The most destructive fire in Los Angeles' history is as follows:
Casualties and missing persons
As of January 12, local time, the wildfire has caused 16 deaths and 16 missing persons.
Fire and affected areas
Fire situation: The largest Palisades wildfire is still spreading, and the burned area has increased from about 87 square kilometers a day ago to about 96 square kilometers, with only 11% under control. The Eaton wildfire has not changed in area burned compared to a day ago, still 57 square kilometers, and 27% has been controlled. The Hearst wildfire is 89% under control, and the burned area is currently about 3.2 square kilometers.
Affected area: The fire has affected parts of the west, north and east of Los Angeles, and the burned area exceeds hundreds of square kilometers. The iconic areas such as the Hollywood Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains are ablaze. The Palisades wildfire spread inland to the east on the 12th, threatening the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
Building damage and economic losses
Building damage: More than 10,000 buildings have been burned, including a large number of residential houses, commercial facilities and public buildings. The "Rabbit Museum" in Altadena, Los Angeles County, which has the largest collection of rabbit-themed items certified by the Guinness World Records, was completely burned down, and more than 46,000 collections were reduced to ashes.
Economic losses: Preliminary estimates show that the economic losses are as high as 150 billion US dollars, a staggering figure that not only covers building reconstruction and property losses, but also includes indirect losses caused by business stagnation and damage to the tourism industry.
Progress of firefighting operations
The local government of Los Angeles quickly mobilized a large number of firefighting forces. Thousands of firefighters from Los Angeles County and surrounding areas rushed to the front line. The fire department invested hundreds of fire trucks, dozens of helicopters and aircraft to participate in the firefighting operations. However, there were many difficulties. The strong wind kept changing the direction of the fire, making the isolation belt that the firefighters had just opened up instantly ineffective. The fire easily crossed the defense line and continued to rage. Moreover, due to the large scope of the fire, the water supply for firefighting was tight, and some areas even had an embarrassing situation where fire hydrants had no water available, which seriously affected the progress of firefighting.
Subsequent impact
Power supply: According to data from the US power tracking website, as of 3:31 pm Eastern Time on January 8, more than 400,000 users in California were without power.
Public facilities: Some schools were temporarily closed, and the famous theme park Universal Studios Hollywood was temporarily closed on January 8.
Environmental impact: The thick smoke generated by the fire covered the sky, making the day as dark as night, and the air quality seriously deteriorated. In the Santa Monica Mountains National Park, large tracts of forests were burned, rare plant and animal habitats were destroyed, and the ecological balance was completely broken.
Meteorological experts said that a new round of strong winds and dry weather will occur from January 13 to 14 local time, and the fire may spread rapidly, and the uncertainty of the direction of the fire will also increase.
