As the battle against deadly fires in Los Angeles County enters its tenth day, officials are warning evacuees not to return to their homes due to the presence of toxic, hazardous waste and exposed electric and natural gas lines.
At a news conference Thursday, Los Angeles County Public Works Chief Engineer Yonah Halpern said toxins such as asbestos and mercury may be found in the fire debris, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the county fire department will be conducting door-to-door inspections. Surveys assess and remove hazardous materials at no cost to the property owner.
High winds behind Los Angeles' catastrophic fires are expected to calm down through the rest of the week into the weekend, making it easier for firefighters to further their efforts to extinguish the Palisade and Eaton fires that have been burning for more than a week.
The National Weather Service said Thursday that "the nine-day siege of high winds is finally over" and that the weekend will bring a "significant cooling trend" and higher humidity in the area. But it warned that strong winds could pick up again early next week.
A marine layer is expected to move into the area Thursday and Friday, bringing much-needed moisture, Eaton Fire Incident Meteorologist James White said at a news conference Thursday.
As of Thursday morning, crews were still working to fully contain Los Angeles' two largest fires. The Palisades Fire is 22% contained after burning more than 23,700 acres, while the Eaton Fire is 55% contained after burning about 14,100 acres.
The number of people admitted is expected to increase rapidly in the coming days. The flames are no longer raging, but dozens of firefighters must search every inch of the massive blaze to ensure the site is extinguished and power lines secured.
Even as Wednesday's forecast warned of "particularly hazardous conditions" from wind damage, firefighters have been able to contain the blaze within their footprint over the past few days.
Both fires proved deadly and destructive. Officials said at least 27 people died in the fires and a total of 12,000 buildings were destroyed. The tragic toll is expected to rise. Natural disasters of this magnitude could cause indirect deaths for decades to come.
While officials are still clearing the wreckage and counting and assessing the damage from the fires, total damage from the fires is estimated at about $250 billion, making it the costliest fire in U.S. history.
burned acres
U.S. wildfires are measured in acres. While the size of a wildfire doesn't necessarily correlate with its devastating impact, area provides a way to understand a fire's footprint and how quickly it spreads.
One hectare is equal to 2.47 acres, and one square mile is equal to 640 acres, but this may be difficult to imagine. Here are some quick comparisons: One acre is roughly the size of an American football field. London Heathrow Airport covers an area of approximately 3,000 acres. Manhattan covers approximately 14,600 acres, Chicago approximately 150,000 acres, and Los Angeles approximately 320,000 acres.
fire
The National Interagency Fire Center defines a megafire as a wildfire that burns more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares).
containment level
A wildfire's containment level shows how far firefighters are making control of the blaze. Containment is achieved by creating a boundary that the fire cannot cross. This is done by methods such as placing fire retardants on the ground, digging trenches, or clearing away brush and other flammable fuels.
Containment is measured as the percentage of the fire enclosed by these containment lines. Wildfires with low control levels (such as 0% or 5%) are essentially out of control. A fire with a high containment level (e.g. 90%) will not necessarily be extinguished, but will have a larger scope of protection and a controllable growth rate.
Evacuation orders and warnings
Officials issue evacuation warnings and orders when wildfires pose an imminent danger to people's lives and property. An evacuation warning means it's best to leave an area or prepare to leave as quickly as possible, according to the California Office of Emergency Services. An evacuation order means you should leave the area immediately.
red flag warning
A red flag warning is a forecast issued by the National Weather Service that indicates when weather conditions may start or spread wildfires. These conditions typically include dryness, low humidity, high winds, and high temperatures.
prescribed burns
Prescribed burns, or controlled burns, are fires that are intentionally lit under carefully managed conditions to improve the health of the landscape. Prescribed burning is conducted by trained experts, such as members of the U.S. Forest Service and Native firefighting practitioners. Among other benefits, prescribed burns help clear flammable vegetation and reduce the risk of larger, more catastrophic fires.
Prescribed burning was once a common tool among Native American tribes who used "good fire" to improve their lands, but for much of the last century was restricted by the U.S. government's approach based on fire suppression. In recent years, U.S. land managers have re-embraced the benefits of prescribed burning, with thousands of burns now being conducted across the country each year.
More than 80,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders, with many rushing to return home. But officials say it will take time to conduct inspections and remove hazardous debris from communities.
Broken utility poles draped power lines in roads and toxic chemicals were released from collapsed homes as fires ravaged neighborhoods on all sides of Los Angeles. Even if the flames are extinguished, many dangers remain in the burn scars that could put returning residents at risk.
Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing, slowing down the repair of utility infrastructure needed ahead of the relocation process, according to Cal Fire.
As of Thursday morning, inspections of both fire tracks were only half-complete, with no timeline provided to residents for when they would be completed. Cal Fire has released an interactive map of the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire detailing the status of each structure and will be updated as work is completed.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Eric Scott said the timeline for people to return to their homes may vary because of the need to map and document the damage.
"We want people to have realistic expectations," he told The New York Times.
After the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, the last evacuation order was lifted a month after the fire, The Times reported. Two months after the 2023 fire, residents of Lahaina, Maui, were allowed to return to their homes.
The California National Guard has deployed troops to guard evacuated communities and prevent residents from re-entering to inspect their homes.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass met with displaced residents on Wednesday and told a news conference that the city would work to ensure that people who lost their homes could quickly rebuild their homes.
“People are ready to get started now,” she said. “If your property burns down and you want to rebuild it to its original appearance, you don’t have to go through a complicated, time-consuming permitting process.”