Tens of thousands of people ordered to flee their homes as wildfires tore through Los Angeles were told Thursday they would not be allowed back for at least a week, with fears over electrocution, landslides and exposure to toxic materials.
Frustration is mounting among evacuees, who are angry over rules that prevent them from returning — even to homes that survived the deadly blazes.
“There was a group chat where everyone was complaining, getting mad, saying, ‘why do they keep on locking us out of our homes?'” Ronnen Miz told local broadcaster KTLA.
But with 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares) burned in two ferocious fires, the situation is just too dangerous, officials said.
Electricity, gas and sewage lines are wrecked, there is toxic waste everywhere, and there is a growing threat of hazardous mudslides or landslips, officials said at a news conference.
“It’s going to be a while,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
“I’m going to say at minimum, at least another week, and that’s an estimate, but I believe it’s going to be longer than that.”
According to the latest coroner’s tally, at least 27 people have died in wind-driven fires that ripped through the upmarket enclave of Pacific Palisades and the more mixed community of Altadena.
Luna said search teams were continuing to comb the rubble looking for victims, with the number of dead expected to rise.
Authorities were also holding people back from some areas “because we believe there may be deceased victims” he said.
Destabilized Hillsides
Teams from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began inspections Thursday as they work to remove pesticides, fuel and lithium batteries from the wreckage before any debris clean-up can take place.
Los Angeles County Director of Public Works Mark Pestrella said apparently unaffected structures could be hit by landslides, and any substantial rain could be dangerous.
“In the event that we have major rain, we do expect that all of the street areas and all the communities will be impacted by debris flows that could be hazardous to human health.”
Hillsides have been destabilized by the fires, and by the huge volumes of water that firefighters used in a bid to tame them.
Photographs from the Pacific Palisades area showed one home – undamaged by the fire – that appeared to have broken in two after the flames were extinguished when part of a hillside collapsed.
Pam Shriver
US tennis great Pam Shriver revealed on Thursday a cache of major trophies from her illustrious career were stolen after she evacuated from the fire.
Shriver, 62, packed five US Open trophies, five French Open plates, five Wimbledon trophies and one Australian Open trophy into her car as she fled her Brentwood home and headed to a hotel on Friday.
Some time later, she found the car – and its irreplaceable contents – had been stolen.
“It’s really sad on so many levels that when people are at their lowest and in their most difficult times, people are doing things like this,” Shriver told ESPN.
Hotspots
Gusting winds that have rattled the region for more than a week, spreading the fire over a wide area, had subsided Thursday, giving firefighters a much-needed boost as they mopped up hotspots.
The work of battalions from all over the US was being bolstered by crews of inmates, who toil alongside regular firefighters to cut containment lines and clear brush.
Jacob Castro, who has served 29 years for his crimes, said he was grateful for the chance to help out in the fire effort and repay his debt to society.
“It’s the first thing I’ve done in my life that I’m proud of,” he told AFP.
“I love doing this, helping the community by making up for the bad decisions I made in life,” said Castro, who has a coveted spot in one of the fire training camps operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“It’s a chance to redeem myself.”
