LOS ANGELES, California –
Many watched their homes burn on television in a state of shock.
Since flames broke out in and around Los Angeles, dozens of residents have returned to their still-burning neighborhoods, even as the threat of new fires persisted and the nation’s second-largest city remained unsettled. For some, it was a first look at the staggering reality of what was lost as the region of 13 million faces the daunting challenge of overcoming the disaster and rebuilding.
Calmer winds allowed firefighters to begin partially controlling the largest fires in the Los Angeles metropolitan area on Friday before gusts return over the weekend to an area that hasn’t seen rain in more than eight months. But on Friday night, new evacuations were ordered in an area that includes part of Interstate 405 after an outbreak on the east side of the Palisades Fire.
Bridget Berg, who was at work when she saw her Altadena home go up in flames on television, returned to her family for the first time two days later “just to make it happen.”
His feet crunched on the broken pieces of what had been his home for 16 years.
Her children rummaged through the rubble on the sidewalk, finding a clay pot and some souvenirs while searching for Japanese woodblock prints they hoped to recover. Her husband reached out from the rubble near the still-standing fireplace, holding a piece of petrified wood his grandmother had bequeathed him.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Berg said to herself and others as she took stock of the destruction, remembering the terrace and pool where her family watched the fireworks. “It’s not like we just lost our house.” “Everyone lost theirs.”
Since fires began breaking out around a densely populated 25-mile (40-kilometer) stretch north of downtown Los Angeles, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. . The cause of the larger fires has not yet been identified.
City leadership accused of not providing enough money for firefighting
Accusations of leadership failures and political blame have begun, as have investigations. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million gallon (440 million liter) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants ran dry, calling it “deeply concerning.” Meanwhile, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said city leadership failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. He also criticized the lack of water.
“When a firefighter approaches a hydrant, we expect there to be water,” he said.
At least 11 people have died, five of them from the Palisades Fire and six from the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office. Authorities said they expected that number to rise as cadaver dogs scoured razed neighborhoods to assess the devastation in an area larger than San Francisco.
On Friday, authorities established a center where people could report missing persons. Tens of thousands of people remained under evacuation orders and the fires have consumed about 145 square kilometers (56 square miles).
The disaster claimed every household, from waiters to movie stars. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage, but private companies have estimated it will run into the tens of billions. Walt Disney Co. announced Friday that it will donate $15 million to respond to the fires and help rebuild.
The flames affected schools, churches, a synagogue, libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and local landmarks such as Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and a Queen Anne-style mansion in Altadena that dates back to 1887 and was commissioned by a wealthy cartographer. . Andres McNally.
Visit of Meghan and Harry
On Friday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited the Pasadena Convention Center to help distribute food to evacuees.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of the Los Angeles area, also listed organizations that support fire victims on their website.
Beloved lifelong homes are reduced to ashes
Neighbors wandered through the ruins Friday as they described now-gone bedrooms, recently remodeled kitchens and outdoor spaces. Some spoke of the beautiful views that attracted them to their properties, their words in stark contrast to the scene of soot and ash.
In the coastal community of Pacific Palisades, Greg Benton surveyed the place where he lived for 31 years, hoping to find his great-grandmother’s wedding ring in the rubble.
“We had just spent Christmas morning here, right in front of that fireplace. And this is what remains,” he said, pointing to the blackened rubble that was once his living room. “It’s those little family heirlooms that really hurt the most.”
Elsewhere in the city, people at collection sites collected cardboard boxes with donated items to restart their lives.
Progress made in the fight against the Eaton fire
By Friday afternoon, firefighters had made progress for the first time on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures. Officials said Friday that most evacuation orders for the area have been lifted.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, facing a critical test of her leadership as her city suffers its biggest crisis in decades, said several smaller fires were also stopped.
Earlier Friday, crews had been gaining ground on the Palisades Fire, which burned 5,300 structures and is the most destructive in Los Angeles history.
California National Guard troops hit the streets of Altadena before dawn to help protect properties in the fire evacuation zone, and nightly curfews were in place to prevent looting after several previous arrests.
The level of devastation is shocking even in a state that regularly faces massive wildfires.
Family devastated by loss of personal heirlooms, including jewelry of deceased Holocaust survivor
Anna Yeager said she and her husband were distraught about returning to their beloved Altadena neighborhood, near Pasadena, after fleeing with their six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, their two dogs and some clothes. A neighbor told them that their house was missing.
She now regrets not taking away her children’s artwork, her husband’s prized cookbooks, family photographs and jewelry from her mother, who died in 2012, and her husband’s grandmother, who survived. Auschwitz.
When the couple returned, they only saw blocks of “chimney after chimney.”
“There are power lines everywhere. Fires are still everywhere,” he said, adding that when they walked home “there was just dust.”
Charred grapefruits littered his garden around a blackened tree, some still hanging from its branches.
Yeager’s Tudor neighborhood planned to celebrate its centennial in May.
“You build a world for yourself and your family, you feel safe in that world, and things like this happen that you can’t control,” he said. “It’s devastating.”
Remnants remained of the front porch where Yeager had photographed his children almost daily since 2020 and had planned to continue doing so until they reached high school. That gave him hope.
“The porch is still there and to me it is a sign to rebuild and not leave,” he said. “You know, it’s like saying, ‘Hey, I’m still here.’ You can still do this.’”
Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, Watson from San Diego and Hollingsworth from Mission, Kansas. Associated Press writers Eugene García in Los Angeles, Olga Rodríguez in San Francisco and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
