Fires threaten more neighbourhoods as LA death toll rises to 16

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New fires in Los Angeles have forced evacuation orders in the upscale Brentwood and Bel Air neighbourhoods, as the region braces for heavy winds that could create more problems for emergency services fighting multiple blazes across the county.

The death toll from the fires rose to 16, authorities said on Saturday evening. The Palisades fire, which began on Tuesday morning, had burnt 22,000 acres and was still only 11 per cent contained, officials said.

The fires are believed to be the most damaging in LA history. 

Helicopters dumped water on Saturday over Mandeville Canyon, an exclusive area that is home to actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The evacuation orders in Brentwood raised concerns about landmarks including the Getty Center, home to an art collection that includes works by Vincent Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Monet. A spokeswoman said later there had been no damage to the museum.

Karen Bass, LA mayor, said the Palisades fires were “slowly being contained”, with about 11 per cent under control. But she warned that the area was “most vulnerable” to the dry, heavy Santa Ana winds that were expected to return. She urged residents not to try to “wait out the fires” and evacuate immediately.

The National Weather Service warned that winds would also buffet the coastal Topanga and Malibu canyons. It forecast further “wind events” between Monday night and Wednesday that could reach between 60 and 70 miles per hour.  

Bass and California governor Gavin Newsom are trying to fend off criticism over the fire response. Firefighters in the Pacific Palisades were frustrated this week to discover that hydrants lacked water — a huge problem during periods of heavy winds that grounded the helicopters and aeroplanes used to drop water on the flames.

The city’s reserve tanks quickly drained as firefighters on the ground battled the fire without support from the air.

Newsom said on Friday he had ordered an investigation into the causes of the water supply problems. Newsom called the problems “deeply troubling”, adding that they “likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors”.  

The city’s water and power authority said any claims that the fire hydrants were broken before the fires was “misleading and false”.  

Water pressure fell due to “unprecedented and extreme water demand to fight the wildfire without aerial support”, the LA Department of Water and Power said in a statement.

Firefighters from other US states and 72 from Mexico have arrived to help more than 7,500 emergency workers from California. The National Guard has also been deployed to the Palisades to protect the area from looters.

The city has imposed a 12-hour curfew from 6pm in areas under evacuation orders. “Not only do we have to protect ourselves from the fire, we also have to make sure no one goes up there and attempts to loot,” Bass said. So far about 20 looters have been arrested. 

The bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said it would take the lead in investigating the cause of the Pacific Palisades fire. The federal agency said it had fire investigators on the scene. 

Firefighters managed to put out the Sunset fire, which threatened the Hollywood Hills and a number of landmarks, including the Hollywood sign. They have also extinguished the Lidia fire north of Los Angeles, while two others are about 80 per cent contained, according to Cal Fire.