The fire crews fighting the serious fires in Los Angeles had the help of favorable weather conditions this Sunday to deal with the fires, conditions that are expected to worsen starting Monday, local authorities warned.
In a press conference, firefighters indicated that towards Monday night strong winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour will begin to be recorded and are expected to continue until Wednesday, which will hinder their tasks.
Therefore, they asked the population to remain cautious.
The county medical examiner’s office reported Sunday night that the death toll has increased to 24, of which 16 died in the Eaton fire and the rest in the Palisades fire.
Of the victims, only two have been identified: Charles Mortimer, 84, who died in Palisades, and Victor Shaw, 66, who lost his life in Eaton.
Three fires remain active
For now, three fires remain active, the most serious being the Palisades fire, which since Saturday remains only 11% contained, and the Eaton fire, which is 27% contained, according to the latest data from the Department of Forestry and Fire. California Fire Protection, Cal Fire.
Meanwhile, firefighters have managed to contain the Hurst fire by 89%.
Jim Hudson, deputy chief of Cal Fire, indicated this afternoon in another press conference that many of the firefighters have been working these days “more than 36 and 48 hours.”
More members of the National Guard and suspension of environmental regulations
On the other hand, Newsom has today deployed another 1,000 members of the California National Guard to the area of the accidents, increasing the strength to about 2,500 troops to combat the flames that have destroyed at least 12,000 structures and cars.
Likewise, the governor has signed an executive order that suspends important environmental regulations in order to expedite the reconstruction of homes and buildings.
Newsom has also stepped up to reject the criticism made by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, who today called the politicians responsible for fighting the flames, which so far have burned more than 15,000 hectares, “incompetent.”
In an interview he gave to NBC, the governor described the criticism spread by the future president in recent days as disinformation, and confirmed that he has requested an investigation into the alleged lack of water supply in the Santa Ynez reservoir. , in Santa Barbara County.
Newsom estimated that in terms of “scale and scope,” and taking into account the associated costs, the Los Angeles fires constitute the worst natural disaster in US history, and in that sense he said he hopes to have help of the incoming Administration of President-elect Trump.
The number of missing persons is expected to increase
At a press conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reported today that at least 16 people are missing due to the fires, and he did not rule out that this number will increase in the future.
Luna also reported the arrest of 29 people in the area of the fires, 25 of them in Eaton, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, mostly for violating curfew and for crimes related to robberies and looting
The cause of the fires continues to be investigated.
The cause of the fires is still unknown, and Sheriff Robert Luna indicated yesterday that all possibilities are being considered.
Authorities said today that they have no information that there is any connection between a fire that started seven days before fires broke out in the same area where the Palisades fire started.
The incident has burned more than 5,700 hectares, destroyed at least 7,000 structures and forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 people.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said efforts to get evacuees back to their neighborhoods will begin Thursday: “Unfortunately, those conversations aren’t going to start until the next red flag ends.” (due to the wind), on Wednesday.”