Los Angeles area early Thursday, especially because the ferocious winds that have been driving the fast-moving flames are expected to slow down.
Firefighters were able to knock down a major threat that broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills as flames struck closer to the heart of the city, the roots of the entertainment industry. By morning, authorities lifted an evacuation order for the area.
The weather forecast could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress in reining in blazes that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to frantically flee their homes.
Flare-ups overnight illuminated the Santa Monica Mountains above Pacific Palisades. Homes continued to burn, but unlike Tuesday night when a fierce wind blew embers sideways and fueled new outbreaks, sparks mostly drifted upward.
“Damage assessments are ongoing at the Palisades fire. Preliminary reports estimate the damage or destroyed structures to be in the thousands,” LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said during a news conference Thursday morning. “It is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.”
At least 180,000 residents are under evacuation orders for all blazes in the county, officials said.
The flames from the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills had put the densely populated neighborhoods on edge. Only about a mile away, the streets around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were bustling, and onlookers used their phones to record video of the blazing hills.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire in check because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”
Wind fuels the fires
On Wednesday, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and in Altadena, a community near Pasadena. Aircraft were grounded for a time because of the winds, hampering firefighting efforts.
Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes — called the Palisades and Eaton fires — and the number is expected to increase. The five deaths recorded so far were from the Eaton Fire near Pasadena.
More than 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (116 square kilometers) — roughly the size of the city of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
Jose Velasquez sprayed his family’s Altadena home with water as embers rained down on the roof. He managed to save their home, which also houses their family business selling churros, a Mexican pastry. Many of his neighbors were at work when they lost their homes.
“So we had to call a few people and then we had people messaging, asking if their house was still standing,” he said. “We had to tell them that it’s not.”
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said the city’s water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds.
“Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire,” he said.
Still, questions were being raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to buckle when it was needed most.
The dramatic level of destruction was apparent in a comparison of satellite images before and after the fire.
About 250 homes in Altadena that had been dotted with green leafy trees were reduced to rubble. Only a few homes remained, some still in flames according to images from Maxar Technologies. Just a handful of 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu appeared intact.
In Pacific Palisades, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes, block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to charred remains. Ornate iron railing wrapped around the smoldering frame of one house. Swimming pools were blackened with soot, and sports cars slumped on melted tires.