No sympathy from incoming President Trump….
Support offerd by President Biden….
A new fire broke out on Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, an area of central Los Angeles indelibly associated with the American film industry, as emergency crews struggled against several other devastating wildfires that were raging out of control.
The new 20-acre blaze, the Sunset Fire, was burning in an area that is dotted with hiking trails and secluded mansions. Officials issued a mandatory evacuation order in a wealthy area bordered by Mulholland Drive and Hollywood Boulevard, street names that evoke the grandeur and romance of the movies. The iconic “Hollywood” sign stands near the evacuation area, on the other side of the 101 Freeway.
As of early Wednesday evening, five people had died as a result of wildfires, more than 25,000 acres had burned, more than 100,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders and hundreds of thousands of electricity customers in the Los Angeles area had lost power. Glowing embers were floating through the sky like lightning bugs as thick black smoke turned day into night.
The largest of the blazes, the Palisades Fire, had consumed more than 1,000 structures, making it the most destructive in Los Angeles history, according to Cal Fire, the state fire agency.
A red flag warning, the highest alert issued by the National Weather Service, was scheduled to be in effect through Friday for Los Angeles and Ventura counties….
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The Washington Post…
On Wednesday, the roughly 2,500 firefighters assigned to the Eaton and Palisades blazes endured another challenging day of fire fueled by extreme winds, bone-dry brush and low humidity. As the large fires raged, crews across the region rushed to contain small blazes that popped up in Fontana, Sun Valley and Brentwood.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna that said 70,000 residents were under evacuation orders or warnings in the Eaton fire area and that 60,000 residents were under evacuation orders or warnings in the Palisades fire region. Three people had been arrested on suspicion of looting in the evacuation zones, he said.
“That is 100% unacceptable,” he said. “These people have gone through so much. Don’t put them through more than they have to go through.”
Red flag warnings remained in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County through Thursday, with officials warning of a “life-threatening, destructive and widespread windstorm.” Winds, which were expected to ease through the day Wednesday, will linger and become more widespread in the coming days, forecasters said.
“We are absolutely not out of danger yet,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said, adding that “these fires are stretching the capacity of emergency services to the maximum limits.”
Fire officials acknowledged that they were overwhelmed by the power and size of the three major fires and that crews and resources were taxed to the extreme.
Firefighters were heard on emergency radios requesting additional support and crews, Marrone said Wednesday, acknowledging that there was simply not enough staffing for an emergency of this size….
image….Gusty winds carry embers as the Eaton fire burns early Wednesday in Altadena…..Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
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