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(Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles firefighters are battling to contain five major blazes as powerful winds continue to fan the flames that have left at least five people dead, decimated neighborhoods and forced nearly 180,000 to evacuate in the region’s worst natural disaster in decades.
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Over 29,000 acres (11,736 hectares) have been charred, with a new wildfire breaking out in the Hollywood Hills overnight. The two biggest blazes are completely uncontrolled, devastating Pasadena and the wealthy coastal community of Pacific Palisades. Dangerous winds will continue through at least Friday, according to the US Storm Prediction Center.
Along with those already under evacuation orders, another 200,000 people are under evacuation warnings, Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said during a press conference Thursday. Thousands of structures have been destroyed, according to officials.
Authorities are having difficulty assessing the death toll, which is likely to rise, Luna said. Some of the areas look like a “bomb was dropped” and there is a need to bring in dogs, he added.
“More than 7,500 firefighting personnel are on the ground working with local and federal partners to respond to California’s ongoing historic wildfires,” Governor Gavin Newsom urged in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Southern California residents — please remain vigilant.”
Additional firefighters are on the way to help from other states including Arizona and Oregon. The US military is also standing by to provide aircraft to help extinguish the flames from the sky, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday during a meeting in Germany.
“This is absolutely an unprecedented and historic firestorm,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday.
Arson investigators are looking into the cause of the Palisades fire, according to Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. That blaze has so far consumed more than 17,000 acres.
The wildfires are poised to become among the most costly in US history. While the full impact won’t become clear until the flames are contained, AccuWeather Inc. estimated damages and economic losses at $52 billion to $57 billion.
Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said water, power and sewer systems have all been “significantly damaged.” Water quality has also been tainted by ash and debris falling into reservoirs. Anyone living near a burn zone “should just go ahead and boil water,” he said Thursday.